On Scene: Mason On Amsterdam's Hidden Bars, Creative Spirit And The Return Of Nite Rites
- Undrtone Blog
- 4 hours ago
- 4 min read
Amsterdam has always occupied a unique position within European electronic music. It is a city that can feel both global and intimate at the same time, where world-famous clubs sit alongside centuries-old bars, and where creative communities continue to thrive despite constant change. For Mason, it is also the only place that has ever truly felt like home.
The Dutch producer has spent more than two decades building a career that comfortably moves between underground club culture and crossover success. From the enduring legacy of 'Exceeder' to releases on labels including Armada, Club Sweat and his own Animal Language imprint, he has consistently followed his own instincts rather than wider trends. That independent mindset sits at the heart of the recently revived Nite Rites series, a project that gives him complete freedom to release the stranger, more uncompromising ideas that might not fit elsewhere.
Yet while the music continues to evolve, the backdrop remains the same.
"I'm Amsterdam born and based and indeed the only place I call home," he says. "I've had my share of touring and travelling, but Amsterdam has this wonderful combination of being small and intimate while still having everything to offer that a cosmopolitan global city has."
That balance is something Mason returns to repeatedly when talking about the city. Despite being one of Europe's most recognisable destinations, Amsterdam still retains the feeling of a place where creative communities remain connected. With fewer than a million residents, it never feels overwhelming, yet continues to function as the cultural and artistic centre of the Netherlands.
Much of Mason's own development as an artist can be traced back to The Sugar Factory, home of the influential Electronation parties he helped build during the 2000s. Although the venue no longer exists in its original form, its influence remains firmly woven into Amsterdam's clubbing history.
"We used to run these club nights called Electronation in The Sugar Factory," he recalls. "I spent silly amounts of hours in all corners of that club. We must have thrown over a hundred parties there, flying in dozens of artists we loved."
While international guests often grabbed the headlines, it was the residents who left the deepest impression.
"Those nights shaped me massively. Not just the big international names, but especially our residents, who were pushing really fresh, original sounds."
The experience helped shape the way he still approaches music today. Curiosity, experimentation and individuality have remained central themes throughout his career, qualities that continue to define projects such as Nite Rites.
Away from the city's clubs, some of Mason's favourite experiences happen in places most visitors never discover. He speaks enthusiastically about Amsterdam's traditional brown bars, historic pubs where very little appears to have changed for decades.
"We've got these places called brown bars. They're kind of living history," he says. "Time stands still there, both in the décor and the crowd."
Rather than simply visiting them, Mason and the Animal Language crew have turned them into unlikely venues for their now-famous Kafe Rave events. The concept is beautifully simple. A mobile sound system, several hundred ravers and a route linking multiple bars across the city.
"We roll up with a few hundred ravers and a mobile sound system, hit four of these bars in one night, and completely take over each bar for an hour. It's chaos in the very best way."
It's a concept that feels distinctly Amsterdam. Respectful of tradition while simultaneously finding new ways to challenge it.
When he's not making music or organising spontaneous parties, Mason's relationship with Amsterdam becomes noticeably quieter. Running has become his preferred way to reset, particularly after years spent touring.
"I got into ultra running after I was done with regular marathons," he says.
Rather than staying within the city itself, he heads north towards the Dutch countryside, where fishing villages, open fields and endless horizons replace traffic and nightlife.
"You have these little fisherman villages there, as well as endless grass fields, cows, windmills. Well, kind of what you expect from the Netherlands."
The contrast between those peaceful landscapes and the intensity of club life perhaps explains why Amsterdam continues to provide such fertile ground for creativity. It offers space for both reflection and expression, often within a remarkably short distance of one another.
That duality also appears in the neighbourhoods Mason feels most connected to. Jordaan remains particularly important, having been home for much of his adult life.
"Jordaan is the old neighbourhood at the core of what Amsterdam culture used to be," he says. "It's still a lovely village feel, with little streets filled with boutiques, bars, fashion and food stores."
Having spent twenty-five years there, he knows every corner intimately. Yet he is also aware that many visitors leave with an entirely different impression of the city.
"People often see it as this Vegas-style sin city, which really doesn't do it justice."
Instead, he points towards a more nuanced version of Amsterdam. One shaped by its communities, neighbourhoods and cultural diversity rather than its tourist attractions.
"Amsterdam is a real mosaic. Over 180 nationalities in one city. That mix makes it super open-minded, progressive and creatively charged."
It is perhaps the most revealing answer of the entire conversation. For an artist whose music has never sat comfortably within one genre, the appeal of a city built on different perspectives feels obvious.
As Nite Rites enters a new phase, Amsterdam remains woven into every part of Mason's creative life. The clubs that shaped him, the bars he continues to transform into dancefloors, the streets he knows by heart and the landscapes he escapes to all continue to feed into the music. Like the city itself, Nite Rites thrives on curiosity, unpredictability and the idea that the most interesting experiences often happen slightly outside the obvious path.
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