This October, Amsterdam Dance Event will feel different for me. I’ve been selected for ADE Lab On Track 2026 — Performing Artist Track, a three-day talent-development program for electronic music producers and performing artists who are ready to take the next step.
Two live performances during ADE
I’ll also perform twice during Amsterdam Dance Event 2026. The venues will be announced soon. That means this ADE week will combine artist development, learning and two opportunities to bring my own Melodic House sound to the dance floor.
From 21–23 October, the program takes place across ADE Lab Village at Culture Park Westergas, with WestWeelde as the main hub and additional sessions around Het Ketelhuis and Radio Radio. ADE describes the program as three full days of classes, coaching, mentoring, community, studio sessions, collaboration, performances and demo drops.
Why this matters to me
Over the past year, my journey has increasingly moved from producing music at home into real rooms, real dance floors and real conversations with people across electronic music. A sold-out night at Maison Glamsterdam, Hunkering Amsterdam Pride and the release of Near Elsewhere are all part of that same development.
The Performing Artist Track is especially relevant because it goes beyond production. It is about artist identity, performance, branding, bookings, management and building a sustainable career around the music.
The people in the room
The first announced speaker drop includes artists such as Adam Beyer, Moodymann, Kevin Saunderson, Sammy Virji, DJ Bone, Jyoty, Grace Dahl and Nene H. I’m interested in the differences between those careers as much as the similarities: identity, longevity, performance and how each artist has built a world around their music.
From the program back to the dance floor
My ADE week also continues outside the daytime program. I’ll be experiencing Tinlicker, Helsloot & Tonic Walter, Sasha b2b Patrice Bäumel, and Lost Miracle with Sébastien Léger & Roy Rosenfeld as a listener — not as part of my own performance schedule. Different rooms and different approaches to melody, tension and long-form storytelling are part of the education too.
ADE Culture Hub
On Saturday, 24 October, ADE Lab On Track participants also receive access to the ADE Culture Hub at Felix Meritis. For me, that makes the week more than a course or conference. It becomes a chance to look at the culture, people and ideas around electronic music from several different angles.
The next chapter
I want to arrive curious, listen carefully, ask better questions and come away with ideas that change something — how I build a set, how I produce, how I communicate the project and how I understand my own artistic identity.