In an era where techno is increasingly aestheticized, Upclose makes a radical move: it tightens the circle, dims the lights, and brings the audience “up close.” The 2025 edition held in Houtrak at Spaarnwoude park, reaffirms the Dutch giant’s intention to redraw the coordinates of European club culture. At the center: connection. Connection between bodies, moving undistracted. Connection between sound and space, calibrated with almost tactile precision. Forget towering stages and mainstream festival stage designs. Upclose is exactly what it promises: an event designed to recreate the primal tension of the dancefloor. The artist is no longer an untouchable icon but a vivid, tangible presence. The booth sits at crowd level, the sound system is tuned to hit the diaphragm, and the lighting – often minimal – shapes an emotional rather than spectacular landscape.

This was made clear during the welcome lunch, the convivial moment that opened the festival: Upclose is not just a name, it’s much more. A return to the essence of clubbing as a collective, intimate, almost sacred ritual. No wall between performer and listener, no VIP lanes for the show, but a shared space where the experience is built together, moment by moment. Distance dissolves. Identity fades. Only rhythm remains. Right then, between toasts and shared plates, we got a preview of what was to come: a sonic map that doesn’t just assign DJs to stages, but constructs living, emotional places. So began the infamous two-day journey: intense, immersive, designed as an almost ritual path through the festival grounds. Upclose 2025 unfolded through a constellation of stages, each with a strong identity, conceived as autonomous sensory devices.

Area.01 was the festival’s beating heart, the only indoor stage, featuring a spectacular light design: a mobile beam of light extended from the booth across the entire room, shifting and matching the mood of each artist. A powerful visual experience, orchestrated like a luminous score. Here, major names took turns: the hypnotic Luigi Tozzi, the sensual Alarico, the dark Oscar Mulero, and the alien Jeff Mills, along with unique and notable b2bs: JakoJako & Philippa Pacho, Marrøn & Rødhåd, Beste Hira & Yanamaste, Rrose & Surgeon, Donato Dozzy & Jane Fitz. A space where everything seemed to converge into one dense collective vibration.

Area.24, nestled in a small woodland clearing, was the most intimate and circular stage – both in sound and layout. A green, secluded sanctuary, ideal for introspective, hypnotic sets that seemed to breathe with nature itself. Time became liquid. Sculpting this sonic landscape: Orbe & Psyk, Force Reaction aka Kaisse & Kwartz, Anne & Shdw, Stranger & Truncate, Marcal & Yant. A perfect place to get lost – and found – among trees, deep kicks, and invisible connections.

Area.97 was the largest and most isolated outdoor stage: a massive sonic arena marked by mirrored poles scattered across the dancefloor, reflecting sunlight and bodies, breaking them into fragments. A constantly shifting visual landscape, where sound matter intertwined with light matter. High-intensity sets ruled here: Blasha & Allatt & Tasha, Stef Mendesidis, Adiel & Ogazón, Ben Klock & Ignez, Anetha & Patrick Mason, Modeselektor. A distorted mirror of the present: reflective, powerful, uncompromising.