I AM Hardwell Documentary

1

I am two persons with one face.

That's how you should see it.

So who is Robbert?

Robbert is a guy born and bred

in Breda, 25 years old now...

whose hobby takes him

all over the world.

And who is Hardwell?

- I created him as Robbert's alter ego.

Hardwell is the stage name I use

for playing and producing music.

He's become one of the world's

greatest DJs.

Dance tour, baby.

Let's do the biggest sit-down

in the world.

If anyone can do it,

it's Breda, right?

So everyone sit down.

Tell your neighbors to sit down.

I'll count to 4 and I want everyone

to jump up at the same time.

Stay low.

Come on.

Are you ready, Breda'?

- Hold on. Get your ass low.

Breda, let's go.

One, two, three, four.

Good morning to our youngest guest,

he's 16:
Robbert van de Corput.

Better known as DJ Hardwell.

- That's right.

What kind of music do you make?

I became well-known with my

Bubbling Beats CDs.

Bubbling is a style.

What is bubbling?

-It's a Surinamese/Antillean genre.

It came across to the Netherlands

and I picked it up and introduced it here.

It got me a record deal

and I released 4 CDs.

People think DJs only play music,

but I'm also a producer.

I had music lessons

and I play the piano and keyboard.

So I do have a musical background,

I can do more than just play records.

What's your dream for the future'?

- Being the number one DJ in the world.

In ten years I want to have my own

concert like Tisto has now.

Is he your role model?

Or is he different?

His style is completely different,

and so is his scene.

But he's still a role model for all

DJs and musicians in my scene.

Awesome, huh? This is the place.

This is the place, right?

- Right.

Wicked.

- So cool.

It's much bigger than I thought.

And those stands will go.

- Yes, those stands will be gone too.

It'll be completely flat.

- And it's sold out.

This is awesome.

I can just picture the stage.

45 meters wide.

It is incredibly high.

Usually it's very dark here.

This is quite a milestone.

I remember seven years ago

I had to call my dad to pick me up...

after Chuckie's first concert.

Not even Dirty Dutch. It was

Luxurush at Heineken Music Hall.

They had the stage there

and the VIP deck behind it.

You could see into the DJ booth.

We stood there all night.

I was dying to play in this hall, too.

And now you will.

- Now my own concert will be here.

He came to my office six years ago.

It was just an informal chat

to get to know each other, but...

he stayed all afternoon.

We got on really well.

When I first saw him play,

at some very small venue...

I thought:
You've got it.

You're gonna be huge.

The first time I met him and saw him

at work in the studio...

I worked for a label

and I'd seen many artists.

But I'd never seen anyone

with his kind of drive...

or his excellent musical talent,

even back then...

for making and hearing music.

He's pure passion.

That sets him apart from the others.

My first time at your agency I said I

wanted to play at Heineken Music Hall.

And you were like: Sure, great.

I hadn't even signed up yet.

But I said it and here we are.

When he came to me,

he dreamed of HMH.

Robbert:
says things that make him

sound really ambitious.

But he always delivers.

I think it's a real high point

for a DJ.

Because most people still think

DJs just play records.

So if you have your own concert,

your own people and production...

you do what world-famous pop stars do.

Heineken Music Hall is a major venue

in the Netherlands.

Lots of great artists perform here.

So it's a real milestone.

There are lots of milestones

along the way.

I was psyched when I first

performed at Maassilo in Rotterdam.

That was one of the coolest clubs

in the country.

My first time on Ibiza, I was like:

Wow, I can play in a DJ's Eldorado.

First time at Extrema,

at Dance Valley, it grew and grew.

And then people start buying tickets

to see you.

You go from one milestone to another,

and the great thing is:

ll sounds like a complete story,

but it's all small steps.

Sometimes with, like,

six months in between.

Whose towel is this?

I'm crisping it up.

I'm crisping up someone's towel.

I'm doing an interview. Thanks.

I watched the Sensation DVDs

as a little boy.

Sensation is one of the biggest,

best-known events.

Only the world's best DJs

perform there.

So being asked for that

is a real honor.

My first time there was amazing.

It was major cool.

My adrenaline was up

even before I went on stage.

It absolutely surged.

I barely slept the night before.

I woke up all the time thinking:

I mustn't forget this or that record.

That was fantastic.

- I loved it.

Me too. And everybody else too.

- The audience, yeah.

It was wicked.

He had to learn

the skills for playing.

He learned a lot from Chuckie

and from watching others.

When I heard he was only 15,

I could hardly believe it.

His productions were so mature.

He'd play music all day. All day.

Until his transitions and his skills

were as good as those of others.

Or better.

We shelved our private lives for him

for about four years.

At weekends we missed all the birthday

parties because we went with him.

Even at the music school

they told us he was talented.

He had a good ear. At the Rock

Academy they said the same thing.

After three months they told him

to quit and get into the studio.

He does music 2417. Non-stop.

One of my favorites is my remix of

Show Me Love by Robin S.

It was the first track of mine

that all the big DJs played.

That's when I realized:

I can totally do this.

Once again London let me see you

jump up and down. Let's go!

I had an identity crisis...

when Hardwell was

in the slipstream of commercial music.

And Robbed wasn't happy with it.

I want to make music that rocks me.

But Hardwell wanted to keep playing

more than anything.

On the other hand, I also knew

I was developing a new sound.

It wasn't popular at all then.

It hadn't caught on yet.

I was turning into a DJ

who adapts to his audience 100%.

But I wanted to create an artist

with his own music and identity.

It was a tough time.

Lots of bookings were cancelled.

They were like:
What is Hardwell doing

playing that stuff'?

Once I really began to do

my own thing as Hardwell...

Tisto was one of the first

to pick it up.

To me that was a confirmation

that I was doing the right thing.

From then on it just got

bigger and bigger.

This is a special track.

I made it together with a special guy

from my hometown, Breda.

This is DJ Hardwell.

A brand new talent.

He's gonna be huge.

This is Zero 76.

How is your concert going?

- Fine.

We did all the preparations this week.

We checked everything out, the stage

and the set-up. It looks great.

Several people have asked me

when it's going down.

So that's great.

- At long last.

And in the Netherlands. That's cool.

It's the biggest thing

we've done so far.

Will there be any guest performers?

- No, it's my own thing.

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