Dekmantel Into The City: 5 Unmissable Live Acts

As Dekmantel Festival once again spills beyond the festival grounds, Dekmantel Into The City transforms Amsterdam into a playground for adventurous music lovers. On 30 July, Melkweg welcomes an evening that perfectly captures the festival's spirit: forward-thinking artists who continue to redefine the boundaries of electronic music. From genre-defying live bands and intimate experimental projects to one of techno's founding fathers, this line-up is a reminder that electronic music is constantly evolving.

Leading the bill are psychedelic pioneers Darkside, cult electronic outfit Death In Vegas, Nicolas Jaar's enigmatic spoken-word project Headache, the ever-unpredictable duo NEW YORK, and techno originator Juan Atkins presenting his legendary INFINITI live show. Completing the programme are Devon Rexi, Eerie Enterprise (upsammy & Piezo) Live, Molina and Sepehr Live Band, making this one of the most adventurous nights Dekmantel Into The City. 

Known to many as the producer Vegyn, Joe Thornalley explores a far more introspective world through his Headache project. Swapping crisp electronic beats for drifting ambience, fractured trip-hop textures and delicate melodies, Headache feels like reading someone else's diary in the middle of the night. Adding another fascinating layer are the lyrics by Francis Hornsby Clark, delivered not by a human voice but through AI, creating an uncanny tension between deeply personal storytelling and synthetic performance. It's one of the most original live concepts to emerge in recent years, and this Amsterdam debut promises to be every bit as emotionally affecting as it is sonically adventurous.

There are few artists whose influence on electronic music is as profound as Juan Atkins. As one of the architects of Detroit techno, his work with Model 500, Cybotron and the Belleville Three helped shape an entire musical movement. Under the INFINITI alias, however, Atkins ventures even further into abstract territory, combining futuristic machine funk with atmospheric depth and unmistakable elegance. Thirty years after the release of The Infiniti Collection, he revives the project not as an exercise in nostalgia, but as proof that truly visionary music never stands still. Seeing Atkins perform as INFINITI is more than witnessing a legend; it's experiencing techno's past, present and future in one performance.

This might be your favourite new band: NEW YORK. The London-based duo – Coumba Samba and Gretchen Lawrence – quickly gained cult attention with their debut album No Sleep Till NY, hailed as one of 2022’s standout discoveries for its icy electro surfaces, body-shaking reggaeton rhythms, and brazenly filthy lyricism. Hot on the heels of their 2025 record Push, a release that pushes their dark, bracing, and deliciously uncanny sound into deeper waters, NEW YORK continue to blur the lines between pop immediacy and experimental intent. Too smart and elusive to sit comfortably inside 'indie revivalist' narratives, NEW YORK operate on their own terms – where pop, club pressure, and visual art intuition intersect.

Few records have left as deep a mark on modern electronic music as Psychic. Released in 2013, Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington's debut as DARKSIDE became an instant landmark, dissolving the boundaries between psychedelic rock, techno, minimal, jazz and dub into something entirely their own. Following a lengthy hiatus, the project returned stronger than ever with Spiral in 2021, later expanding into a trio with drummer Tlacael Esparza. On stage, DARKSIDE are renowned for immersive performances that unfold with remarkable patience, gradually building towards moments of breathtaking intensity. A perfect addition to Dekmantel Into The City.

Death In Vegas is the influential, long-running project of Richard Fearless, a British musician who has spent the last three decades moving between rock, psychedelia and techno with little concern for categorisation. While the group’s early releases sat closer to big beat and band dynamics, later work became increasingly minimal, hypnotic and club-informed (Fearless himself started out as a resident DJ at London’s Job Club in the ’90s). Across their prolific output, including multiple LPs, atmosphere-building and a brooding sense of repetition are ever present. 

Dekmantel Into The City offers a rare opportunity to experience unique visions of electronic music under one roof. If there's one night that captures the adventurous heart of Dekmantel beyond the festival itself, this is it. Secure your tickets and dive into the full line-up of July 30.