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EDM is ruining dance music. It's how many of us feel these days. Days when just about every chart topping pop album has its foundations deeply embedded in dance music, the ever expanding American dance music empire known as SFX continues tightening its grip on the industry by the day, and more money keeps flooding into stadiums and festival grounds than one hardly fathom. All signs seem to point to one thing: a giant, glittery, dollar sign, dangling just centimetres over dance music by a taut, worn thread, poised to snap at any moment.
But you already knew this. It's why the chasm between the so-called underground and the so-called commercial gets bigger every day. So we take out our insecurities on the artists, claiming that those on other side of the divide are nothing but soulless, overpaid jukeboxes with one goal in mind. We make accusations about skill, dedication, passion, talent and motivations, often without giving the slightest consideration as to the validity of their claims. We sit insulated within our bubbles, safe from the outside world, eager to back slap one another on a job well done, having not been duped into the overpriced ruse that is EDM (often while shilling out 80 euros to go see our favourite "underground" techno DJ). I, too, have been guilty of this for years, because often, it's much easier. It feels safer. But is any of it true? I sat down with one of the world's biggest DJs, Hardwell, voted number one by the readers of DJ Mag , to find out his opinion on the state of dance music over the last year, its growing influence in pop and vice versa, the steady influx of big money, its place in pop culture, and to find out what he thinks about the divide between commercial and underground dance music. Read on, his answers might just surprise you.
You’re at the very top of EDM pyramid these days. From your unique vantage point, what are some of the biggest changes in dance music that you’ve seen? I would say the sheer scale of the events have blown up in recent years. Specifically in the US, the parties they are putting on there and the level of production surrounding the event is astounding and it is having a big impact elsewhere. Also something which has started to grow more is the engage of artists with their fan base. You look around and you get a sense that the fans have never been closer to the scene and what’s happening day-to-day. It’s really exciting to watch and also be a part of!
Are you still reluctant to collaborate with pop artists? I’m not reluctant as such but just only interested in doing projects that interest me, are right with my sound or that we can create something very unique from it. My sound is focused on the dancefloor so working with pop artists for what I do is not an easy fit. If I could work with Dr Dre or Timberlake for example I’d jump at the chance and yet both those artists, although very cool, are also very mainstream. So I am open to collaborating if the opportunity with the right artist was there.
You’ve said “Adding Lady Gaga or Rihanna makes the whole ideal of music for the club impossible; their popularity and artistic dynamics make it impossible for a track to ever truly be a “club” record.” Do you still feel this way even with how much pop and dance music continued to collide in 2013? Why? For what I do yes because, as I mentioned before, I make dance music and not pop music. My music and the music I will make with other artists has to be focused on the club and it needs to work on the dancefloor. Pop music is made for the charts with little or no focus on the dancefloor. I don’t want to get caught up in making music for the charts or that it has to be a hit on radio. Of course if my music carries over and gets success then great, but I have no plans to alter my style or sound to fit what a pop-star needs from my music. But that said I am open to working with artists from the pop world, and any other genre of music. The idea of working with somebody from a different world to electronic music would be an appealing one if it felt right.
In the same regard, the line seems to be blurred more and more these days between pop, ‘underground’ and ‘commercial’ – tracks like MK’s ‘Storm Queen’ and Disclosure’s ‘White Noise’ reached higher in the charts than any dance music track in years. Do you think this trend can continue, or do you, like some, think the bubble will inevitably burst? And if so, why? At the moment it seems like it is a trend that will continue, especially when you consider the other dance tracks that have done really well in the charts. But for me it is because the ‘mainstream’ is more exposed to what is happening within the electronic scene right now. That is not to take anything away from those records because they’re both great, just that maybe ten years ago to pick up an ‘underground’ record you had to search a little harder where as now it can go viral worldwide in a few days thanks to the internet, So the lines between mainstream and ‘underground’ have been blurred. And let’s not take anything away from the music fans consuming music that are more educated and more eager to explore different styles of music.
If so, is that in a why, or part of the reason that you try and distance yourself from collaborations with pop artists? Yes but I am not against working with artists from that world but it needs to be ‘my’ music I am making. It sounds a bit selfish I know but I don’t mean it that way. What I mean is I don’t want to be a hired gun that is there just to put his name on a record so it gets extra spins in a club. The track needs to actually mean something to all of us and it needs to be done with heart and soul and not just for a playlist spot or extra record sale. Away from my own music, I’m interested in working just as a producer for a singer or a band. That way the creativity can be cha![]()
nneled directly to that singer’s style and or that band’s sound and doesn’t have to carry my name or my style.
I know you’re passionate about the culture of dance music. Do you believe there is anything your peers can do to try and help preserve it? I’d like to see all of us returning back to releasing quality over quantity. There is so much incredible music being made – it’s amazing – but alongside that, there is also a flood of badly produced, under thought-out tracks that people are just eager to get out there because they think it will get picked up. I am sure we’ve all heard DJs moaning about the lack of quality promos on top of the stream of bad ones. With so many new producers out there making music, it’s difficult to keep up but making music should be something personal and you should be proud of your artwork. My belief has always been to make sure the record is 100% right and that I am 100% happy with it before I send it out to anyone.
We have a really healthy scene at the moment, and it’s the most exciting I have ever known dance music to be, so I’d like to see the heritage and culture of electronic music last for decades to come. I may not follow techno or drum ‘n’ bass, and likewise, those people may not follow mine or other people’s scenes, but in my view, we’re all in this big electronic music bubble together, and the bigger and further we can take it and the longer we can keep it going, then the better.
Would you be writing dance music’s epitaph if someone made a ‘Saturday Night Fever’ for the dance music generation? (Laughs) No, because I think there’s room for a cool movie about the scene. Besides, after-movies from festivals and documentaries, I am yet to see a movie that really captures the true essence of electronic music.
In the same respect, there is more money than ever in dance music – Las Vegas, SFX, Live Nation – how do you view big business encroaching into our scene? Do you think its healthy or to be avoided? There are obviously concerns that all this investment won’t last and that it will kill the scene in the long-term. Like the fans, I have my concerns about this also, but if you look around the world right now dance music is top of its game. The shows and production at festivals and events is getting bigger and better than any of us have seen before. From the underground to the overground scenes, electronic music has taken over the world, and is still growing. There’s too much investment from these big businesses for it to all just fall apart. But, like hip hop, we need to make sure it doesn’t go too over the top and destroy itself. Because of the people who are involved with many of these big businesses, most of which have been in dance music for years as promoters, DJs, bookers etc, I am confident the future is in good hands.
I read in an interview that you don’t like the word ‘underground.’ You were speaking about what is next for your label. Can you explain a bit about what you meant? It’s not a word I prefer to use, but it does well help to explain certain areas of the scene – as like I used it earlier. But for me, it’s a word I find hard to place, only because what is supposedly “underground” is still either a place you can buy a ticket for, find a poster on a wall for, see a listing in a magazine or on a website, or buy a track off a download store. It’s cool that there is still another scene from the more big room sound, but I do believe it creates unnecessary barriers between what are essentially electronic music fans. Wouldn’t it be a nicer world to live in if we, collectively, could just share all these different forms of dance music? There are some amazing records in all these different genres, but because of the barriers dividing them I wonder how many music fans are missing out on exploring all this great music?
And what is next for your label? There are a lot of exciting projects coming up with Revealed Recordings this year. We have a bunch of new music coming up from guys like Dannic, Dyro, Julian Calor, Thomas Newson and others. The new release on the label is Julian Calor’s “Typhoon/Storm,” which is a real club anthem worth checking out. The single is getting some great reactions and is already number one in the Buzzchart. It’s important to me that the label continues to support and developing new artists and give them a platform from which they can gain the recognition they deserve.
We’ll be doing a number of events this year, too, such as Miami, and myself, Dannic and Dyro will also be appearing on the Revealed North American Bus Tour over April, which is going to be one wild adventure.
As someone who is used to playing festival and stadium sized gigs so often, what makes a truly standout gig for you? Do you get to play intimate gigs very often, if ever? If not, do you miss being able to play right next to the crowd? Each show I do is special, and I try to make it as unique an experience as possible, regardless of the size of the venue or the crowd. Sure playing festivals is different to playing club shows, but the essence of what I do remains the same. Although I do play a lot of large events, I try and balance this with club tours as often as possible because I really enjoy the intimacy and atmosphere of playing those kind of gigs.
One thing I believe many fans of dance music tend to find a lot of joy in is the ability of it to take listeners on a ‘journey,’ from the very deep shades of house right through to dirty, funky and back again. You’ve mentioned that you like to take listeners on a journey in your stadium sets. Can you explain a bit what you mean by that, (how you go about it, what dictates how much you give and take, how you decide to play which track to and when) and do you believe this is something that’s missing from most commercial or EDM sets out there? Knowing the music I play intimately helps. Also I have been DJing in clubs for over 10 years now, so reading the crowd and knowing which tracks they’ll react to is key to how I go about creating the journey in my sets. I think this is definitely something missing from the bigger picture of the EDM scene, if you want to call it that, because some DJs are too willing to play the latest hits rather than think about the dynamics of a set, and it effects the course of a night. It’s one of the key things we do at our Revealed parties is make sure the set scheduling and music flows throughout the entire night. Guys like Dannic and Dyro understand this brilliantly, and so playing alongside those guys at the Revealed parties is great, and the crowd get a full experience throughout the night.
I’ve been hearing rumors about a possible Ibiza residency this year. Can you confirm anything for us? We’re still in discussion so I can’t confirm any residency as yet, but I’ll definitely be back on the island this summer, whether with a residency or not. Ibiza is such a magic place. I love it there because there’s so much on offer each night of the week.
What else can you tell us about your plans for 2014? Recently I have been working on my album, which will be release this year. I think it will surprise a lot of people and fans, but I’m confident they will be impressed, too, because it will show every side of me as an artist. On the road I have shows coming up at Ultra Music Festival in Buenos Aires and Miami, as well as my Revealed North American Bus Tour, which kicks off in April and will take in a lot of new cities from my previous tour of the country. As well as this I am still touring my I Am Hardwell show. So far have we done gigs in Jakarta, Singapore, Bangalore, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Tel Aviv, Guatemala City with further shows coming in Antwerp, Istanbul, Sao Paulo, Brisbane, Melbourne, plus others to be announced soon. There is a new remix from Tiësto vs. Twoloud of my recent single “Dare You” with Matthew Koma on vocal, which is this incredible remix and has been a big fixture in my sets these past few weeks!
Thanks again Hardwell!
Thank you for taking the time to chat, really appreciate it. See you on the dancefloor soon!
Hardwell's new single, "Dare You," featuring the vocals of Matthew Koma, is out now in iTunes: http://bit.ly/DareYou_Itunes
nneled directly to that singer’s style and or that band’s sound and doesn’t have to carry my name or my style.
