Celebrate Hardwell’s birthday with a rewind to his 2012 BBC Essential Mix

As another year chimes in, it is always an equal opportunity to anticipate with excitement the new music to come and also reminisce the hits and headlining tracks of the years gone by. While many have had their part to play in making Dance music famous – by creating tracks or by curating mixes. But a few have had the impact that Dutch DJ and producer Hardwell has had and we must remember that as we celebrate his birthday today. Almost all listeners today recall that iconic I AM HARDWELL Documentary trailer, where a 16 year old Hardwell proclaims that his dream is to become the ‘world’s number 1 DJ’ – look at how that turned out!

With iconic tracks such ‘Cobra,’ ‘Zero 76‘ with Tiesto and ‘Spaceman‘ – all of which have completed over half a decade since their release – the Dutchman has remained head and shoulder above producers of his generation. Add to that the success of his pioneering Dance music label Revealed Recordings and the dominant Hardwell On Air podcast, the ‘Dare You‘ hit-maker’s image as an artist has been transformed into a global entity – with comparisons being made to the likes of Tiesto too. Nevertheless, what can be truly agreed upon is that for many of us he remains an era defining musician, who has been behind giving support to artists such as Dannic and Dyro among many more.

You can check out our archives on Hardwell here!