Like many labels and other industry professionals, Soave Records organised a series of activities during the Amsterdam Dance Event.
This year, the world’s leading dance music gathering managed to attract a record-breaking 500.000 visitors to the Dutch capital from Wednesday October 18 until Sunday October 22nd. What made Soave Sessions, how the indie record label decided to call their events, so special is that it was the first time they invited the general public. Of course, we had to take a look and see what it was like.
On Thursday October 19th, we were invited to Soave Academy. This mini-conference consisted of 10 panels and masterclasses hosted by 19 industry expert speakers from across the globe. Quite a line-up including Madism’s and Phuture Noize’s manager Madeleine van Geuns, who we were able to speak to after her panel about finding a perfect match between artist and management:
“It was great to be part of the Soave Academy. We discussed how to find the right match within management from both the artist and the manager’s perspective. It was interesting to see the diversity in the crowd. From singers to producers to managers, we received a lot of questions which were fun to discuss. It was an intimate setting which gave us the opportunity to connect with everybody during and after the panel. Thanks Soave for organising this amazing event!”
The event was indeed intimate. About a 100 visitors in total found their way to one of the two conference rooms within the popular hostel Generator Amsterdam. One of them being an old-school college hall and the other a cosy library. It provided the perfect opportunity for the speakers to answer questions from the crowd and connect with them right after. An atmosphere that fits the vibe of Soave, who claim to be the home of ‘feel good electronic music’. After visiting multiple talks such as the DJ Strategy masterclass by local DJ School Amsterdam and Marketing Your Music talk by Sven Schäfer, head of Place Called Home Management and the label Adue, it was time to prepare for what ADE is all about: a good party.
That evening, it was time for The Soave Party, which took place at Desmet Studio’s. About a 15-minute walk from Generator. It was a combination of an industry mixer and a club night. We entered the event through the bar area, where you could grab a drink, like Soave’s on Beat of Summer cocktail and also get your picture taken in front of a press wall. In the nightclub area, DJ and saxophonist Natty Rico was working his magic. An artist that is just too good to open a show in our opinion, but luckily the venue filled up relatively quickly. Natty was followed up by Madism, who managed to keep the party going. nowifi’s set allowed us to take a bit of a breather. His laid-back set included him playing live on the piano, which was a nice touch! After that, the energy was back on with De Hofnar and Kav Verhouzer. Michael Amani, who is also part of the Sandcastle sub-label crew proved that the energy he puts in his TikTok channel he also puts in his DJ set. The night ended with Braaheim and ILYAA, who showed that no one should mess with the Norwegians when it comes to speed techno.
With the bit of energy one still has left on ADE’s third day (still 2 to go…) we dragged ourselves to Soave’s demo drop. Twelve labels, including Soave and its sub-labels Dusk and Sandcastle, were represented in the same rooms we visited during Soave Academy. After speaking to all the labels, attendees could take a much needed coffee or beer (why not continue?) at the Nescio Café, Generators bar right next to the conference rooms. It wasn’t a place for peace and quietness, since Soave made sure there was a DJ playing from morning until evening. But that is ADE for you! Being brought back to live by artists like Jako Diaz and CRÜPO, we were ready for the weekend to come. For Soave Records, the public events were over. We wondered how the Soave team experienced these couple of days and got the chance to speak to marketing manager Elizabeth Dijkhuizen:
“Even though organising and arranging Soave Sessions cost us a lot of energy, we also get a whole lot of good energy in return. Our artists and even team members often live in another country so getting to see each other in real-life is really motivating. Being able to share this with our network and general public is an amazing experience and we’ll definitely continue this in the years to come!”
Overall, you could tell that Soave is doing this for the first time. The intimate setting and fact that a lot of attendees are somehow related to the label give that away, but also makes sure there is an warm and welcoming atmosphere that makes anyone feel like they’re part of Soave too. Our hopes for the next editions is that, even when the audience numbers grow, the label can keep up that vibe.
