The multi-day house and techno festival Dekmantel has become synonymous with electronic music’s most adventurous realms. Also this year coming to the Muziekgebouw with groundbreaking artists who push the boundaries of the musical spectrum.
Leftfield
As their name suggests, Leftfield unearths house music’s most progressive strains. Originally the lovechild of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley, the English group – which turns 30 this year – released its influential Leftism album in 1995, featuring genre-transcending contributions from the Sex Pistols’ John Lydon, among others. After a decade of significant influence and critical acclaim, Leftfield went on hiatus in the 2000s, returning as the solo project of Barnes in 2010. Known for their high-intensity live sets, Leftfield is also infamous as the band that was officially banned from London’s Brixton Academy for causing dust and plaster to fall from the venue’s ceiling. Their ambient-leaning A Final Hit is widely known – can we get any more nostalgic? – for its sonic role in Trainspotting.
The Orb
The Orb have been crafting adventurous, psychedelic-drenched soundscapes since the late 1980s, emerging from the 'chill-out' rooms of the rave scene. These spaces, designed for introspection and respite from the dancefloor, shaped their surreal, sample-heavy music, taking listeners on journeys through the farthest reaches of auditory imagination. Early albums like Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld and UFOrb are cult classics, blending minimal textures with ecstatic, rolling dub. Celebrated for their expansive productions and cosmic live shows, The Orb continue to evolve, releasing the acclaimed record Prism in 2023 and Orboretum in 2024 – a compendium of old and never-before-heard material.
With your ticket, you can enjoy multiple performances around the IJ (Muziekgebouw, Bimhuis, Parallel, Shelter). Find the full breakdown and tickets on dekmantelfestival.com.
Tip! During the day, a short walk away at Eye Filmmuseum, the legendary Jeff Mills will present an extended live score for Fritz Lang’s 1927 expressionist masterpiece Metropolis. This show is part of the Dekmantel Festival conference and requires a separate entry ticket.
