Today’s the day — numero uno in Het Bos
Oooft, where do we begin? Day one in Het Bos of Dekmantel just kicked off and we were hop-skipping and dancing our asses off every minute of the day. Entering the festival after cycling through the winding forest, it was ethereal from the beginning. Hard to put every moment into words, let us begin by describing the landscape (and then sounds): everything from the festival’s Social Safety Team, to its eco-friendly focus to excellently — and non-hierarchal — staging was carefully thought-through. Never have we felt so safe, being in a space where letting loose and finding collective joy is possible is hard to come by, and Dekmantel did it right.
Some highlights of the day saw us at UFOI for Deniro’s good old Detroit electronics, the renowned Boiler Room for Suze Ijó — who’s fit was to 10/10 slay and tracks were serving pure energy — alongside taking in the sounds of Joy Orbison whilst downing a hot bowl of Ramen from Hot Mama Hot. The evening then quickly elevated to the pulsing sounds of Fjaak into Mama Snake before finishing our evening back at the Mainstage for Jon Hopkins.
The sun, the sounds, the food and the friendly faces accumulated into the perfect day. See you again tomorrow Dekmantel!
