Music
Read: Exclusive interview with DJ Hardwell
We had the pleasure to interview DJ Hardwell in the build up to his residency in Ibiza with ‘Hardwell’s Carnival’ at Ushuaïa Ibiza Beach Hotel. The young Dutch Hardwell is the best DJ in the world for the second year as per the Top 100 DJs’ list of the prestigious magazine DJ Mag.
How would you describe the atmosphere of Ibiza –to anyone who hasn’t been before?
Ibiza is amazing! You have to keep in mind it’s one of the most legendary places in the world when it comes to dance music, with a great history in dance music. All the DJS are here during the whole summer, you can visit super underground parties, super mainstream parties, everything as a dance fan is here. So yeah, the parties are really great, people actually book their vacation to party, and you can tell by watching the crowd and how energetic they are, it’s definitely one of the places to be.
What has been your favourite venues/Festivals to perform in?
Venues is really hard, every club has its own atmosphere, it depends in the country where you are in. If it comes to festivals I’d have to say Tomorrowland, Ultra Music Festival, EDC and definitely Coachella. In Coachella you have everything, EDM, bands, indie, underground, everything, for a music lover it’s the place to be
When you’re touring, do you have time to visit the places? What are your favourite spots in Ibiza?
Normally when I travel I don’t have the time to do any cultural stuff, or visit any fancy places. Well I’m living on the island now for two months, yeah. Yesterday we hired a boat and went to Formentera and we liked it over there; my tour manager took me for the first time to the Fish Shack in Sa Punta (Talamanca), it’s a great place to be, there’s lots of places here in Ibiza that I really like.
What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I think a lot of people don’t know that I started as a hip-hop DJ and I became quite a famous hip-hop DJ in Holland. But I wanted to produce dance music, so I made the decision to switch to dance music and started my career as a house DJ.
Can you tell us where the nickname “Hardwell” comes from?
I have a Dutch last name, van de Corput, and if you translate Corput in English you get Hardwell. It was quite simple!
Which collaboration with another artists has been the most significant for you and why? Is there any artist you would like to collaborate with but haven’t had the opportunity yet?
I really enjoyed one of my latest collaborations with Jason Derulo, but a really significant collaboration was Zero 76 with Tiësto in 2010, that collaboration put me on the map, especially for America. A lot of people hadn’t heard about me and they were like “Who is that young guy with the legendary Tiësto?”, so that track really worked out for me. If I have to pick out someone to work with it would be Pharrell Williams, I admire him as a producer, singer, songwriter and just who he is, an amazing person, it would be good to share some studio time with him.
Heading to Ibiza this summer? Your tickets for the island’s best parties await you here.
You’ll have your entrance assured and no queuing at the door. You’ll get your tickets on your e-mail and will only need to show them at the disco to enjoy a great time in Ibiza.
