Matt Hardwick ,is the epitome of an international
DJ. He lives and breathes electronic music. Since his inception
into club culture Matt Hardwick has completely immersed himself
in it. His rapid ascendency into dance music with the global
phenomenon that is Gatecrasher is something which has been
well documented. The association with Gatecrasher, the first
of many landmark achievements in his career, took Matt’s
name from the dusty streets of Sheffield to the bright lights
akin with international stardom, along the way seeing him
play some of the greatest events the world of clubbing has
to offer. Whether it was playing at the sell-out Don Valley
stadium gig in front of 28,000 people on New Years Eve 2000
or playing to 15,000 people at the amazing Gatecrasher NEC
events - Matt was the heartbeat of the lion that roared throughout
the trance boom of the late 90’s.
However, Matt’s growing reputation really came to the
fore only as recently as the beginning of 2002 with the completion
of his first Radio 1 Essential Mix. The mix struck a chord
with clubbers and promoters the world over. The resounding
success of his debut Essential mix led to Radio 1 requesting
a follow up in October 2005. This mix was so popular it was
quickly shortlisted for the ‘Essential mix of the year’,
only to be pipped to the post by Sasha.
In the ten years that he maintained weekly residency with
the globally renowned Gatecrasher, Matt packed and delighting
dance floors from Sydney to Los Angeles to Moscow and Johannesburg.
In late 2004 Matt’s position as Gatecrasher resident
ceased, as he felt that the resident tag was inhibiting his
development as a DJ in his own right. Entirely amicable his
departure raised many an eyebrow but went on to surpass even
the most cynical of these critics as Matt’s career blossomed.
A testament to his ability is that, whilst travelling the
globe over, Matt is still booked regularly to perform for
the club, as he is for Godskitchen, Minister of Sound, Slinky,
Passion and The Gallery.
Whilst retaining a strong diary of club dates, Matt has also
been a prominent feature at many of the world’s most
prolific festivals including Godskitchen Global Gathering,
Creamfields Homelands, Escape in the Park, South West 4 and
Gatecrasher Summer Sound System. Whilst enjoying successful
tours throughout Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, North and
South America.
All this aside, it is perhaps Matt’s production profile
which has brought his name to the fore of recent years. From
his first two singles with the popular duo Smith & Pledger,
entitled Day One and Connected, through to his club anthem
‘Slave to the Machine’ with fellow DJ John Askew,
Matt’s music has received extended support from the
likes of Tiesto, Paul Oakenfold, Armin Van Buuren, Ferry Corsten
and Judge Jules and found its way on to over 50 compilations
worldwide. To follow up on the success of their joint single,
Matt and John launched a double CD compilation called ‘Live
as’ for ‘Discover World’ in 2006. Mixed
club live and box fresh the ‘Live As’ series gives
a raw appeal that most commercial album somewhat lack, providing
a real experience of the dj in his truest form.
However, it was 2007 when Matt Hardwick really came of age
when after kicking off the year with his remix of ‘Gulf
– Impossible’ was selected by Motorola, along
with mixes by Mauro Picotto and Marco V, to launch the new
David Beckham Razr phone, before being invited by his old
family in Sheffield to recorded an underground mix on the
retrospective album, “Gatecrasher Immortal”, following
the fire at the superclub. The album received critical acclaim
and went on to sell an unprecedented 100,000 copies and shortly
after saw Matt being voted number 48 in the world in the 2007
DJ Mag Top 100 Poll (up 16 places from 2006).
So to 2008 and what’s next for Matt Hardwick? With
an ever increasing number of globetrotting performances, his
hot collaboration with Mark Pledger titled ‘Falling
Tides’ out early January 2008 on Anjunabeats and a full
release planned for his remix of ‘Gulf – Impossible’,
it is business as usual for one of electronic music’s
brightest stars.
Artist's Web Links
Matt Hardwick @ Laserpoint
Matt Darey @ Godskitchen in
Melbourne, Australia
Matt Darey @ Gatecrasher
Matt Darey @ The Ironworks in
Inverness 2009
| Hard Dance & Trance
Compilations :: Matt Hardwick