"When I achieved my dream of becoming number one DJ in the world ... 24 hours later I was like OK, what's next? What are we going to do?" says Hardwell, reliving the moment he was voted winner of DJ Mag's scene-defining Top 100 DJs poll.
“It’s really weird to work on a dream, and to then fulfil the dream you’ve worked on for 10 years. It’s one of the most beautiful things you can do in life.”
That was in 2013 — and he took the title again a year later.
But last year, Hardwell was knocked off the throne, now sitting in second place, behind duo Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike. Still, the DJ known to his mum as Robbert van de Corput says he is simply not bothered.
“That’s not my focus. At this point, whichever number I am, I’m really happy and grateful that I can travel the world and make music,” says the 28-year-old. “Being number two, nothing’s changed.”
He’s right. Hardwell’s time at the top has run almost concurrently with his never-ending I Am Hardwell tour, an intense, euphoric bubbling sound-and-light show in which the Dutchman is behind the decks for three straight hours at a time. Nearly three years after launching the tour in Amsterdam in April 2013, the EDM juggernaut finally rolls into the UAE on Friday, with a 15,000-capacity outdoor gig at Dubai’s Meydan.
Naturally, things have evolved over those 34 months – this edition showcases “50 to 60” per cent of the DJ’s only studio album, United We Are. The rest, Hardwell promises, is largely spontaneous.
“The tour has been quite a journey,” he says. “Everything has developed a lot – the way I DJ, the way I make my music, the way I approach my audience. It’s really hectic – I really like it, but it’s hard to time every record at the right moment, for three hours.”
Hardwell’s last gig in the UAE was in early 2013 when, on the verge of superstardom, he stopped by for a DJ set at Nasimi. It’s an experience still seared into his memory.
“I love Dubai,” he says. “I remember the first time I came, what really surprised me is that because Dubai is so modern, I didn’t expect the crowd to be so modern when it comes to dance music. They were super-educated, they knew every record I played – and that’s why I decided to come back.”
However, Hardwell says the very best crowds are found away from the glitz and glamour, in countries that are embracing dance music for the first time.
“A lot of countries in South America are really great, and India – I think the poorer countries are really beautiful to play in because the people are not spoilt, they’ve never seen a DJ show,” he says. “I bet if you Google Calvin Harris, he’s playing tonight somewhere in America. If you look at a country such as Guatemala, it’s really hard to see electronic dance. And the moment you go to a country like that, people really appreciate it – you can tell by the energy and how enthusiastic they are.”
The celebrity DJ, whose estimated worth is more than Dh80 million, put his money where his mouth is with a recent show in Mumbai, opening up “the world’s largest guest-list” to host a free concert for an estimated audience of 90,000 fans. He also founded the United We Are Foundation which, he says, has already pledged educational support for 40,000 Indian children, and will be launching more projects across the world.
“It was definitely one of the best shows I’ve ever played in my life,” says the DJ.
“I came up with the idea because the first time I brought my show to India, I was driving to the concert and I saw homeless kids seeking shelter from the rain underneath my billboard. That broke my heart, literally broke my heart. And I said to myself: ‘The next time I’m coming back to India, I want to give something back to this country’.”
It’s always refreshing to see rich celebrities embracing humanitarian causes, but one wonders whether EDM – the global youth music of 2016 – has a special part to play. Hardwell thinks so.
“100 per cent, dance music is one of the most universal languages that exist,” he adds. “Why? Pop music, no matter which artist you are, if it’s a hit song or not it depends on the lyrics. That means the whole world has to speak English, or whatever language it’s in.
“Dance music is, in general, instrumental, it’s just a certain feeling that goes through your body. No matter which culture you’re from, no matter which language you speak, you can relate to the feeling that dance music has and the energy that comes from it.”
• Hardwell is at Meydan, Dubai, on Friday, doors at 6pm. Tickets are from Dh400, visit www.iamhardwelldubai.com
rgarratt@thenational.ae
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
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Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
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States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh848,000
On sale: now
Dark Souls: Remastered
Developer: From Software (remaster by QLOC)
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Price: Dh199
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Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour Calendar 2018/19
July 29: OTA Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan
Sep 22-23: LA Convention Centre in Los Angeles, US
Nov 16-18: Carioca Arena Centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Feb 7-9: Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, UAE
Mar 9-10: Copper Box Arena in London, UK
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
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BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
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