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.
For more information check out www.matthardwick.com
