Sometimes as a Brit, we just have to face that other countries simply do things a lot better than we do. Whether it's the German's with their lager, (Becks or Carling? Hmm..) the Japanese with their technological advancements, or the Brazilians with their football, we have to accept that we no longer dominate the world in every respect. Last century, it would have been a sin worthy of capital punishment to even suggest that the Dutch, our cycle-riding, pot-smoking friends on the continent, would be capable of pulling off anything to besmirch good ol' Blighty. But, unfortunately for us, it has...
Even the most hardened Euro-sceptic xenophobe would have trouble arguing that the Brits are better at mega-raves than the Dutch, home of the world famous Dance Valley festivals, attended by over 50,000 people each time. The laws on raves issued by the Dutch government are far more relaxed than in this country; after the dance music/illegal rave boom in the early 90's, the Dutch government didn't quite freak out on the same scale as the UK & US governments. The thesis behind these huge Dutch raves isn't entirely commercial driven as it is in the UK with events such as Homelands or Creamfields. Instead, the events are organised entirely to spread the dance music vibe on a scale which will make the entire globe stand up and take note. The company responsible for such events are UDC, who are behind the 3 biggest raves in Holland, Dance Valley, Impulz and HQ. Impulz and HQ cater for different sounds, with HQ being especially for hard dance, and Impulz focusing on more underground hard trance. Dance Valley acts as the conglomerate of both Impulz and HQ, fusing the sounds and the best DJ's from both on the same card. HQ has now been going for well over a decade and has been packing in the punters ever since it started at the Melkweg, Amsterdam. The event has given birth to some huge names in hard dance including Tom Harding, Danny D and JP, a Dutch ‘A’ lister who Tidy Trax have just signed onto their DJ agency after hearing and seeing his set at the last Dance Valley event. HQ boasts a line up which the UK simply cannot match, bringing the best of the UK over and merging it with the best DJ's the rest of the world has to offer. Add to this the amazing atmosphere of over 15,000 ravers and one of the best dance music venues in the world and you have yourself one hell of a party!
The UK crowds have often been put off visiting Holland just for one night due to the expense and effort of actually getting over to Holland for the rave, however with flight companies such as Easyjet & Ryanair offering cheap flights over to Holland from as little as £50, now has never been a better time to check this out. But how exactly does raving in Holland compare with raving in England? Firstly, the production which goes into the raves organised in Holland is absolutely phenomenal. To give one example, at the last Dance Valley event, the organisers specially hired helicopters to drop flower petals on the crowd at random points during the evening! Tom Harding, the UK’s number 1 DJ in Holland, agrees. “The production at all the UK festivals is not a patch on any of the big European ones. One of the main reasons why huge raves like Dance Valley, Sensation, Impulz and Mysterylands work so well is because their organizers spend so much time, effort and most importantly money making them look amazing. In the UK most of the big festival organisers (bar of course Michael Eavis!) think that all you need to do to create a ‘unique’ environment is hire some tents and a bunch of inflatables and expect the crowds to be amazed. In Holland, on the other hand, the like of Dance Valley are in constant competition with the other big festivals to see who can have the biggest outdoor stages, lasers, glitter cannons, fire works, helicopter drops etc etc.
Until UK event organisers wake up and realise that they should book less ridiculously expensive DJs that no one ends up listening to and spend far more money on production then I don’t think we’ll be seeing an event the scale of Dance Valley in the UK.” With this in mind, how exactly therefore does the atmosphere of a Dutch rave really match that of a UK one? Ed Real, another one of the most popular UK DJ’s who plays regularly in Holland, says, “The British are true mentalists and wherever you go in the world you won't find anyone crazier on the dance floor - mayhem is our national export! However, when you go to a party and so much effort has been put into production, decor, sound it lifts the crowd and the DJ's as you know you're part of something special.”
It’s being a part of something special which is the most enjoyable part of being involved at a Dutch rave. The big UK events are by all means good, but nothing compares to that feeling of being around 14,999 other like-minded ravers, all buzzing and having the time of their lives because the promoters have gone that little bit extra to ensure it happens. As Tom Harding adds, “the only country which doesn’t seem to care at all about production is the UK. This might have something to do with the amount of drugs taken by UK clubbers (year on year we lead the world in drugs consumption according to the annual Mixmag survey). In Holland, where people are much more careful and discerning about the amount of drugs consumed, you really have to woo clubbers to come to your event with promises of new and exciting production whereas in the UK, a lot of people just want banging music and good DJs.”
It’s therefore pretty obvious that as ravers, our clubbing Mecca is Holland. It’s only a short plane journey away, and for less than £40, the average we all spend on a night out here in the UK, you could be living it up at one of the best raves in the world. Interested? The next party is only days away, and it’s not too late to get involved…
The next event to be hosted by UDC is their HQ XL event, taking place at the especially at the Docklands Arena in Amsterdam on the 12th November 2004. Though HQ is normally based at the Melkweg, HQ XL will be taking place at the Docklands as a celebration in the home town of the organisers UDC. The full line-up has just been announced, with some of the best DJ's in hard dance playing specially crafted b2b sets only at this event. As an example of some of the b2b sets featured, Steve Hill is making a one-off appearance in Amsterdam since his return to Australia and is to go b2b with Tidy Trax's newest signing JP of Holland. Other featured b2b sets include hard dance's prodigy Gaz West teaming up with Alex Kidd, and, perhaps most notably, Ed Real to repeat another legendary b2b set with The *Ting*.
Other DJ's on the card include Nick Sentience, Organ Donors, Kevin Energy, Proteus and many, many more. All information you need can be found (in English) at
www.udc.nl. This is going to be THE continental hard dance event of the year, do not miss your chance to experience one of the best clubbing experiences the world has to offer. For your chance to visit this experience, Heat Tours are putting together a very special package for UK clubbers to coincide with this event. Anyone who would like further information or would like to book a ticket, should get in contact with them via
www.heatuk.info.
Partyflock
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