Playlist of the Week: Hardwell

Hardwell

Jun 12, 2024

Superstar DJ/producer Hardwell celebrates his Revealed Recordings label's 1000th release with the stories behind some of the imprint's most essential tracks for Beatport's Playlist of the Week.

This month, Revealed Recordings hits a monumental milestone with the issue of our 1000th release! I kicked off this journey back in 2010. Since then, we’ve signed and released groundbreaking tracks, hosted events and festival takeovers around the world, launched our academy, and worked with and got behind talent from the biggest names in the scene to the most exhilarating new talent. I’m so proud of the highs we’ve achieved and the lows we’ve survived through, always keeping our focus on our core philosophy of releasing great music and working with incredible talent.

In honour of our 1000th release, I’ve curated a special playlist that is a snapshot of the journey of Revealed and goes some way to celebrate the label’s evolution from its formation to the present day. Enjoy! - Hardwell

Check out Hardwell's Playlist of the Week on Beatport!

Hardwell, Funkadelic - Get Down Girl [REVR001 - 2010]

Where else to start but at the beginning, right! ‘Get Down Girl’ was the one that kicked it all off. Before he was Dannic, my good friend Daan was making music under the name, DJ Funkadelic and this was our very first official collaboration together on Revealed. I still love the rumbling bass line and progressive elements on this!

Hardwell – Hardwell Presents Revealed Volume 2 [REVR018 - 2011]

I need to include this because Revealed was barely a year old at that point, and it was such a milestone moment for both myself as a producer and the label. Dropping the second Revealed compilation, with the inclusion of the mighty 'Zero 76' collaboration between myself and Tiësto (which was originally released via his Musical Freedom/PIAS), was a proud achievement.

Hardwell – Spaceman [REVR027 - 2012]

A year down the line my world shifted once more with the official release of ‘Spaceman’. It was humming around the internet for a while before it was officially released in January 2012. Ever since I first played this song it’s continued to be one of my most elevated releases to date. Today, the track has taken on a life of its own, and I love that it still means so much to fans.

Hardwell, Amba Shepherd – Apollo [REVR049 - 2012]

I first debuted this during my Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) of 2012, then releasing this at the end of that year. During the production process I knew instantly that this would be my follow-up to ‘Spaceman’. It also bookended what proved to be a pivotal year for the label and myself. Amba’s stunning vocal combined with the instrumentals progressive melody and electro backbone is still magical to me all these years later.

Hardwell, Matthew Koma – Dare You [REVR080 - 2013]

‘Dare You’ was a slight shift in a more melodically refined direction for myself. I suppose you could say my ‘big’ single on the label after my placing in the DJ poll - so, a lot of eyes and ears were on me and my music. I love big songs with strong lyrics and Matthew’s contribution on the track does not underdeliver. It’s a vocal club anthem with mass appeal and one that proved to be a key feature in my festival sets.

Hardwell – Everybody Is In The Place [REVR100 - 2014]

I wanted to carve out something special for the 100th Revealed release. So, decided to infuse my big room sound with a sample from The Prodigy classic 'Everybody In The Place’, bringing a huge euphoric energy to dance floors.

Hardwell, Thomas Newson – 8Fifty [REVR250 - 2016]

Fast-forward a couple of years, and the label’s now up to its 250th release. I’d been on the road as part of my third Revealed Recordings North American Bus Tour, and during the tour, Thomas Newson, who was supporting me, and I had been busy working on a new track together. The track has such an aggressive electro house vibe to it, which is amazing. It was the perfect fit for the 250th release on the label and still gives me goosebumps now.

Maddix, ANVY – Bad Meets Evil [REVR500 - 2020]

A few years after Maddix first appeared on Revealed (his track ‘Tumalon’ appeared on the Revealed Vol. 7 compilation), Revealed hit its 500th release, and Maddix got the call to mark this huge occasion for us. He’s an incredible talent and someone who deserves all the success he’s currently receiving.

Hardwell – Into The Unknown [REVR749B - 2022]

‘Into The Unknown’ was the first step into a new chapter of my career. I wanted to reinvent my sound and give fans something completely different. I’ve always said that I didn’t like being caught up in one particular genre because I love so many different styles of music. So, for me, this new perspective was a chance to escape the association of any tagged sound and explore music with 100% creative freedom.

Hardwell – F*cking Society [REVR750 - 2022]

Ultra Music Festival 2022 was a huge occasion with my comeback set, but it was also a chance to showcase all the new music I had been working on leading up to then, which would become my REBELS NEVER DIE album. This track was the third single from the album, but it’s funny because, looking back, that track could easily not have made the album. Although it’s quite a simple melody hook, it took me about three years to finish the song because I just could not find the right kind of chords that I liked to fill the break. It was definitely one of the most frustrating tracks I’ve ever made. I must have made over 70 different versions of that track, but thankfully, I stuck it out, and I’m so happy with the outcome.

Hardwell, KAAZE – Move [REVR1000 - 2024]

Here we are, our 1000th release!! It’s a super proud moment for me and the whole Revealed family, and we’re extremely excited about the future ahead with more music, label events, and talent coming through the imprint. As for this special new release, this man has long been a part of the label family. His career has been on a roller-coaster ride in recent years, rising through the ranks, working with countless big-name acts and continuing to release amazing music. It’s such a joy to see him grow. So, I’m proud to be linking up with my good friend KAAZE for this special 1000th Revealed release and making history with him.