Album of the Week: Hardwell gets you ready for Spring Break

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Cover art for Hardwell’s first official studio album.

Sam Vander Forest

The 27-year-old house DJ from the Netherlands, Robbert van de Corput, better known as Hardwell, has released his first official studio album entitled “United We Are” and with the names and tracks involved, it seems like it came just in time for Spring Break.

Nowadays, it seems like the beach festivities are enveloped in the sound of EDM and House music, and Hardwell’s latest project fits the bill perfectly.

The 14-track album has been highly anticipated and fans have high expectations for the world’s No.1 DJ. Hardwell brought in various names to feature, including Jason Derulo, Tiesto, Fatman Scoop, Amba Shepherd and more, which is expected of a big name DJ on their first studio album.

Unlike past collaboration albums and projects that Hardwell has worked on, “United We Are” dives into some sounds and techniques that he hasn’t explored yet, and it shows great versatility. The album overall is very house-y, which means a lot of synth and adrenaline-pumping buildups, but the inclusion of Fatman Scoop, Chris Jones and Jonathan Mendelsohn on vocals provide even more to the album.

Overall, “United We Are” further solidifies that Hardwell is a powerhouse producer in the realm of dance music and just happens to be one incredible DJ as well. While some tracks may seem predictable, you can still bet on seeing Hardwell’s tracks used as the foundation for further remixes and you can absolutely count on hearing hit tracks such as “Arcadia” and “Follow Me” on the beaches during your Spring Break getaways.