For the last couple of years, Hardwell has been recognised by the industry as having a new and refreshing take on a scene that continues to evolve and seems to have an everlasting shelf life. His identity and musical development can be summed up in 3 words - “Big Room House”, having his unique trademark as a producer and DJ around this sound.
This talented genius, better known as Robbert van de Corput, played his first set at a friend's birthday party, when he was 12 years old in front of just 100 people. Hardwell’s talent was picked up by a Dutch label and they signed him when he was only 14 years old. Shortly after his label signing he started to play at all major clubs in the Netherlands.
Hardwell is known for his epic live sets that fill out venues and festivals worldwide. His live shows are phrased as state of the art, which UK fans have been lucky enough to experience.
Get a feel for what that elusive Hardwell experience entails - a full frontal assault on the senses, complete with out of this world visuals, insane lighting, pulverising sound systems, and a constant barrage of the very best big room progressive bangers!
Creamfields 2018
The four day festival celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2018 and showed everyone why it’s one of the biggest music festivals in the world. It's all about dance music at Creamfields, with some of the world's greatest DJs populating the festival line-up.
Hardwell treated the colossal crowd presence and millions of online viewers worldwide to never-before-heard releases, special edits and revolutionised remixes.
Opening up the iconic event with his unique collaboration with the Dutch Metropole Orkest, the unveiling of the tapestry of both dance and classical worlds, turned out to be one of the most epic intros at Creamfields 2018 as more than 150 musical layers connected in harmony.
"Conquerors" (Part 1) is a powerful fusion of striking orchestral melodies which build in anticipation into a flurry of synth licks and dominating percussion workouts. Part 2 provides an added impact of dancefloor-primed grunt ready to take his sets into overdrive and capture a whole new audience.
Hands up, hands up high, 'cause Bigroom Never Dies! - an absolute festival anthem in collaboration with Dutch producers Blasterjaxx , with a mash-up of the world-famous Red Hot Chilli Pepers's "Otherside". "Bigroom Never Dies" incorporates elements of multiple genres other than its prevalent big room sound, including hardstyle, house, and techno.
Hardwell decided to make everyone jump. In his collaboration with Maddix, the pair has taken inspiration from the Italian language for an all-out main stage, big room banger. "Bella Ciao" begins with a heavily filtered old-school Italian track. The ominous filtered track adds a new depth from the tune which was used as an Anti-Fascist song in Italy during the Second World War. Soon the track ramps up and explodes with an unbelievable big room drop. Also, a special bootleg of Eminem’s "Lose Yourself" (co-created with Maddix).
"Unity" - a huge hitter with Dimitri Vegas & Like MIke. Synths take the lead on the festival-sized boom that plays on hardstyle beats with a bouncy counter rhythm that is everything you'd expect from the Dutch master and the Belgian bros.
London 2018
Hardwell has played a massive gig at London’s Brixton Academy on 1st April. The Dutch producer and DJ brought his “Go Hardwell or Go Home” tour to the UK capital following the release of his “Hardwell & Friends” EP (premiered in the 350th episode of "Hardwell On Air").
The big room house emperor's newest venture, "Go Hardwell or Go Home", features all the things that have made him one of the best in the business - off the scale production, incendiary beats, seismic drops, hands in the air melodies and visuals aiding the stunning big room house arsenal Hardwell has become so world renowned for.
With each instalment offering fresh, diverse collaborations with some of the scene’s most in demand talents, Revealed’s "Hardwell & Friends" EP has become a fan favourite for showcasing some of the superb talent the imprint has to offer. Making no exception with Volume 3, the 5-track offering showcases material from the likes of Timmy Trumpet, Quintino, Sick Individuals, Jewelz & Sparks and Dr Phunk with the focus on bringing Revealed Recordings into 2018 in monumental fashion. For him, collaboration is the key to unlocking and nailing undiscovered sounds.
In 2018 Hardwell also released a track titled "Thunder" with Julian Calor, under the name Magnomite (first release under an alias) on Revealed Recordings.
Right after, he announced on Twitter that he has launched a new electronic pop sub-label titled "Gemstone Records", whose main goal is to promote new talents and reach a larger audience, while encompassing multiple genres such as deep house, future house, future bass and electro pop.
Manchester 2018
The twice winner of the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs returned to the Victoria Warehouse in Manchester for an essential instalment of his "Go Hardwell or Go Home" party, bringing with him his unmistakable blend of big room beats and high energy, hard-edge tracks alongside epic production.
Pulsating electro synths and big room 4/4 kicks fuse flawlessly with Kris Kiss' glossy melodies and crowd-rallying vocals on a track poised to take main stages by storm - "Anthem" (collab w. Steve Aoki).
My fans know that I love to deliver the biggest tracks in my sets and definitely from my studio, says Hardwell on the collaboration. I am always working to bring that anthemic vibe with my music. So what better DJ to pair up with in the studio than Steve to create a dancefloor banger that is every inch the 'Anthem' it says on the tin!
Hardwell's collaboration alongside UK based hotshot Harrison - "Earthquake". Built-in spectacular Revealed Recordings style, with the added combination of beautifully charged melodies and rolling synth work, the track comes in perfect time to continue its domination across the festival season and beyond. Made from the ground up with the dancefloor being the prime focus, "Earthquake" erupts from the offset with a seismic fusion of roaring grooves and huge vocals by Harrison.
On September 2018, Hardwell announced via his Instagram page that he would be clearing his touring schedule indefinitely to take time off for his personal life. He promised that he will still continue to produce new music and will never let it go.
Hardwell pursued to release a series of singles after his announcement: reggae-influenced "Light It Up" with Suyano, "Out Of This Town" with Vinai and Cam Meekins, and "Kicking It Hard". At the end of 2018, he released electronic pop-influenced single "How You Love Me" with Snoop Dogg and Conor Maynard.
Following the statement of his touring hiatus to focus on his personal life, Hardwell performed one last time (for the time being) on October 18 at the Ziggo Dome and brought out a full-blown orchestra. The performance was closed with a speech where he stated: Thank you so much, I will be back!
Birmingham 2012
Birmingham was lighted up in white as clubbers joined together for a spectacular evening. The White Party is renowned as the biggest Boxing Day party in the UK. Once again Gatecrasher was transformed into an oasis of white for what promises to be a never-to-be-forgotten Bank Holiday spectacular headlined by the Dutchman.
At only 23 his expertise and illustrious talent has catapulted him into the limelight as he joined world renowned Tiesto on his tour last year. This new kid on the block, with exceptional technical skills mastered by touring the world, has firmly cemented his status as a true pioneer in the dance music industry.
The young gun is already at the top of his game playing the main stage at Creamfields and releasing Beatport top ten hits including "Encoded", "The World" and "Cobra" through his own label Revealed. His storming collaboration with Tiësto on hit record "Zero 76" went to #1 on Beatport and received a huge amount of airplay worldwide.
Behind the decks Hardwell never fails to deliver, having performances all over the world from Sydney to Miami and Ibiza to London.
Leeds 2012
2012 was the Leeds debut of Dutch superstar Hardwell, the first of many "In Bed With" events.
Hardwell is again on top and joined forces with a Dutch wonder - Dannic. "Kontiki" is full of fire and has that special synth lead that stands out in every set. A mind blowing track, "Kontiki" has bigroom written all over it, starting off with some energetic stabs and a big room lead theme and some heavy basslines. Add the special Hardwell touch with heavy snare drums and climaxes to this and it's clear this is one tough banger. Dyro turned this track into a dancefloor destroyer, with his unique sound, banging electro progressive peaktime house. The buzz around "Kontiki" has been huge, landed high in the Miami Buzz Chart.
Dropping “Spaceman” in 2012, it quickly became Hardwell’s anthem, the perfect start to his epic sets on mainstages around the world. Mitch Crown provided the vocals for the track and it was re-named “Call Me A Spaceman”, as a second release.
The track also helped propel him, along with other releases like “Apollo” and “How We Do”, to reach monumental levels of popularity and inevitably giving him the #1 position on DJ Mag’s Top 100 the following year.
Edinburgh 2014
Having appeared in the UK just twice in 2014, the almighty star of EDM delivered his masterclass of partydom "I Am Hardwell" to Scotland's capital, in his biggest ever Scottish showcase.
Hardwell entertained the crowd with "Young Again” (feat. British singer Chris Jones), one of the songs he has released to for his upcoming album, "United We Are" (the official tracklist and cover of the album were announced at the end of 2014). The song was produced similar to "Dare You", not basing on big-room style, but basing on a melodious progressive house-drop.
Also, the track "Follow Me" which was recorded in collaboration with R&B-singer Jason Derulo. Hardwell says of the pairing: Getting the chance to work with Jason on this album was a dream moment for me. I’ve been a huge fan of his work for a long time now. I had the idea of the track I wanted to make with him for a while; combining my sound and style with his distinct voice and lyrical flair, it was always going to be something special. "Follow Me" has all the elements of a pop radio smash, from a high-profile featured vocalist (Jason Derulo) to a soaring, sing-along chorus.
"United We Are" is packed with high profile collaborations, Jason Derulo just being one of them. Hardwell has also worked with Tiesto, Fatman Scoop, Mr Probz and one of his regular contributors, Australian singer Amba Shepherd.
In 2014 Hardwell published the documentary "I Am Hardwell", which tells the story of his career. His life's motto is "If you can dream it, you can do it", because as a 16-year-old he dreamed of being the best DJ in the world.
At the same time, he announced his second world tour called "I Am Hardwell - United We Are".
In the DJ Mag placement, he held his No. 1 position for one more year.
