Oscar Axhede on the infamous ADE Cookoff

Oct 12

6 Min Read

ANDREA LUBRANO

Last spring the DJ Cookbook had a chat with Oscar Axhede, the co-founder and brand manager of Urbanears- the Swedish headphone company-, on their sponsoring of the Amsterdam Dance Event DJ Cook-Off. Here’s what we learned:

Q: Why get involved with ADE and food when you’re a headphone, fashion empire?

A: It all came about at ADE 2014 when we were in Amsterdam for the first time. With Urbanears we try to do things a little bit differently- which might sound pretentious- but being a small size company if you compare it to: Beats, Sony, Sennheiser or any other massive company. We need to have our own take on whatever we do and dance music, especially, has been very important to us as a genre. Personally, it has played a big role in my life since the mid-90’s so ADE was a natural music nitche for us. And the cook-off seemed like a organic way to meet people; its removed from the bigger parties, plus we don’t feel like we’re trying to win anyones battles.

Q: So we heard you guys were also riding around the Dam with a food truck and a massive sound system? Tell us about that.

A: Yes, we rode around 4 nights in a row with different record labels and Dj’s. We would eventually park the truck, serve food, play tracks and party until the cops would come and kick us out. I think we got about 4 or 5 fines through out those 4 nights, but it was worth it.

Q: What kinds of food did you guys serve on the truck?

A: Mini-Burgers, Pizza Slices, and a Thai inspired bowl, but we changed it around between the different nights.

Q: How did you get Dj’s involved?

A: Through our contacts we were able to get people out like San Soda, Carlos Valdes, Wouter de Moor and Zoo Brasil to name a few.

Q: What did you learn from doing your first cook-off and what do you have planned for next?

A: Well, we introduced a female participant: Sanna Engdahl aka La Fleur. Before it was just a sausage fest, and also we made Seth Troxler a judge. The audience was getting tired of watching Seth win three years in a row. For the most part we have no issues getting Dj’s involved in this project, there are many that want to get involved. For next year, there will be no food truck but more sophisticated style parties with food and music. During the day it will be an experiential space for people to enjoy and nourish their hangovers and at night it will be an invite only dinner party. And we’ll also do the Cook-off, of course!