Fresh from Spring Awakening, Hardwell stopped by Shrine in CT to perform on Tuesday night. Hardwell talks about good friends Diplo and Skrillex and the decision to play back-to-back-to-back, plus his excitement to play more hip hop and moombaton. Reminding us that he started out as a hip hop DJ, Hardwell revealed that he would be performing an unannounced 1-hour hip hop set earlier in the day before his evening performance this weekend at Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas.

With Revealed 6 on the way, Hardwell has plenty of innovative music to bring to his fans. Obviously, Dannic and Dyro are on there, but also new artists like Julian Calor, Thomas Newson, and Tom & Jame. It speaks to the diversity of his musical preferences. By the way, just in case you need a summer jam, Hardwell says it’s hand-down from Axwell /\ Ingrosso – Sun is Shining.

The most pressing topic of the interview, however, is this buzz surrounding Hardwell’s “Dutch House Mafia” concept.  He says he’s really referring to the entire Dutch EDM producer community, although a “Dutch House Mafia”-style record with Dannic and Dyro will “100% happen.”

The new song with Afrojack goes back to Robbert and Nick’s dutch house roots. Hardwell says it’s a simple, hard-hitting track. “It’s not super big,” and it’s “straight to the dance floor” for festivals.  We won’t be hearing this one on the radio, but you’ll hear it at Hardwell shows.

Finally, Hardwell touches on giving back to his fans.  He says the fans are the most important thing, and if free music is what makes them happy, that’s what he should be doing, whether it’s individual records or entire podcasts.

See Hardwell at EDC Las Vegas this weekend!