Hardwell’s Full-Circle Story: His Start At Ultra Miami To Headlining Its 25th Anniversary

Photo Credit: GERARD HENNIGERHardwell is coming out of hibernation.

The 37-year-old Dutch DJ makes this declaration, looking anything but sleepy, during our chat from his studio in his Netherlands hometown of Breda on a late January afternoon. Each year since coming out of his self-imposed four-year sabbatical in 2022, he uses the winter months to work, work, work, preparing for the festival season to come. And this year, he’s had his nose particularly close to the grindstone for a reason: not only is he the closing DJ for Ultra Music Festival’s 25^th anniversary in Miami, but it’s also a major full circle moment in his own career given that it was at Ultra Miami that he made his debut in 2012.

Hardwell — né Robbert van de Corput — was just 21 when he debuted his tectonic tune “Spaceman” on the Ultra Miami stage, making not only a name for himself, but a major impact on the music industry to boot. With its buzzing, chainsaw-like synths, the tune is considered to be one of the most popular big room house tracks of all time. His first time on that stage — also his first trip to America — was such a momentous occurrence in his career that he can recall it with vivid detail, as if it were yesterday.

“It was transformative,” he admits. “I had never experienced any other EDM festivals or clubs outside of Europe at the time, so it felt completely different. That was just before the EDM bubble exploded and dance music was all over the States.”

He refers me to an interview he did with the Ultra team immediately after taking the stage for the first time. He was a kid, flushed, sweaty, beaming with joy, speechless with emotion. Looking back at that first set, and seeing how palpable his excitement was, is pretty wild for Hardwell. It serves as a reminder of how much has changed, how far he’s come, and how he’s very much still doing exactly what he set out to do — something he loves. “They interviewed me as one of the new, up-and-coming guys, and not even two years later, I became the number one DJ in the world,” he marvels. “It’s super funny to see the whole rise of Ultra and my own career.”

Hardwell rode that wave like a pro since that career-defining set, being named the world’s top DJ not once, but twice; headlining not just worldwide Ultra festivals in destinations like Japan, Australia, Bali, Taiwan, Peru, Chile, and across Europe, but also the likes of EDC Las Vegas, Electric Zoo Festival, and Pacha NYC, among others. He’s had residencies at major Las Vegas night and day clubs like Hakkasan, Wet Republic, and Omnia; sold out Madison Square Garden with his 2013-14 I Am Hardwell tour; is an innovator in tech, becoming  the first DJ to launch a Facebook Messenger bot, and then later, repeating this with his own WhatsApp Bot. He was also the first DJ to premiere new music via the music mobile app Shazam — and, more recently, partnered with Apple to launch his first Producer Pack, a sample pack for producers, available via GarageBand and Logic Pro, which aims to inspire aspiring artists and producers and enhance their musical creativity and skills. He has also become known as a philanthropist thanks to his World’s Biggest Guestlist concerts, which have funded the education of over 120,000 children in India.

Photo Credit: KOEN AKKERMANS

But if he had to pinpoint one moment in his career trajectory that has made the most impact, it would be this particular festival. Twenty-twelve was his debut, but the following year was “the set that changed everything,” a turning point that solidified his reputation as a headliner and house music visionary. That year, his mainstage set became one of the most-watched in festival history, with over 35 million views on YouTube. It even famously crashed the Ultra livestream servers and saw Hardwell trending worldwide on Twitter (which also helped him take home that #1 DJ title later that year).

He has used the festival as a place to debut new music and reinvent himself time and time again. It is where he showcased the peak of big-room house in 2015, premiering tracks from his debut album United We Are; where he did a 360-degree livestream of his set during the label party of his Revealed Recordings at Nikki Beach in 2016; and where, in 2018, his performance achieved a staggering 1.6 million views in less than two weeks.

This year will be slightly different. Not that he’s doing anything outside of the norm, mind, but it’s a big moment in his career trajectory. The ante has to be upped given that it’s the 25^th anniversary of the festival, and he’s been given the major responsibility of closing it. But there’s no stress here; for Hardwell, heading to Ulta is like “coming home.” He’s ready.

“I’ve been spending a lot of time in the studio, day in and day out, preparing for this, and so, I have a lot of stuff planned for this year, actually,” he admits. “I have a lot of new music from my label, Revealed Recordings, and I’m creating a lot of new edits. Basically, 80 or 90 percent of the set is music I’ve never played out anywhere before — including my new single, “Sanctuary.””

He notes that, while it’s always nerve-wracking to debut new music, it’s also one of the most rewarding parts of his career. “At the end of the day, I’m still a DJ and have to educate the crowd with new stuff, which is actually one of the best parts of my job.”

It’s also not unfamiliar territory. After taking a self-imposed sabbatical from 2018 to 2022, Hardwell made his grand return to music at Ultra Miami, and for the first time ever, played nothing but new music. He didn’t know how the crowd would react and was terrified that he might fall or fail — especially because it was the first time that he hadn’t played his signature tune, “Spaceman.” But the crowd went wild; they were just happy to have him back.

So, as nervous as Hardwell might think he is now pales in comparison to what he’s faced in the past. And truthfully, he’s more excited than he is anxious to show off the things he’s spent those winter months of hibernation working on.

Photo Credit: GERARD HENNIGER

“When I create something really exciting in the studio, the first thing that comes to my mind is that I want to get on a stage and play it live. This is what I live for, playing new music and seeing the crowd’s reaction. It’s the best feeling in the world, seeing everything that you’ve composed come to life.”

This is especially true because Hardwell has truly been putting in the work — constantly striving to innovate in the tech space and top himself. Besting other DJs isn’t as important as creating something new and fresh that he himself can be proud of.

“I love innovation; I love the future,” he enthuses. “I think electronic dance music has always been about pushing boundaries. We have new synthesizers, new ways to design sound. It’s never been as easy to incorporate stuff like new drum sounds. A lot of up-and-coming guys are making the most amazing music ever, just with a MacBook. You don’t need tons of equipment to be good anymore. You don’t even need proper speakers. Just download your favorite software, get some headphones, and you’re good to go. It’s never been as easy as it is right now to become a DJ and music producer.”

This would give me cause for concern, but he’s not sweating it — he’s already established, after all. “For breaking through, it’s a bad thing, because there’s never been so much competition as there is right now. I think it’s great though, because everybody with a little bit of talent and drive can become a great producer. Back in the day, if you’re talking 80s and 90s, you had to buy equipment and speakers, spend about $300,000, and work in a proper studio to actually make a little bit of music. Now you can create from anywhere, with simple tools. It’s definitely a good thing.”

Similarly, AI doesn’t worry him either. “Snow Engine is making full music — singing, songwriting, everything you want. But the great thing about electronic music is that it’s always pushing boundaries, and AI is always trying to catch up. AI can’t come up with anything truly ‘new’; it’s always doing what’s already been done. I think that’s one of the most important things when it comes to dance music, being forward-thinking. AI can try to imitate that, but it’s always four steps behind. Right now, at least,” he amends. “I don’t know about the future, but at the moment it’s still behind, which is a good thing for us DJs; it makes us more relevant.”

Relevance, I think, is not a problem that Hardwell has ever had to contend with. He agrees. “As a producer and DJ, I’m always really forward-thinking. I try to innovate every single day, coming up with new sounds and edits; I’m definitely not lazy. As a DJ, I always try to come up with different transitions and different ideas. It doesn’t take a lot of time to be innovative. I like to trigger myself to always be a better version of myself, both as a DJ and as a person. We, as human beings, have the capacity to learn every single day, and I think it’s really important to do that. It’s really important to make mistakes, too.”

He smiles then, wide and guilelessly, before saying, “If you don’t make mistakes, you’re definitely a boring person. Personally, I like mistakes, because you can learn something from them.”

That seems to be Hardwell in a nutshell: an innovator through and through, who I think we can all agree is certainly anything but boring.

WHEN YOU’VE BEEN ONE OF THE WORLD’S TOP DJS for almost two decades, suffice it to say, you’ve seen, done, and learned a lot — and some lessons are more important than others. And for Hardwell, the greatest lesson he’s personally learned is a simple one.

“I know it sounds a bit cliché, but I think not getting caught up with all the tension and pressure — actually enjoying the moment — is the most important thing. When you’ve been working on something for months — there’s a ton of preparation and pressure that goes into a one-hour set with the music and the visuals — sometimes it’s hard to remember how much fun it is being there on stage and just performing. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that I can actually enjoy the moment instead of being just so focused on [the minutiae].”

Hardwell took a much-documented, often-discussed sabbatical between 2018 and 2022, but not for the reasons one might think. He wasn’t burned out, depressed, and so on — but he did need to put things in perspective and make that which he had always wished to do his dream again.

“When I took my sabbatical in 2018, it wasn’t because I didn’t like playing; I love playing. It’s my favorite thing to do along with performing,” he insists. “But I think the whole sabbatical was a step back, a way to rethink my career, be grateful for it, and take some more time for my private life. I’m 37 now; I’m literally at that age where my friends and family members are getting married, having kids, and everything. I was just gigging around the world. I wanted some time to be there with the people I love and reflect on my career. It was never about not liking music anymore — I was still making music — and it wasn’t about burnout; it was more about reflecting. To grow as an artist, sometimes you have to take two steps back to take one giant step forward.”

He says he traveled a lot, spent copious time with the aforementioned family and friends, did things for himself that he hadn’t had the chance to do whilst playing 200 shows a year. But also, he never intended to take a four-year break. The pandemic, unfortunately, had other plans.

“It was like all of a sudden the world was stuck, so it took four years for my comeback,” he says, but with his typically optimistic attitude declares that it wasn’t the disaster (musically, at least) that it could have been. “For me, personally, it was a good thing. I didn’t get distracted by other DJs or where they were playing, because there were no festivals, no shows at all. Everything I made during that period was basically my own, my thoughts and inspiration. Looking back at [the album I made during that time, 2022’s REBELS NEVER DIE], it will always be something special.”

Photo Credit: GERARD HENNIGER

Of the album, a bold and uncompromising body of work that fused hard-edged nostalgia with forward-thinking sound design, highlighted by tracks like “Broken Mirror” and “Into the Unknown” that combine raw emotion with danceability, he says, “I think it’s really weird how it came together. Normally, I use the fans’ reactions when I’m on stage as my biggest inspiration, but without doing any shows or festivals, I had to do things in a different way.”

Bringing things full circle yet again, he debuted his entirely new music at Miami’s Ultra Music Festival in 2022 to a shocked and delighted crowd, who embraced his new sound — a shift from big-room house to darker, more techno-infused music. And all of a sudden, he was back with a bang, an accompanying 20-date world tour featuring sold-out shows across continents, a renewed vigor for his lifestyle of choice, and a clever way of having his cake and eating it, too.

“I think balance is the key; it makes everything fun to do,” he shares. “When I was doing 200 shows a year and my fans expected new music, I wasn’t even able to create it because when I was back in the studio, I was completely exhausted — and when you’re exhausted, you don’t have any inspiration. It’s a downwards spiral. You’re getting frustrated because you’re not making any new music, and you know you have to travel again next week. It was always like living with pressure.”

But since he took that much-needed break, it’s all gravy again; the world feels brand-new. “Now, I don’t feel the pressure — I just feel like a lot of fun and enjoyment. I can make new music. I have time for everything that I love to do and for me, that is key.”

Now, instead of 200 shows a year, he’s doing 100. He’s continuing to make new and innovative music, collaborating with the likes of Afrojack, Space 92, Maddix, Nicky Romero, Timmy Trumpet, Armin van Buuren, and Sub Zero Project, while creating remixes for artists such as David Guetta, Benny Benassi, Calvin Harris, and Ellie Goulding. He returned to his “Hardwell On Air” radio show, and began streaming his Hardwell YouTube channel, and began to place a heavier focus on his label, Revealed Recordings. He also has the monthly broadcasted show “Hardwell Presents Euphoria” on Tomorrowland’s One World Radio, and is actively working on new collaborations, inclusive of a new track with Maddix.

Basically, he’s doing it all — and that’s because he’s found that sweet spot, that much-needed balance of career and life that we all strive for. It’s a major accomplishment to have found it, to be sure.

“I want to give everything 200 percent, my full energy,” he insists. “I can only do that — be on stage, make new music, do my radio show, do interviews, run my record label, enjoy my private life, work out, and not be exhausted all the time — by finding that balance. It’s something I was always struggling with, and right now, I have it; I can enjoy everything that I love to do the most. I don’t need to take another break — I don’t want to ease up — because I’m really happy. I love the lifestyle. It’s not for everybody; DJs don’t deal with jet lag. DJs are the jet lag; we live in all the time zones. So, you really have to love what you do to actually do this job, but I wouldn’t change it for anything else.”

Practicing mindfulness has helped him achieve this epiphany, and as such, is something he actively tries to employ. “I’m always trying to live in the present, enjoy what’s happening right now, because I’m all about energy and how everything feels. I try to reflect that in my music and even when I’m performing on stage,” he says, noting that for where he’s at in life now, it’s less about having that kind of monster success he had with “Spaceman” or being named the world’s top DJ — it’s about enjoying the ride, and taking pride in his work.

“It’s always nice to see tracks doing really well streaming-wise, and I know this is going to sound cliché, but when I finish a song and am super happy about it, that’s already a success factor. I’ve created something new that satisfied me that I hope a lot of people will enjoy as much as I do.”

And so, when he shares that this moment in time is not so much a new chapter, but a continuation of his story, it makes perfect sense. “It’s a never-ending chapter, a never-ending story. When I did my [2022 comeback world tour] with REBELS NEVER DIE, I was able to play the festivals again, and actually be able to enjoy my comeback — all of that feels like a never-ending story. Every day, I need and try to be a better version of myself, and I keep working really hard on that. I always try to be a better version of myself, as a person, and as a DJ. I’m really grateful for everything that’s happened in my career, and especially what’s happening right now. I always go to the studio with a big smile.”

He’s even smiling now as he reflects on the 14-year-old kid he was when he got his start, the kid who signed his first record deal before skyrocketing into global consciousness, maintaining, “This was my dream, and basically, I’m still living my dream — the one I had even as a little kid. The only thing I wanted to do was create music and play shows around the world. And now, I’m actually living that dream; it’s my full-time job. I’m really proud of that, and I’m really grateful.”

He’s especially grateful to be coming home to Ultra in its 25^th year, and to have that clutch closing gig to boot — especially in lieu of that four-year hiatus. “I never missed an edition of Ultra besides those during my sabbatical, obviously. Their trust in closing down the festival is a really big honor, and it means a lot to me that I’ve been able to come full circle. I promise that I’m definitely going to nail every expectation.” He pauses. “You know, I’ve been there on the main stage for I don’t know how many times, but every time, it’s nerve-wracking in the best way possible. I get those butterflies in my stomach; I get excited. It makes all the preparations, all the time, every second, worth it.”   

Photo Credit: ALIVECOVERAGE

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