Hardwell fans, we hope you are ready for next Saturday! Over the past few weeks, Hardwell has played seven exclusive shows as part of his North American tour, I Am Hardwell. Next Saturday, November 15, Hardwell will close out the tour, as Madison Square Garden is his last stop, and we know it will be crazy! Having been named #1 DJ by DJ Mag Top 100 DJ’s for two years in a row, Hardwell is a force to be reckoned with, and his music has become popular amongst nearly everyone. From hearing his songs on the radio, to seeing him headline world renowned festivals across the world, Hardwell has proven that hard work and dedication truly pay off. Be sure to grab your tickets to see Hardwell at Madison Square Garden next Saturday, November 15, here, before it is too late! Hardwell recently had a chance to sit down with Your EDM for an exclusive interview regarding his I Am Hardwell North American Tour, and the Q&A came out incredible. Check out the full interview here, and take a look at some of our favorite interview questions and answers after the jump!
How is “I Am Hardwell” different from regular shows or festivals?
The biggest difference is, when I get booked at a festival I only play for like an hour, max hour and a half, with the “I Am Hardwell” show I play 3 hours. Within the 3 hours I have the opportunity to play my older tracks and build up the night even more, when I get booked for a festival for an hour its more like a Hardwell showcase or Revealed Recordings showcase, compared to the “I Am Hardwell” show. I can play more bits of older Hardwell, more progressive stuff, and build up to one big climax. There is space for my older records as well, it’s really like a concert. If you go to a concert like for a big pop artist, they’re performing all the songs as well, which I’m actually doing the same on the “I Am Hardwell” show.
What inspired you to make an album instead of releasing more singles?
Well I think it’s kind of boring in general to ya know, copy a latest hit, like a template you know just keep doing exactly what you did before. I always try to do things differently, in the end everything I make is dancefloor minded, especially the songs I did in the past. With the album I feel like I have more musical freedom and I can explore more boundaries and music styles. It’s all dance, they’re all dance songs. Even within dance, with deep house and some more pop vocals, also more underground music. I think I feel more free to explore those things on an album.
Do you explore any genres or styles people wouldn’t expect from you?
At this point definitely, the album is a wide scale of different styles, I always hate to put certain songs in a certain box. I always like to think really out of the box, combine the best of different worlds and actually its a combination from whatever, more deep music, I don’t wanna say deep house but more deep underground feelings, to even hardstyle minded tracks to everything in between.
What’s the best part about running your own label?
To me personally, working with the label, it’s really inspirational. All these young kids have such amazing talent, and to be on top of all the new upcoming sounds, it works as an inspiration for me. Besides that, on festivals, it’s kind of true a lot of DJs are playing the same tracks now over and over, and I think even with the label I try to push new music instead of playing the major big hits, that are already being played the whole day of the festival.
Who is your favorite person to collaborate and make music with?
That’s a really good one, I think every artist has their own special thing if you work with them, I really like to work with Dyro because he’s such a geek in the studio. He’s always trying to come up with different sounds, I think you can tell by just listening to his productions. He’s really a geek if it comes to the technique of producing songs. I really like and enjoy being in the studio with him, we never make songs we just tweak sounds and share tips and tricks about synthesizers.
How do you interact with fans more at “I Am Hardwell” than a regular show?
Since I’m on stage for 3 hours and like 60-70% of the show is synced up to visuals, it’s really more intimate. It’s more like a Hardwell experience than just me on a stage at a festival, it’s different. Every song has its own feeling and sometimes when you hear a song, certain feelings of the song, a certain emotion and atmosphere and you try to actually create an atmosphere by the lights and the visuals and everything. I think for a Hardwell fan this is the ultimate Hardwell experience.
