Read Part I here!
July: Announcing the United We Are Foundation
Hardwell teamed up with Anna Agency (an international electronic music agency) and created the charity project in response to his successful “United We Are” album and world tour, aiming to “give something back.” On December 13th, Mumbai, India will host a very special event, the first one of its kind. Hardwell will play a completely free show for 100,000 fans at D Y Patil Sports Stadium. Each person who registered for the event has been placed under his own personal guest list, which is on track to set a Guinness World Record – World’s Biggest Guestlist. And Hardwell will not receive a cent from this show. All profits will be donated to the United We Are Foundation in partnership with India’s United Welfare Trust, focusing on improving the education of underprivileged children across the country. Fans around the globe have the option to pledge to the cause and become “a part of the solution”, with incentives linked to various donation amounts. Join the official Facebook event page to stay updated with the latest news.
August: Veld Cancellation
Veld has become one of Canada’s biggest electronic music festivals ever since its launch in 2012. Due to unfortunate weather, parts of the first day and the entire second day were cancelled. Some artists rescheduled at the last minute to play at the official after-parties, including Hardwell at The Sound Academy. Many attendees praised his set and posted recordings of his opening sequence, thoroughly impressed by his visuals and performance for the smaller venue.
Toronto, I’m playing Sound Academy tonight! See you there! pic.twitter.com/Qd3BCjJcQ3
— Hardwell (@HARDWELL) August 2, 2015
Hardwell live @ The Sound Academy – August 2nd 2015
September: MGD Partnership
Hardwell partnered with Miller Genuine Draft’s music platform, #MillerMusicPresents, to work on special projects as well as release exclusive videos, music and behind the scenes content for the next twelve months. Part of the partnership included the creation of the Mad World music video and a web series about his favourite cities to DJ in. Even though he has circled the planet more times than anyone can count, Toronto holds a special place in his heart. Our city made the cut and Robbert had a lot of positive things to say about us.
October: I Am Hardwell – Living The Dream Premiere, DJ Mag Top 100
The new documentary I AM Hardwell – Living The Dream premiered at this years Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) on October 15th. The film is more than a typical tour after-movie – it follows Robbert’s life as he toured through 34 cities around the globe and provides an inside perspective into his career, his team, and the efforts that went into creating the I AM Hardwell tour.
“I am thrilled with the result. My life has been one huge roller-coaster ride since I was chosen as #1 DJ in the world back in 2013. The expectations kept on getting higher so I had the feeling I had to keep on raising the bar. I AM Hardwell – Living the Dream will show you that not only my music but also the concert tour has had a huge development in the past few years. I am beyond proud of the team who made this possible and of all people who did just about anything for me during this journey we have shared together.”
DJ Mag is famously known for their annual Top 100 DJ list, where fans are encouraged to vote for their favourites, usually turning into aggressive debates and harsh criticism across the dance music realm. This year, Hardwell was dethroned after being at the top of the poll for the previous two years, finishing at second place. Many DJs turned to social media to lash out against the winners Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, who were rumored to have paid street teams to collect votes at festivals and shows. Meanwhile, Reddit’s subthread /r/electronicmusic hosted their own Top 100 Djs poll and Hardwell placed fifth.
DJ’s with iPad promo teams begging for dj mag votes in the streets, really? Let the music do the talking! — Hardwell (@HARDWELL) August 19, 2015
November: Action Figures, Electric Family Bracelet
Hardwell’s collaboration of 2015 was easily Off The Hook with Armin Van Buuren. The track was played throughout the summer by both artists, teasing the audience before its official release back in September. To live up to the hype, Armin and Hardwell released the music video on the same day they announced their own action figures hit the market. This marks the first two DJs to ever receive their own miniature plastic versions of themselves.
On a more serious note, Robbert teamed up with Electric Family and released his own “Hardwell” bracelet. All proceeds are donated to his United We Are Foundation. The bracelets are available for purchase here for $13 USD.
December: United We Are Remixed, Solaris Festival Headliner
Revealed Recordings announced “United We Are Remixed,” ten months after Hardwell’s debut album was released. With contributions from many international and upcoming artists, the re-imagined and transformed album became available for purchase on December 4th.
Tracklist:
Hardwell – Eclipse (Chocolate Puma Remix)
Hardwell feat. Jason Derulo – Follow Me (Bingo Players Remix)
Hardwell feat. Harrison – Sally (Frontliner Remix)
Hardwell feat. Bright Lights – Let Me Be Your Home (Dave Winnel Remix)
Hardwell & Tiësto feat. Andreas Moe – Colors (Vicetone Remix)
Hardwell & Funkerman feat. I-Fan – Where Is Here Now (Franky Rizardo Remix)
Hardwell feat. Amba Shepherd – United We Are (Armin van Buuren Remix)
Hardwell & W&W feat. Fatman Scoop – Don’t Stop The Madness (Dirtcaps Remix)
Hardwell feat. Chris Jones – Young Again (KURA Remix)
Hardwell feat. Jonathan Mendelsohn – Echo (Kaaze Remix)
Hardwell & Joey Dale feat. Luciana – Arcadia (Sean & Bobo Remix)
Hardwell & DallasK – Area51 (DallasK Rework)
Hardwell & Headhunterz feat. Haris – Nothing Can Hold Us Down (Pep & Rash Remix)
Hardwell feat. Mr. Probz – Birds Fly (W&W Festival Mix)
Hardwell feat. Mr. Probz – Birds Fly (eSQUIRE Late Night Remix) (BONUS TRACK)
Hardwell continues to tour right up until the end of 2015. December welcomes his much anticipated United We Are Foundation – World’s Biggest Guestlist show in Mumbai. He will make one final appearance in Toronto on December 26th, performing at Solaris Festival at the Enercare Centre. Eclipse has been used in the event’s social media promotional videos, which fits perfectly with the outer space theme. Tickets for the festival are available here. Hardwell visits Vancouver, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas before his final 2015 performance in Denver on December 31st.
Between his debut album, business and personal milestones, festival appearances and residencies, Hardwell proved he is still a force to be reckoned with within the electronic music scene throughout 2015. Robbert used his celebrity status to bring awareness and inspire people to help underprivileged children all while creating one of the biggest parties in the world. And as one of the most successful DJs to date, who has played for millions of fans at electronic music festivals and internationally known clubs, Robbert chose Toronto as one of his favourite cities in the world – he will have played here three times within 14 months (Arrow Hall in November 2014, The Sound Academy in August 2015, and Enercare Centre in December 2015).
Boys with toys! #hardwell #guvernment A photo posted by Hardwell (@hardwell) on
With no signs of slowing down, fans can expect more great things from Hardwell in the new year.
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