Robert van de corput biography channel
Hardwell
Dutch DJ and music producer
In this Dutch name, the surname is Van de Corput.
Musical artist
Robbert van de Corput (Dutch pronunciation:[ˈrɔbərtfɑndəˈkɔrpʏt]; born 7 January 1988), known professionally as Hardwell, is a Dutch DJ and music producer from Breda. He was voted the world's number one DJ by DJ Mag in 2013 and again in 2014. In 2022, he was ranked at number 43 in the top 100 DJs poll by DJ Mag. He is best known for his sets at music festivals, including Ultra Music Festival, Sunburn and Tomorrowland.
He first gained recognition in 2009 for his bootleg of "Show Me Love vs. Be". He founded the record label Revealed Recordings in 2010 and a radio show and podcast Hardwell On Air in 2011. He has released 10 compilation albums through his label, as well as two documentary films. His debut studio album, United We Are, was released on 23 January 2015.
On 7 September 2018, he had announced his indefinite hiatus from touring, stating that he wanted to focus more on his personal life. On 27 March 2022, he returned to touring by closing out Ultra Miami's mainstage with his second album Rebels Never Die.
Biography
Pseudonym
The pseudonym comes from an idea of his father, who translated his surname from Latin and Dutch into English, "cor" meaning "heart" in Latin and "put" meaning "well" in Dutch. However, he changed the "heart" to "hard", to make it sound more appealing.
Early life and musical beginnings
Robbert van de Corput was born in Breda, to Anneke and Cor van de Corput. At the age of four, he began taking piano lessons and attended a music school. At the age of twelve, he produced his first songs in the field of electro, while performing as a hip-hop DJ.
Through his participation in various competitions, he became known in Breda's DJ scene. He was in
Dutch DJs and producers have dominated house music and traditional trance scenes over the past few years – and that is not about to end. The Netherlands’ latest hot property is the media-shy Hardwell (born Robert van de Corput in Breba, Netherlands), who ranked No. 24 in last year’s DJ Mag poll. Hardwell’s career-to-date has been the stuff of legends – things of which artists can only dream, achievements, awards, and support that so many never get near. And all this before he even hits 25 years old.
For this young Dutchman, it all started at an early age – van de Corput was already a DJ at just 13 years old. In an interview with Mega Mind Magazine he explains how he got into DJ’ing – “In Holland we had on an MTV dance program. They filmed a lot of DJ’s and parties. When I was young, I was like ‘Wow, I want to be the DJ, I want to play the music’ and I was obsessed because it looked so big, the vinyls and all the stuff. Actually I was always into music. I was six years old when I started to play the piano. Music has always been there in my life as I grew up. The DJ’ing was really fascinating for me. I wanted to do this when I saw it on MTV. I told my parents and I started playing little parties for friends, and getting money so I could buy my first vinyl. I bought my first vinyl and it all went from there.’” His musical heroes at that time (who were featured on the MTV dance program) were Tiesto, Armin van Buuren and Ferry Corsten. Van de Corput started off playing trance music as a young DJ, influenced by his aforementioned idols. It must be pretty funny for him to look back on those days, since now he is not only good pals with Tiesto but also works with him in the studio quite often.
Hardwell’s first key release was the mash-up Show Me Love Vs Be – featuring 90s house diva Robin S with Steve Angello and Laidback Luke – one of the biggest and most played dance hits of 2009. In 2010, he followed with tracks such as Alright 20 Hailing from Breda, a city in The Netherlands, Robert van de Corput, famously known as Hardwell, has come a long away in his career as a producer, musician, label owner, documentary filmmaker and legendary DJ. The multi-talented artist has cemented his position in an industry that continues to change, constantly innovating his skills and techniques. The young Dutch titan capped off a ten-year journey when he was crowned World’s #1 DJ in the 2013 DJ Mag Top 100 DJs Poll. From nominations for prestigious awards such as 2014 MTV European Music Awards for ‘Best Dutch Act’ and ‘Best Electronic Act’, to being one of one of the most nominated artists in the 2016 awards edition of the IDMA’s in Miami, the 25-year old artist has also walked away with some of electronic music’s biggest accolades. With over 8.5 million likes on Facebook, more than 3.47 million followers on Twitter, 3.8 million followers on Instagram and in excess of 615 million hits on his YouTube channel, Hardwell is an achiever and a visionary of the music and entertainment industry. With the motto, “If you can dream it, you can do it”, still reigning supreme, the two-time #1 DJ on the planet has proved that drive and determination to succeed can bring a wealth of results. DJ Hardwell’s musical force is set to continue to rise within the industry’s elite for many years to come. On April 8, DJ Hardwell kicks off his China residency at the prestigious Club Cubic in Macau, set to be a momentous night set to captivate the city! How did you get into DJing? I got attracted to it when I was 13 years old after watching a documentary and then DJing at parties and then from there I started making music, being signed to a record label at 14 years old. The rest is history. Where did your stage name come from? I have my dad to thank for that one. It’s my second name in Latin. What do you try to communicate to the audience through your vibe? How do you want them to So there's a new No.1 DJ in the world this year — Hardwell, from Holland, born in 1988. And is he happy about it?
“It feels incredible, you have no idea — what can I say?” Hardwell tells DJ Mag down the phone from his home in Breda in the southern part of the Netherlands. “As a little kid when I started off as a DJ, I couldn’t even dream about that. I think it’s the biggest achievement you can get in the whole DJ scene.”
Hardwell shot into the Top 100 list in 2011 at No.24 before rising to No.6 last year — and then leaping to No.1. Spookily, this is exactly the same trajectory that Tiësto took at the beginning of the noughties — in at 24, up to 6, then No.1. “Freaky, right?” Hardwell says. “Out of 100 numbers, it’s really weird, especially because he’s my mentor and everything and I’m following in his footsteps.
“The funny thing is, the moment Tiësto became No.1 in DJ Mag was the moment that I realised, ‘Hey mum and dad, I want to become a DJ’,” he continues. “That inspired me, especially as we were hailing from the same city in Holland. He’s always been like a mentor and role model.” Hardwell first met Tiësto four years ago when Tijs emailed him to say, ‘I really like your productions’. “I sent him some new ones I was working on at that time, and maybe one month later he invited me to his show at Privilege in Ibiza to come and play with him,” Hardwell says. “That was the first time I met him, and from the beginning we had a really great connection.” The two Dutch DJ/producers became good friends, and went in the studio together to make trancey electro screamer 'Zero 76'. Tiësto then took Hardwell on tour with him, playing some really big shows around North America and suchlike. “Yeah, that was a lot of fun, we were constantly on the road together — that’s actually how we became really good friends.” Hardwell says that it helped their friendship that they hailed from the same city — Breda. “I always bought my vinyl back in the day from his re Meet Hardwell, the World’s Top DJ