June 29, 2023 • 10 mins
Celebrating his North American and World tour, Hardwell shares how it has been coming back and doing live shows again! He also talks his new song “Acid”, and how it was born w/ Maddix & Luciana!!
Hardwell also takes on #FinkysFirsts!
Find out about:
Count down the biggest dance songs in the country every week with Brian Fink on America’s Dance 30; listen on dance stations around the world!
AmericasDance30.com
Hardwell also takes on #FinkysFirsts!
Find out about:
- if music was the first thing he wanted to do growing up
- the first song he produced at 12 years old
- if ‘Hardwell’ was his first choice for artist names
- the first person he told he was going to take a break back in 2018
- the first thing he did when he stopped touring
- the first thing going through his mind for his return at Ultra 2022
- the first thing that comes to mind when he hears ‘Hardwell’
Count down the biggest dance songs in the country every week with Brian Fink on America’s Dance 30; listen on dance stations around the world!
AmericasDance30.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:10):
Dance counting down the biggest dance songsin the country. This is America's Dance
thirty. Hartwell, can I justtell you how happy it makes me to
see you again. I'm here,I'm back, thank you you are back.
To see you again, and notonly that, how happy it makes
(00:31):
the entire dance community to see youagain. Heartwell, welcome to America's Dance
thirty. Thank you so much,Thank you so much for having me.
So how has it been coming back? It's been great so far. It's
been an amazing journey. I didn'tactually realize how much I'm actually missed it,
to be honest, but the momentI got back on stage, and
(00:55):
you know, it's so weird.I always say, like, when I'm
on stage, I gained so muchinspiration just of the energy of the crowd
and you know, the whole avengerof being on the road and meeting new
cultures, new people, and yeah, it's it's I'm made for this job,
man, I can complain. It'sso funny. I bet you anything,
the second I leave radio, Iam going to be missing it,
(01:15):
just like you. You don't realizeit until you're out, exactly. It's
like I appreciate it more than ever. And and maybe it sounds weird,
Well they always say the same thing, right when you miss you have to
miss something before you know that it'sactually really important in your life. And
well, it was definitely with withyou know, being on the road and
doing the shows and making the musicand you know, making music it's always
(01:37):
been like almost like a daily routinefor me. But you know, it's
it's it's it's so different than beingon the road. And you know,
with this whole ust tour lined upright now, like I prepare all those
demos as I see I'm in thecity or right now, I'm preparing all
those demos to get it with meon the road, road testing for like
the next couple of weeks, andafter the someone I'm going to decide just
(01:57):
based on the crowd reaction which onesI'm going to release, and that back
and forth, like that conversation andlike that energy conversation I have with the
crowd. That's what I missed themost by far. Well, we're gonna
talk all about the North American tourand the world tour and your music coming
up. But before we talk allabout that, let's get to know a
hardwell a little better with Thinky's FirstOkay, Yeah, so I love finding
(02:28):
out the origin story of artists.I know at a very young age you
learned piano and you actually produced yourfirst song at like twelve, right exactly.
Yeah, But was music the firstthing you wanted to do when you
were growing up or was there somethingelse? No? Actually, I think
music was always kind of there inthe back of my head. I think
(02:49):
the only like split decision I hadwhen I was like around sixteen was probably
being a graphic designer. I alwayslike programmed websites and my own artwork and
my own logo or that kind ofstuff. But you know, music was
always really really good for me,so it was more like a backup plan
and an actual an actual plan.Do you remember that song that you produced
(03:10):
at twelve? I remember it.I'm happy I don't have it anymore.
Do you remember what the name ofit was? I think it was Drone,
Drone Passion or something that I cameup with. I have no idea
how I came up with that namethough. Yeah, yeah, Drone Passion
was that name, and yeah,I think I made it in in fl
(03:31):
studio and yeah, yeah, thatwas definitely the first dance one I for
use. So also, I wishwe could go back and hear that now.
Now, when you were designing onan artist's name, was Hartwell the
first name you came up with orwere there other considerations? I'm using the
name hard was since I was fourteen, So yeah, it was definitely the
(03:53):
first artist name. I didn't havean artist name before that. And actually
my dad came up with the nameHardwell. It's I have a Dutch last
name fan the corporate but if youtranslated like right into English, you get
hard Well, so it's basically atranslation of my Dutch last name. Well,
it's a great name. I'm gladyou decided on that, thank to
my dad. Though now you familesslystepped away in twenty eighteen from the scene.
(04:18):
Who was the first person that youtold that you were stepping away.
I think my mom and dad andmy manager Anna. Yeah, they were
definitely the first that I actually textedlythat I needed a break, and not
that I needed a break, thatI'm actually gonna take a break. It
wasn't even like a conversation, andit was more like a decision I made
for myself. And yeah, itwas a really hard decision, but I
(04:43):
never regretted, Like I'm really happythat I took a decision and it definitely
made me a better person and evenlike a better artist, I bet,
and I bet that was a shockto Anna. Well. On the other
hand, she kind of saw itcoming. I was like, let's say,
this is the first like I wantto clear out that I never had
like mental problems or anything like that, but it was like the touring was
(05:05):
like so hard, and it wasso hard to keep up with my music,
and you know, the the end, the old inspiration and I like,
I worked really hard and I lovedit about me and like in the
last two years, I didn't havelike the passion though, like the fire
to work that hard anymore. Ijust did my thing and that's it basically.
(05:27):
And she kind of missed like theyalways for like I'm always like forward
thinking and I want to do thisin six months, I want to do
this next year, and I kindof lost that motivation. So yeah,
from that point on, she startedcoming. Well, I've told afro Jack
many times that I don't know howyou guys do it, Like the schedule
that you guys have is just insane. So it completely makes sense. Yeah,
(05:49):
I'm not doing this kind of scheduleanymore. I'm so happy I have
the time to work in the studioon my music, prepare my set,
see my family and friends. Forme, this is like a perfect balance.
I'm doing like, let's say,forty shows a year compared to like
I did like one hundred eighty ortwo hundred shows a year. So I'm
super happy that I'm still able tobe on the road due to the amazing
(06:10):
tours, meet up with the fans, and then on the other hand,
just make music and well be thebest version of myself. That's what I'm
trying to do. Now. Doyou remember the first thing that you did
when you did finally step away?Not really, Actually, I think sleep
a lot, like, don't setan alarm, So no alarm. I
just wanted to sleep, get ridof my endless jet leg that I had,
(06:32):
Oh my god, when I'm onvacation, I think that is one
of the best feelings, is turningoff all the alarms and not even thinking
about it. And it's so funnyyou probably recognize it. So the first
day you set up your alarm,you still waiting. It's so annoying.
Now, finally, in Finky's firstwhen I mentioned Hardwell, what is the
(06:55):
first thing that comes to mind?Wow, just to name Hartwell, I
would say, DJ, that's yeah, Okay, that's to the point.
I don't know, Like, well, let's talk about this North American and
World tour. You're gonna be touringthe US through May twentieth, and then
(07:17):
you're gonna be all over the worldthrough August. People can find out those
dates at DJ hardwell dot com slashtour dates. What has been the best
thing for you coming back and doingshows again? Definitely the fans, you
know, seeing the fans, seeingthe response. Well, I spent here
four years working on my rebels andfor Diet album. But I think the
(07:40):
most important thing about music is thatit connects with people, and then when
I'm on stage, it creates memorieswith the fans, and I think those
memories are the most one of themost vulnerable emotions we can get as a
human being. You know, everybodyrecognizes when you hear a song, you
immediately have a certain memory about thatsong. Can be like driving your carb,
(08:03):
and a festival can be like whatever, but like making memories with music
that was definitely for me, that'sthe most important thing about music. And
speaking of memories, what was goingthrough your head when you were stepping back
on stage at Ultra twenty twenty two. I was like crazy nervous. I've
never been that nervous in my life, and I'm really happy with that performance,
(08:26):
but it was like so nerve wreckingto be on stage only playing like
unknown music to the people as acomeback. I know people expect it was
a different style, you know,people were only expecting that the big room
kind of music for me and withthis album, and definitely took a different
approach to my own sound. Andit wasn't like an insecure feeling, but
(08:46):
just like being there on stage forso many people living up to a hype
with only unknown music at that point, that was what. That was crazy,
one of the crazy things I've donein my life. Well, like
I said at the beginning, itis so awesome at having you back.
It is always great chatting with you. Of course, besides the North American
tour and the world tour, You'vegot brand new music. You just dropped
(09:09):
Acid. How was that song born? I think I had the idea for
doing an asset song for so long. But I wanted to make it like
a crossover song because a lot ofthere's a lot of assets underground techno songs,
but they don't work in a hardwallset, you know. I need
like the balance between like a greatEDM song and a great techno song.
And well, obviously Maddox was likean easy choice because he's really messing around
(09:31):
with with an asset sound lately.But I wanted to come up with like
a vocal to make it more crossover. And well, I actually wrote the
lyric myself. And when I cameup with the whole ideal of that lyric
and that that that gimmick gimmick lyric, I just approached the Luciana for to
record it. Then she was superdown and I think within like two weeks
we finished the song. Did youdesign the artwork for it too? No?
(09:54):
I didn't, Actually I didn't.I didn't ever feel but is the
ideal of the esset Smiley though,like the LZ Smiley? Yeah? Well,
Hardwell, it is awesome having youback. Thank you so much for
your time on America's Dance thirty.Thank you so much, man, Thank
you much. America's Dance thirty countingdown the biggest dance songs in the country,
(10:16):
America's Dance thirty
Dance counting down the biggest dance songsin the country. This is America's Dance
thirty. Hartwell, can I justtell you how happy it makes me to
see you again. I'm here,I'm back, thank you you are back.
To see you again, and notonly that, how happy it makes
(00:31):
the entire dance community to see youagain. Heartwell, welcome to America's Dance
thirty. Thank you so much,Thank you so much for having me.
So how has it been coming back? It's been great so far. It's
been an amazing journey. I didn'tactually realize how much I'm actually missed it,
to be honest, but the momentI got back on stage, and
(00:55):
you know, it's so weird.I always say, like, when I'm
on stage, I gained so muchinspiration just of the energy of the crowd
and you know, the whole avengerof being on the road and meeting new
cultures, new people, and yeah, it's it's I'm made for this job,
man, I can complain. It'sso funny. I bet you anything,
the second I leave radio, Iam going to be missing it,
(01:15):
just like you. You don't realizeit until you're out, exactly. It's
like I appreciate it more than ever. And and maybe it sounds weird,
Well they always say the same thing, right when you miss you have to
miss something before you know that it'sactually really important in your life. And
well, it was definitely with withyou know, being on the road and
doing the shows and making the musicand you know, making music it's always
(01:37):
been like almost like a daily routinefor me. But you know, it's
it's it's it's so different than beingon the road. And you know,
with this whole ust tour lined upright now, like I prepare all those
demos as I see I'm in thecity or right now, I'm preparing all
those demos to get it with meon the road, road testing for like
the next couple of weeks, andafter the someone I'm going to decide just
(01:57):
based on the crowd reaction which onesI'm going to release, and that back
and forth, like that conversation andlike that energy conversation I have with the
crowd. That's what I missed themost by far. Well, we're gonna
talk all about the North American tourand the world tour and your music coming
up. But before we talk allabout that, let's get to know a
hardwell a little better with Thinky's FirstOkay, Yeah, so I love finding
(02:28):
out the origin story of artists.I know at a very young age you
learned piano and you actually produced yourfirst song at like twelve, right exactly.
Yeah, But was music the firstthing you wanted to do when you
were growing up or was there somethingelse? No? Actually, I think
music was always kind of there inthe back of my head. I think
(02:49):
the only like split decision I hadwhen I was like around sixteen was probably
being a graphic designer. I alwayslike programmed websites and my own artwork and
my own logo or that kind ofstuff. But you know, music was
always really really good for me,so it was more like a backup plan
and an actual an actual plan.Do you remember that song that you produced
(03:10):
at twelve? I remember it.I'm happy I don't have it anymore.
Do you remember what the name ofit was? I think it was Drone,
Drone Passion or something that I cameup with. I have no idea
how I came up with that namethough. Yeah, yeah, Drone Passion
was that name, and yeah,I think I made it in in fl
(03:31):
studio and yeah, yeah, thatwas definitely the first dance one I for
use. So also, I wishwe could go back and hear that now.
Now, when you were designing onan artist's name, was Hartwell the
first name you came up with orwere there other considerations? I'm using the
name hard was since I was fourteen, So yeah, it was definitely the
(03:53):
first artist name. I didn't havean artist name before that. And actually
my dad came up with the nameHardwell. It's I have a Dutch last
name fan the corporate but if youtranslated like right into English, you get
hard Well, so it's basically atranslation of my Dutch last name. Well,
it's a great name. I'm gladyou decided on that, thank to
my dad. Though now you familesslystepped away in twenty eighteen from the scene.
(04:18):
Who was the first person that youtold that you were stepping away.
I think my mom and dad andmy manager Anna. Yeah, they were
definitely the first that I actually textedlythat I needed a break, and not
that I needed a break, thatI'm actually gonna take a break. It
wasn't even like a conversation, andit was more like a decision I made
for myself. And yeah, itwas a really hard decision, but I
(04:43):
never regretted, Like I'm really happythat I took a decision and it definitely
made me a better person and evenlike a better artist, I bet,
and I bet that was a shockto Anna. Well. On the other
hand, she kind of saw itcoming. I was like, let's say,
this is the first like I wantto clear out that I never had
like mental problems or anything like that, but it was like the touring was
(05:05):
like so hard, and it wasso hard to keep up with my music,
and you know, the the end, the old inspiration and I like,
I worked really hard and I lovedit about me and like in the
last two years, I didn't havelike the passion though, like the fire
to work that hard anymore. Ijust did my thing and that's it basically.
(05:27):
And she kind of missed like theyalways for like I'm always like forward
thinking and I want to do thisin six months, I want to do
this next year, and I kindof lost that motivation. So yeah,
from that point on, she startedcoming. Well, I've told afro Jack
many times that I don't know howyou guys do it, Like the schedule
that you guys have is just insane. So it completely makes sense. Yeah,
(05:49):
I'm not doing this kind of scheduleanymore. I'm so happy I have
the time to work in the studioon my music, prepare my set,
see my family and friends. Forme, this is like a perfect balance.
I'm doing like, let's say,forty shows a year compared to like
I did like one hundred eighty ortwo hundred shows a year. So I'm
super happy that I'm still able tobe on the road due to the amazing
(06:10):
tours, meet up with the fans, and then on the other hand,
just make music and well be thebest version of myself. That's what I'm
trying to do. Now. Doyou remember the first thing that you did
when you did finally step away?Not really, Actually, I think sleep
a lot, like, don't setan alarm, So no alarm. I
just wanted to sleep, get ridof my endless jet leg that I had,
(06:32):
Oh my god, when I'm onvacation, I think that is one
of the best feelings, is turningoff all the alarms and not even thinking
about it. And it's so funnyyou probably recognize it. So the first
day you set up your alarm,you still waiting. It's so annoying.
Now, finally, in Finky's firstwhen I mentioned Hardwell, what is the
(06:55):
first thing that comes to mind?Wow, just to name Hartwell, I
would say, DJ, that's yeah, Okay, that's to the point.
I don't know, Like, well, let's talk about this North American and
World tour. You're gonna be touringthe US through May twentieth, and then
(07:17):
you're gonna be all over the worldthrough August. People can find out those
dates at DJ hardwell dot com slashtour dates. What has been the best
thing for you coming back and doingshows again? Definitely the fans, you
know, seeing the fans, seeingthe response. Well, I spent here
four years working on my rebels andfor Diet album. But I think the
(07:40):
most important thing about music is thatit connects with people, and then when
I'm on stage, it creates memorieswith the fans, and I think those
memories are the most one of themost vulnerable emotions we can get as a
human being. You know, everybodyrecognizes when you hear a song, you
immediately have a certain memory about thatsong. Can be like driving your carb,
(08:03):
and a festival can be like whatever, but like making memories with music
that was definitely for me, that'sthe most important thing about music. And
speaking of memories, what was goingthrough your head when you were stepping back
on stage at Ultra twenty twenty two. I was like crazy nervous. I've
never been that nervous in my life, and I'm really happy with that performance,
(08:26):
but it was like so nerve wreckingto be on stage only playing like
unknown music to the people as acomeback. I know people expect it was
a different style, you know,people were only expecting that the big room
kind of music for me and withthis album, and definitely took a different
approach to my own sound. Andit wasn't like an insecure feeling, but
(08:46):
just like being there on stage forso many people living up to a hype
with only unknown music at that point, that was what. That was crazy,
one of the crazy things I've donein my life. Well, like
I said at the beginning, itis so awesome at having you back.
It is always great chatting with you. Of course, besides the North American
tour and the world tour, You'vegot brand new music. You just dropped
(09:09):
Acid. How was that song born? I think I had the idea for
doing an asset song for so long. But I wanted to make it like
a crossover song because a lot ofthere's a lot of assets underground techno songs,
but they don't work in a hardwallset, you know. I need
like the balance between like a greatEDM song and a great techno song.
And well, obviously Maddox was likean easy choice because he's really messing around
(09:31):
with with an asset sound lately.But I wanted to come up with like
a vocal to make it more crossover. And well, I actually wrote the
lyric myself. And when I cameup with the whole ideal of that lyric
and that that that gimmick gimmick lyric, I just approached the Luciana for to
record it. Then she was superdown and I think within like two weeks
we finished the song. Did youdesign the artwork for it too? No?
(09:54):
I didn't, Actually I didn't.I didn't ever feel but is the
ideal of the esset Smiley though,like the LZ Smiley? Yeah? Well,
Hardwell, it is awesome having youback. Thank you so much for
your time on America's Dance thirty.Thank you so much, man, Thank
you much. America's Dance thirty countingdown the biggest dance songs in the country,
(10:16):
America's Dance thirty
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