Chatting With Hardwell About His Long Awaited REBELS NEVER DIE Album, Tour, New Sound, And More

Dance music pioneer and former 2 x World No.1 DJ Hardwell returned this year to make history with undoubtedly the most anticipated return of 2022. Revealing a new sound, alongside announcing a 24-date world tour supporting his new artist album, Rebels Never Die, Hardwell used his headline slot at Ultra earlier this year to mark a new era in his career. This momentous occasion during Ultra not only served as Hardwell’s first show back but a chance for him to ignite the attention of fans worldwide. Since then, the legend has traveled and continues to travel the world to spread the new madness. Hardwell’s new 14-track solo album, released on his label Revealed Recordings, represents a critical point in the musical shift for one of electronic music’s biggest-known stars.

On this occasion, we had a chat with the one and only Hardwell to learn more about this incredible moment in his career and more.

Hardwell, so cool to have you here with us today! How is everything in your life going right now?

Thanks for having me and for the support with everything so far. Life feels good right now. I’m super happy with where I am at with my music and the balance I have in my life at this moment in time, just feels good. So yeah, I’m very happy.

You just dropped your so long-awaited album, REBELS NEVER DIE, how does it feel?

So yeah, my 2^nd studio album REBELS NEVER DIE is officially out. It’s only been a few years, but it’s also been hectic of a journey to this point. Making that decision to step back from touring and focus on myself was a bold moment in my life, but it’s also important to me that I continue to push myself. This album is a big reflection of that decision because it’s me taking a new step forward, making a statement. So now the whole album is here and fans can experience it in full makes me really happy.

Must say that it is incredible, tell us, how did you find this new sound of yours?

Thank you, that means a lot to me to hear that. So, a while after my announcement of taking some time off I just started listening to lots of music, and especially stuff from my early teenager years. I started to reconnect with all this music that got me into dance music in the first place. From here I got inspired to strip all the layers back and go back to being me. That’s where the sound for REBELS NEVER DIE came from.

This year you traveled and continue to travel the world showing off this new Hardwell to the world! How is that going?

The tour has been going great! So far we’ve taken the REBELS NEVER DIE stage to shows at Ultra Europe, Untold, Ushuaia Ibiza, and Tomorrowland. The support from the fans along this journey has been magical and every show so far has felt like a dream of emotions, I’ve loved it. Being away all that time was hard because I love DJing, I love that connection with the fans, it’s an impossible experience to truly summarize in words, but it feels so good to be back.

All your fans, including us, waited so much for your return! How did the crowds react when they got to see you live again?

I must thank all the fans, including yourself, for the warmth and support behind me and this new direction. Its nerve-wracking coming back with a new sound and stage show, because I see it from the fans perspective, they want to hear the well-known songs, but I have to say the fans have been nothing but amazing. We’ve grown together as a community and to be able to share these magical moments on the dancefloor is an incredible feeling.

How would you describe the 2022 summer for yourself in four words?

Ahh, this is difficult to answer because this summer has been such a rollercoaster of emotions for me. Not only because of coming back after these past few years. Reinventing myself as an artist and getting a chance to test the waters with all this new music, playing big festivals and shows like Ushuaia Ibiza again, and reconnecting with the fans after all this time. Especially after all the lockdowns. So, to give it to you in a short form, “Happy To Be Back”.

What does a day in the studio look like for you? Making such iconic music takes a lot of inspiration I’d imagine, and was wondering how you do it!

I spend a lot of time in the studio, even after my sabbatical from touring I spent a lot of my time in the studio working on new music. My studio is in my house so I’m able to wake up, prepare myself for the day, and then get to work for will often be an extended session working on ideas or finishing up a track. I love it in my studio space, I feel happy there. But my approach varies so it’s not just the same process each day. I think this is a healthy way to go about studio work. I’m inspired by a lot of things in life and will use my experiences of touring, and memories of life as a way to be creative with what’s at the core of my music.

Where do you see the EDM scene going in the future? As it feels like it’s changing rapidly isn’t it?

Compared to our legacy genres like hip hop, rock, and pop, we’re still super young as a scene. Yet collectively as a scene, we have come so far. We’re seeing a real explosion of local scenes having a global presence and I think this is only going to make electronic dance music more interesting in the coming years.

Any message for all your fans?

I love you. Thank you and see you on the dancefloor very soon!

Listen to the REBELS NEVER DIE album on your favorite platform here.

Keep in touch with Hardwell on his Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.