It has been said before and we’ll say it again, the guys from Dekmantel are magic with the weather. Lente Kabinet 2016 at Het Twiske was nothing but sunshine and smiles throughout the day. It was the weather that characterized most of the festival this year, with the overall feeling being more chilled and laid back than its previous years. Many people were lounging on the grass and basking in the sun. This was more prevalent at the main stage, or Eerste Kamer, with quite a number of people enjoying John Talabot’s set in the background. It wasn’t until Fatima Yamaha’s live set, now notorious for his Boiler Room set at Dekmantel Festival last year, that a larger crowd gathered at the stage and that most of those lying down got on to their dancing feet.
The first memorable act of the day was Syracuse. The French duo, consisting of a guy and a girl, played a live set at the ever-festive Red Light Radio stage. Starting out sluggish and ambient in sound, the singer’s vocals sounded even more ethereal in nature. The fact that each song started from scratch didn’t seem to slow down the crowd and every time the beat kicked in the crowd got right back into it. The songs ranged from acid and 909 snares to more rave-y tracks and house chord stabs, at times bridging the gap between songs with an interlude of vocals and synthesizers. The set was made even more memorable by a lad in the audience, dressed in a pinstriped shirt and jean shorts, dancing his heart out with eyes closed while performing karate chops, stopping only to scream out how much he loved the music. Afterwards, I-F stepped up with a relentless electro and techno set, to ease up towards the end with some disco. Meanwhile, Hunee took over from Jeremy Underground in the big tent, or Tweede Kamer. Starting out slow, it wasn’t until the first horn section blasted from the speakers that hands went up in the air and a volleyball got tossed around. Over at the DJBroadcast stage, Hashman Deejay and PLO Man were playing back to back. Unlike Hasman Deejays’ more eclectic sets, this B2B was mostly a ’90s garage affair, ending their extended set with an hour of jungle.
The most memorable set of the day definitely goes to Ben UFO. The last time I saw him live he played mostly techno, and I was keen to see him again after enjoying his recent live recording at Twitch which was more eclectic and house in nature. Starting things of more melodic, his set didn’t really kick off until he played a track by Mu and later on (much to my delight) Lipelis’ “Weirdshit Xu Paelkhat”. When it got dark outside, the first heavy techno blazed in. I would have stayed if it weren’t for the overcrowdedness of the tent and the prospect of DJ Deeon closing the day with a classic Dance Mania/juke set at the Red Light Radio hangar. I was anticipating something similar to the closing set of DJ EZ two years earlier at this very stage, but instead I was welcomed with Fidget House and tamer remixes and reworks of classics like “Freak Like Me” and “Let Me Bang”. This reminded me of the first time I ever heard DJ EZ play live, where he spinned UK Garage remixes of pop songs in the now closed Trouw.
This didn’t stop the audience of course, who were ready as ever. Halfway through the set, the crowd pulled down the camouflage covering the dance area to the point of almost breaking. Things really kicked into gear when Paul Johnson’s “Feel My M.F. Bass” was dropped and someone leaped into the crowd to surf. A little later, another girl climbed on an impromptu stage cheering the audience on. A third dancer followed suit when a rework of “Shake It” was played. At this point, the crowd in the front was jumping their hearts out and several of them climbed on stage. People were into it, especially when Deeon played a trap remix – something I never thought I’d ever hear at Lente Kabinet. Even if it wasn’t something I expected, DJ Deeon brought the hype and the heat to an otherwise sunny and mellow day at Het Twiske.
Words by: Fedor Oduber
Photo by De Fotomeisjes.