The annual Amsterdam Dance Event was loosely based on the Miami Winter Music Conference model: a dance music industry conference with a club festival attached to it. What began as a conference for 300 dance music professionals (yes, they do exist) in 1996 has swelled to over 2,000 – with a similar number of DJs playing at over 80 venues across the city during the week. The pros will tell you its the best place to do business, make new contacts and seal deals, while any clubber who has been will know it offers a more impressive breadth and quality of line-up than any other event in electronic music.

The festivities kick off late in the afternoon, with Boiler Room and Dixon & Âme both hosting secret sessions and KOMPAKT hosting three days of in-stores at the Oz studio space in the Red Light District. Although I didn’t make it to any of them (sometimes you need a bit of a lie down after rushing around the conference all day), they are well worth seeking out for some under the radar warm-up action.

The party that caught my eye on Wednesday was South African hero Black Coffee and the legendary Joe Claussell going back-to-back all night at the intimate Sugar Factory off the Leidseplein. Generally a techno-focused club, their occasional house specials are of great repute – and this was no different. I’d never had the pleasure of hearing Black Coffee, but it’s safe to say he’s shot straight to the top of my favourite DJs list on the basis of this performance. Seriously. This guy is ridiculous.

The borders between soulful and afro house can often be populated by overly-saccharine, slightly cheesy gear – but he digs deep into the African house music underground and its myriad sub-genres to present a sound that is incredibly classy, polished yet punchy. Slick tribal rhythms – in the vein of the sort of galloping stuff Dixon likes to roll out – are topped with beautiful vocals and African motifs, with a dash of techy stabs and a slow-building attitude. Like Osunlade but a bit more epic and focused. His work on the mixer is similarly impressive. Joe Claussell also plays some gems, but the contrast in energy at times is quite stark. Perhaps not the best pairing for a back-to-back, but superb music all night long nonetheless. A smiley, diverse crowd in attendance too.

Thursday night comes and its time for me to bid a fond farewell to Trouw: the city’s best club over the last few years that feels a bit like fabric transported into a former newspaper printing factory. Down in the cavernous, dark De Verdieping basement, the Clone Records crew bang out some freaky acid before Leon Vynehall steals the show. In the long, narrow, tall main room, Midland is resplendent, flitting between hook-driven techno and rolling grooves like his own Duster. Trouw closes on January 3. Get there while you can, or you’ll regret. I’m going to miss that place big time.

Friday night is the time for some clubhopping – or so we hoped. We head back to the Sugar Factory for MN2S’ excellent party, with Kon dropping edits of ‘70s/’80s classics, Soul Clap serving up supremely dope house and Jazzy Jeff doing his party-starting thing with all manner of hip-hop, R&B, disco, funk and more. It’s a great party but Sugar Factory gets seriously hot and sweaty – so we leave a bit before 3 AM to go and check out DJ Koze’s PAMPA Records party at De Marktkantine. Sadly it’s full and the bouncer won’t let any more ADE delegates in. Downtrodden, we head home and call it a night. Still, one great party isn’t bad, is it?

I barely scratched the surface of ADE this year but had a blast nonetheless and heard some incredibly inspiring music. Go next year, do your research and get stuck in to one of the most unique events the clubbing world has to offer.