Awakenings Festival 2010. This year's edition is the tenth edition of the festival that started back in 2001. This edition also just happens to be the 100th edition of Awakenings all together. One hundred Awakenings raves dedicated to techno; 10 festivals in Spaarnwoude and 90 indoor editions in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Eindhoven. A special occasion indeed, and we were amongst 30.000 others, privileged to witness this milestone in the world of techno music.

This year's anniversary lineup featured just about every techno legend you can think of. The Awakenings crew went all-in on this year's lineup with a Full House hand. Firstly from the very roots of techno, from Detroit; Derrick May, Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson forming the Belleville 3 as well as Jeff Mills. Richie Hawtin's year 2010 is mostly about his comeback as Plastikman but at Awakenings the founder of M-NUS would be doing a DJ set. Representing both Sweden and Drumcode are Awakenings regulars Adam Beyer and Cari LekeBusch. Chris Liebing and Speedy J would be collaborating in one of their much beloved 'Collabs Sessions'. England was represented well by all-time techno heroes Dave Clarke (presenting a special 'White Noise' radio show from the festival too), Ben Sims and Surgeon (live). But wait, there is still more! Spain was represented through off beat king Oscar Mulero as well as a team up between Paco Osuna and Alex Under. Frenchmen Laurent Garnier was going to be there with one of his special live performances. Melodic techno would be heard from James Holden (UK) and Gui Boratto (Brazil). And then there is the schranz heroes of Rush, Pet Duo, Marco Remus and Frank Kvitta. And that, that is just to name a few. 'Wow!' you say? Yes indeed. Six area's; eleven hours and a long range of the finest techno flavors to choose from. It was somewhat like getting an ice-cream from the ice-cream man. So many delicious flavors. Getting them all was not possible, and this ice-cream man was not going to wait until you had finally made up your mind.

“It was somewhat like getting an ice-cream from the ice-cream man (...) getting them all was not possible, and this ice-cream man was not going to wait...”

The day had to last as long as possible so we got up early and made sure to be there from the very beginning. At least, that was the plan. With the festival shuttle bus dropping us off still a long walk away from our entrance it wasn't until noon before we had finally stuffed our things in a Locker Box and exchanged some of our hard earned euro's into Awakenings drink tokens of 2,50 each. On the way we were handed over an Awakenings festival map / time table and an Awakenings sun cap, this year's present. On our way inside through the fence lining us up for the security check we also ripped one of our shirts, a good excuse to buy a limited edition Awakenings festival t-shirt of 15,- at the info stand.

Just gotten inside, we heard a short soundbite from the DJ set of Secret Cinema. Secret Cinema was playing in one of the recognizable massive tents that return at Awakenings festival every year again. The tents are not only huge in their size, they also come with a very solid underground, which is great for us fanatic ravers. Our first real set of the day took place in another tent just like this one. Cari LekeBusch has been one of our absolute favorite techno DJ's for quite a while now. Not only does the Swede spin great uplifting techno beats, his appearance behind the decks and interaction with the crowd brings a certain x-factor that not many other artists can bring. Today Cari did not disappoint one bit as he kept us at the dance floor, and away from the bars.

After a great set by Cari we decided to get a drink and head for the festival's main stage. We were curious as to what it looked like and also curious how the team up between Alex Under & Paco Osuna would work. Barcelona and Madrid may have their differences when it comes to football, Paco and Alex's styles really complemented each other well. The set did have its ups and downs and sometimes we wished for the beat to return a little sooner, but all in all this was a great set in the warm summer sun. Besides them opening their set with Jeff Mills's 'The Bells' we must confess we haven't heard all that much of one of the festival's main acts, the Belleville 3 (Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson). Although part of the audience did not seem to mind, it seems the set did not go as planned. Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson were interviewed shortly after they finished their set, stating to be very disappointed by how their gig went (you can find the Dutch article on 3voor12, link down below).

“Like Cari, but in a very different way, Rush too is quite an appearance with a special x-factor”

Although schranz usually does not keep us interested for long, there are still a few DJ's that we gladly make an exception for. One of these is DJ Rush. Years ago Rush was one of our Awakenings festival highlights when he brought the climax up to infinity in one packed tent. After a few years of absence Rush returns and so we had to be there again. Like Cari, but in a very different way, Rush too is quite an appearance with a special x-factor. We conquered a spot all the way in front and gave it all. Rush flirted and played with us, the crowd; we with him and his beats. For a moment we could not be bothered caring what else the day had in store for us. In the late afternoon, early evening however, two special gigs took place in the Y area. Frenchmen Laurent Garnier gave a very special live performance with a live band and wizard Jeff Mills played an amazing set including a session on the 909 drum computer. Another great evening set was the 'biker techno' set of Oscar Mulero in area X. This Spaniard's style is very different from the other two Spaniards that we saw earlier today but we like all Spanish techno flavors.

How does one choose between Collabs (Chris Liebing & Speedy J), Richie Hawtin, Ben Sims, The Advent vs. Industrialyzer and James Holden? It seemed like an impossible choice, but it was a choice everyone had to make when the last sets of the day begun. In the end when Ben Sims took over from Oscar Mulero and more classical techno beats started pumping our eardrums and moving our legs, that choice was instantly made. Our day would not be ending with our personal hero Richie Hawtin; our day would not be ending with a deep space set of James Holden and our day would not be ending with the fireworks of Collabs Sessions. Our day ended with a superb set by Ben Sims that just went from hit, to hit, to hit. Just when you thought all techno classics had been played, another one followed. Today was nothing but techno, techno, techno. A perfect day if you ask us! Awakenings, congratulations!

In October Awakenings returns to the Amsterdam Gasworks with two separate editions on Friday and Saturday. Tickets are available and best bought through the official channels on the Awakenings website. The lineups include Chris Liebing, Ricardo Villalobos b2b Raresh and Adam Beyer.

Pictures have been taken by Geoffrey de Kleijn.