Matt Hardwick - Giving Trance A Chance
Author: Clare Dickins
Friday, September 15, 2006
I think I’ve stumbled on the perfect specimen of a human being. What kind of person plays professional football for Sheffield Wednesday, has a Masters degree in Law and has spearheaded arguably the most legendary clubbing brand in dance music for almost a decade- You can’t be serious can you Matt Hardwick- Oh yeah… and he’s rather nice to look at as well!
It’s almost midnight (UK time) when Hardwick jumps on the phone, admittedly a little dazed and confused from his last interview thanks to a time delay on the receiver, meaning he was hearing back everything he just said. “It doesn’t take much to get me confused and that really worked! It’s OK being book clever, but it’s a bit different when you’re talking about common sense. But I probably shouldn’t say that should I!” [Laughs.]
Matt Hardwick may not be the most celebrated of trance DJs, but in a career spanning over a decade – nine years of which was spent as a Gatecrasher resident - very few DJs have played a more instrumental role in popularising the genre to a widespread dance audience. Indeed, Hardwick is as frontline as they come.
Hardwick’s love affair with dance music started out much like any other British youth in the early ‘90s; a love of clubbing led Matt to the world of pirate radio stations and before too long (and with a bit of encouragement from a friend) he soon owned his first pair of decks. By the time 1993 rolled around, he was playing his first gig warming up for Danny Rampling of all people. The Gatecrasher experience would begin in 1995.
Throughout the legendary club’s glory years, every man and their dog wanted to be a ‘Crasher kid. Hardwick and his comrades Scott Bond and German pin-up Paul van Dyk were elevated to the status of demigods as trance’s popularity soared through the roof. When the bubble burst in the early naughties and trance became the proverbial punching bag genre thanks to the rise of pop-trance sinners DJ Sammy, Ian van Dahl and co., suddenly it was the dirtiest word in dance music.
Throughout it all however, Hardwick has remained committed to the trance cause and believes the massive backlash in 2001/2 was ultimately beneficial to the genre. “I think the music actually got better when all this kind of hype went away from it. With all this hype came people wanting to make money from it, so the music got all commercial and a bit cheesy really. As soon as that focus went off it and on to another genre of music, the creativity really came out and I think that’s really carried through to today.”
Indeed, many would argue the genre is currently enjoying a stunning underground renaissance of late – Hardwick has never been happier with its form.
“There’s a lot more creativity and a lot more quality than there ever was back then. Everyone used to think it was all about ATB’s 9pm Till I Come, but it never was. Since then, people have almost forgotten about trance and it has allowed it to grow and develop and a really strong scene has come out of that,” he explains. “It’s actually been easier DJing since then, because I’ve really been enjoying the music a lot more.”
In 2004, Hardwick undertook a massive career leap, when he quit his residency at Gatecrasher after an incredible nine years with the club. Although a difficult decision to make, he’s never looked back. “[There were] all these constraints of being a resident of a large powerful organisation; I couldn’t play for any other clubs, I couldn’t do this, I couldn’t do that, I couldn’t do any other compilations. It was kind of restricting and I did feel that it was holding me back,” he explains.
Matt says as soon as he’d split from the clubbing giant, the offers from rival clubs started coming through thick and fast. “It was almost like a coming of age – I know it sounds a bit cheesy, but it really was. It felt like I could do it on my own now and I used to think that hiding behind Gatecrasher was something I needed to do.”
Today, Hardwick is cruising nicely to say the least. His production sessions often see him team up with the best in the biz, with John Askew and Anjuna Beats pair Smith & Pledger frequent studio buddies.
Hardwick recently teamed up with Askew for Discover Records presents Live As – a live mix recorded at Passion in the Midlands. Hardwick is exultant to be taking it back to the old school and re-injecting the often sterile DJing world with an element of humanness.
“I think people can get too far away from the whole original idea of mixing two records together. At the end of the day, the only element of performing we have as DJs is mixing two records together, and once that’s gone, you might as well just use a cardboard cut out [of a DJ].”
And what of this amazing past as a professional soccer player and law student- Hardwick explains that he signed a two-year professional contract with Sheffield Wednesday over the years of 1993-5 and kept his love of dance music under wraps from his teammates. “I don’t think the two could ever co-exist,” he admits. “It was a fantastic time playing with some of the biggest players in the world at that time like Chris Waddle and Des Walker and actually training with them on a day to day basis!”
Similar to the Dutchman Armin van Buuren, Hardwick also juggled a law degree with the responsibilities that came with being a touring DJ, even bringing his law books on the plane with him when he first toured Australia with Gatecrasher in 2000.
“When I finished football I did a management degree (a BA) and I was always thinking of what was next. As a DJ you always have to be looking around the corner, because you can’t be a DJ till you’re 60-70 - although some DJs who are still around are getting that way now!”
WHO: Matt Hardwick
WHAT: Godskitchen at Home
WHEN: Sunday 1 October
MORE: www.futureentertainment.com.au
MATT HARDWICK IN FIVE
- He has a Masters in Law
- He use to play football for English club Sheffield Wednesday FC
- He came in at number 58 in the 2005 DJ Mag Top 100 DJs
- He left Gatecrasher in 2004 to pursue production and international touring
- He is currently producing with duo Smith & Pledger under the alias Shadowlands
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