ADE 2024: Metropole Orkest plays 50 years of J. Dilla

On Wednesday, October 16, the Metropole Orkest traditionally hosts the opening concert of the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE), the world’s largest festival and conference for electronic music. This year, in collaboration with multi-instrumentalist and composer Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, they present a special tribute to J Dilla, who would have turned 50 this year. Dilla is considered one of the most influential producers and is a great inspiration for electronic music as we know it today. Dilla’s mother, Maureen Yancey, better known as Ma Dukes, is this year’s guest of honor at ADE and will open the concert on behalf of Dilla’s family.
Legendary producer J Dilla, by using the MPC sampler in an innovative way, managed to develop a unique ‘laid-back’ style that took instrumental hiphop to new musical heights. To this day, this recognizable style plays an important role in all forms of electronic music. The work of the producer, who died in 2006, inspired Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and producer Carlos Nino to create ‘Suite For Ma Dukes.’ What began in 2009 as a tribute in the form of a short EP grew into a series of live shows around the world. Because Dilla would have turned 50 this year and given his major influence on electronic music, the show is coming to ADE and will be performed by the Metropole Orkest for the first time.

In recent years, the opening concert at the Melkweg has become an innovative and impressive part of the Amsterdam Dance Event. After previous successful collaborations with Henrik Schwarz (2016), Jameszoo (2017), Colin Benders (2018), SOHN (2019), Weval (2021), Suzanne Ciani (2022), and Tinlicker (2023), this year the Metropole Orkest explores a different side of electronic music, that of crossover with hip-hop.

Ticket sales for these concert can be find over here.