TWO EVES
NEW YEAR’S
A TALE OF
“B
oth shows were combined with my artists like Dannic and Dyro. You know,
the artists I manage on my label Revealed. And tonight we have Sick
Individuals and Firebeatz as well. All those guys are releasing on my label.
It’s funny to have two shows with my own friends in Canada,” says Robbert van
de Corput, better known as Hardwell.
Minutes into the new year, well wishes, hugs and handshakes go all around.
I standby watching equipment and luggage being shuffled from the private
charter to the vehicles that will drive us about twenty-five minutes to the venue,
Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver. Solid Events’ NYE celebration is already in full swing
with a sell-out crowd. Hardwell is set to play at 1a.m.; the timing is going to be
tight but at 12:20a.m. on New Year’s Eve, the roads are ghostly.
I settle into the same car as Hardwell and his girlfriend Yanicke. They joke that
the new year rolled in while departing from Calgary, and that with the time zone
shifting an hour back (moving from MST to PST) they’re seeing the new year for
the second time in Vancouver.
“I think everybody knows I have big love for Canada. You know we did like a major
bus tour last year. [Laughs] Well, last year. That sounds weird. Canada was one of
the first countries to support my music so it’s always a big honour for me to be
here and play for this crowed,” says Hardwell.
The time zone difference is the only reason he’s able to play two shows in two
major Canadian cities in one night. Calgary’s Union Events’ “Glitter and Gold NYE”
party had Hardwell as the prelude, a task he isn’t too familiar with these days. I
ask him what the atmosphere was like. “It was not a full crowd but the energy was
definitely amazing. I think within a half hour the whole room filled up,” he says.
Despite the early set time of 9p.m. MST and his low expectations, the show proves
to be a perfect kick off to the night. “…I really love to DJ and with that it means if I
play early, I play an early set. So I respected Dyro who played after me and I played
not like all the big bangers, I just played like a proper warm up set for him,”
he says.
To the Dutch DJ/producer it is a welcome reminder of his humble beginnings. The
world has seen a 14-year old boy-wonder go from playing the club circuit in
Holland with his parents standing by as guardians to, in 2013, being crowned the
world’s #1 DJ in the DJ Mag Top 100. Still, I had to ask him what were the standout
moments of the past year that saw so much elevation for Hardwell.
“Those are like two things,” he says. “Definitely my concert, I AM Hardwell. You
know, I did so many gigs in my life but finally launching my own concerts all
around the world, it’s truly been amazing. And of course the DJ Mag nomination
as the #1 DJ in the world, that was like my top moment of 2013.”
I did in 2013…that’s the only resolution I have,” he says showing his normalcy in
the most popularly shared resolution.
However, hitting the gym might be getting tougher for this jet-setting world #1.
A life often viewed as a persona from the outside, and not from the inside, is
something Hardwell is setting out to change. He’s offering a look into his journey
over the past three years in the documentary I Am Hardwell.
I ask what made him decide to do a film, a big departure from the exclusive clubs
and privacy most DJ/producers demand. He credits videographer Robin Piree as
the mastermind behind this collaborative project.
“...ever ybody
knows I have
a big love for
Canada.”
“Robin is a good friend of mine, we’re living in the same city in Holland, Breda.
I needed some movies, some footage for YouTube. I wanted to release my tracks
with a nice teaser so I took him with me on the