| Rebels Never Die | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 9 September 2022 | |||
| Recorded | 2019–2022 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 54:56 | |||
| Label | Revealed | |||
| Producer | Hardwell | |||
| Hardwell chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Rebels Never Die | ||||
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Rebels Never Die is the second studio album by Dutch DJ and record producer Hardwell. It was released on 9 September 2022 by his own record label, Revealed Recordings. [1]
On 7 September 2018, Hardwell had announced his indefinite hiatus from touring, stating that he wanted to focus more on his personal life. On March 27, 2022, he made his return to the dance scene by closing out the Ultra Miami 2022 festival as the rumored special guest. [2] During his set, he played 13 IDs that introduced his new bigroom-techno style and would be released as part of his upcoming album. Additionally, he played a 10-year anniversary remix of his song "Spaceman". [3]
On 1 April, Hardwell released the first two singles from the album, "Broken Mirror" and "Into the Unknown". "Broken Mirror" features a monologue from Hardwell, saying "...your opinion of me does not define who I am. Cause I know what you want me to be. Now, I'm gonna show you who I truly am." "Into the Unknown" was the first of the singles to introduce the bigroom-techno style of his album. [4]
Hardwell released the IDs as singles from the album every two weeks. However, on 15 July, he released "Zero Gravity" a week after the album's previous single to generate excitement for his four-year return to Tomorrowland. [5]
On 9 September, he released the Rebels Never Die album, featuring the last unreleased ID from his set, the titular song. [1] Rebels Never Die appeared in Dancing Astronaut's Top Dance Albums of 2022. [6]
On 23 December, the deluxe version of Rebels Never Die was released. It features a new original, "Oh Gosh", three reworks of previous Hardwell songs, and a mashup of "F*cking Society" and Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters". [7]
Hardwell used his hiatus as an opportunity to explore creative freedom. He was inspired to create Rebels Never Die from a vinyl collection he listened to in his childhood. [8]
The bigroom-techno sound of Rebels Never Die has been described as "future techno" and "future rave". [9] [10] It is a bold switch-up from Hardwell's euphoric big room house style, replacing anthemic vocals with cerebral, spine-chilling samples. [11]
Hardwell described the style of his album with:
"I hate to be caught up in one particular genre. I always try to make music I love to play out. I don't consider myself a mainstream artist, techno, or big room artist, I consider myself Hardwell, and this is what Hardwell is. If it's not a genre, then it's not a genre; it's just me." [12]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Broken Mirror" | Robbert van de Corput | Hardwell | 2:22 |
| 2. | "Into the Unknown" | Corput | Hardwell | 3:19 |
| 3. | "F*cking Society" |
| Hardwell | 4:39 |
| 4. | "Black Magic" |
| Hardwell | 4:05 |
| 5. | "Dopamine" |
| Hardwell | 3:45 |
| 6. | "Godd" |
| Hardwell | 4:31 |
| 7. | "Pacman" | Corput | Hardwell | 3:52 |
| 8. | "Mind Control" | Corput | Hardwell | 4:08 |
| 9. | "Reminisce" (featuring Lee Grant) |
| Hardwell | 4:01 |
| 10. | "Zero Gravity" | Corput | Hardwell | 4:32 |
| 11. | "Laser" | Corput | Hardwell | 2:54 |
| 12. | "I Feel Like Dancing" | Corput | Hardwell | 3:45 |
| 13. | "Self Destruct" | Corput | Hardwell | 4:02 |
| 14. | "Rebels Never Die" | Corput | Hardwell | 4:15 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Oh Gosh" | 4:29 |
| 16. | "Spaceman (Rebels Never Die Rework)" | 6:20 |
| 17. | "Bigroom Never Dies (Rebels Never Die Rework)" (with Blasterjaxx featuring Mitch Crown) | 3:39 |
| 18. | "Retrograde (Rebels Never Die Rework)" | 5:49 |
| 19. | "Nothing Else Matters vs F*cking Society (Hardwell Mashup)" (with Metallica) | 3:09 |
| Chart (2022) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [13] | 146 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [14] | 29 |
House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120-130 beats per minute as a re-emergence of 1970s disco. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground club culture and evolved slowly in the early/mid 1980s as DJs began altering disco songs to give them a more mechanical beat. By early 1988, House became mainstream and supplanted the typical 80s music beat.
Ambient techno is a subgenre of techno that incorporates the atmospheric textures of ambient music with the rhythmic elements and production of techno. It was pioneered by 1990s electronic artists such as Aphex Twin, Carl Craig, The Orb, The Future Sound of London, the Black Dog, Pete Namlook and Biosphere.
Electronic dance music (EDM) is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and festivals. It is generally produced for playback by DJs who create seamless selections of tracks, called a DJ mix, by segueing from one recording to another. EDM producers also perform their music live in a concert or festival setting in what is sometimes called a live PA. Since its inception EDM has expanded to include a wide range of subgenres.
Robbert van de Corput, known professionally as Hardwell, is a Dutch DJ and music producer from Breda. He was voted the world's number one DJ by DJ Mag in 2013 and again in 2014. In 2022, he was ranked at number 43 in the top 100 DJs poll by DJ Mag. He is best known for his sets at music festivals, including Ultra Music Festival, Sunburn and Tomorrowland.
DubVision is a Dutch DJ duo from The Hague consisting of brothers Victor and Stephan Leicher signed to the labels Spinnin' Records, Armada Music and Axtone.
W&W is a Dutch DJ and record production duo composed of Willem van Hanegem Jr. and Wardt van der Harst. They began their careers by producing trance music, before venturing into big room house and other forms of EDM.
Jeff Montalvo, known professionally as Seven Lions, is an American DJ, record producer, instrumentalist and remixer from Santa Barbara, California. Active musically since 2010, his music combines styles as diverse as trance, melodic dubstep, drum and bass, glitch hop, and electro house. He has released eight EPs, multiple singles, and official remixes for record labels such as Casablanca Records, Owsla, Viper Recordings, Anjunabeats, Republic Records and Monstercat.
Revealed Recordings is a Dutch record label established by Hardwell in 2010. The label is headquartered in Breda, Netherlands.
Blasterjaxx is a Dutch DJ and record production duo composed of Thom Jongkind and Idir Makhlaf, originated in The Hague and active since 2010. They are mostly known for producing big room house and electro house music, being more active in the first genre.
Dutch DJ and record producer Robbert van de Corput, better known as Hardwell, has released two studio albums and eleven compilation albums, along with 116 singles. He first started producing in 2007 and gained international recognition with his bootleg of "Show Me Love vs Be" in 2009. In 2022, Hardwell returned with his second studio album, the 14-track Rebels Never Die.
Niles Hollowell-Dhar, known professionally as Kshmr, is an American musician, songwriter, DJ, record producer, former rapper, and singer. He was ranked 23rd on DJ Mag's 2015 Top 100 DJs poll and was awarded highest new entry for the year. In the same poll he elevated to 12th in 2016 and 2017, and again in 2020. He was ranked 11th in the same poll in 2021; and in 2022 in same poll he ranked 12. In July 2017, he launched Dharma Worldwide, a sublabel of Spinnin' Records. Kshmr performed live at many music festivals like Coachella, Tomorrowland, EDC, Ultra and Sunburn.
Daniel Goldstein, better known by his stage name Lane 8, is an American musician, DJ, and electronic music producer. Currently residing in Denver, Colorado, he is signed to English deep house label Anjunadeep. Pete Tong named Lane 8 a "Future Star" and Dancing Astronaut included him in their '25 Artists to Watch in 2015'. His debut studio album Rise, was released on July 17, 2015. More recently, he has been releasing music through his own label This Never Happened.
Jordy van Egmond, known professionally as Dyro, is a Dutch DJ and EDM producer. Since 2010 he has released original singles and remixes on labels such as Revealed Recordings, Musical Freedom, and Def Jam, and has also released official remixes for tracks such as "Right Now" by Rihanna and "Iron" by Nicky Romero and Calvin Harris. He collaborated with Tiësto on a single titled "Paradise" in 2013, and also that year he collaborated with Hardwell on the single "Never Say Goodbye". Featuring Bright Lights, it peaked at No. 23 on the UK Dance Chart. In 2014 Dyro ranked No. 27 on the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs list.
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Area21 is a Dutch-American electronic dance music duo consisting of Martin Garrix and Maejor.
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Bianca Latupapua, professionally known as Lady Bee, is a Dutch electronic musician, MC, DJ and producer. She first got involved in music as an MC at the age of 17, before becoming a DJ and producer. She has worked with a number of major Dutch musicians, including Hardwell, Laidback Luke and Sidney Samson. Many of which she featured on the vocals for.
John Paul Orchison, known professionally as Blanke, is an Australian electronic music producer and DJ from Canberra, Australia.
Jonathan Mendelsohn is an American singer and songwriter. He has worked with EDM DJs such as Hardwell, Brennan Heart and Blasterjaxx. Their collaborations "We Are Legends", "Imaginary" and "Ghost In The Machine" held the number one position on the respective Beatport Top 100, while the song "Till Tonight" with Laidback Luke was ranked in the Dutch national charts. Also two tracks with Dash Berlin received a nomination for 'Best Trance Track' at the IDMA's.
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