United We Are
| United We Are (2015) |
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| Hardwell studio album | |||||||||||||||||
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Publication |
23rd January 2015 |
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| Label (s) | Ultra Records , Kontor Records , Cloud 9 Music | ||||||||||||||||
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Format (s) |
Download , CD |
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Title (number) |
15th |
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running time |
56:26 |
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| occupation |
Producers: Hardwell, Tiësto , Manian , W&W , Headhunterz , Funkerman , The Disco Fries, Curtis Richa, Joey Dale, DallasK Singers: Mr. Probz , Fatman Scoop , Andreas Moe , Harrison Shaw, Chris Jones, Jonathan Mendelsohn, Heather Bright , Amba Shephard, Luciana Caporaso Luciana, Haris Alagic, Bebe Rexha, I-Fan |
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United we are , the first studio album of the Dutch House - DJ Hardwell . It was first released on January 23, 2015 as a download and CD, but five songs had already been released as a single. The song Dare You was released in the fall of 2013, the track Arcadia in the summer of 2014 and the songs Young Again and Don't Stop the Madness towards the end of 2014 . The last pre-release was the song Sally in spring 2015 . Most recently, Echo was released as the sixth single.
background
Hardwell announced in early 2014 that he was working on his debut studio album: on December 1, 2014, the release date and tracklist were announced. Hardwell said he put more than a year and a half of work into this album alone. It should represent his journey through the music world and show his fans the world of electronic dance music. Similar to his previous album I Am Hardwell , United We Are is also used as the soundtrack for his second world tour. The world tour started parallel to the album release on January 23, 2015 in the Ziggo Dome , Amsterdam . The album will be released internationally via Ultra Records and Cloud 9 Music or via his own record label Revealed Records. In Germany the publication takes place via Kontor Records . In addition to the standard version, you could win an originally signed album with an additional meet and greet on the DJ's website .
Four songs have already been published in advance. It should be noted that the first single, Dare You, is not officially considered the first single, as it is available on the digital version of the album as an additional track, as an acoustic version . The songs Arcadia and Don't Stop the Madness are only available as promo singles for download on music platforms such as iTunes or Amazon. Young Again was officially released through various record labels worldwide, both for download and as a CD single . On January 9, 2014, the song Eclipse was pre-made available for download on iTunes. On January 10, 2015, Hardwell uploaded the 199th episode of his weekly podcast Hardwell On Air to his official YouTube channel. In this episode, in addition to the intro Eclipse , there is also the song Sally with the British singer Harrison, which Hardwell released as the next single. For unknown reasons, the song Follow Me , which was considered the album's biggest hit, was not made available as a download, but could only be obtained by purchasing the entire album.
promotion
He has already played songs from the album on previous live performances. In particular, the songs Young Again , Follow Me , Sally and Eclipse were discussed on the Internet, as recordings of various performances, including at Tomorrowland 2014, were distributed on the World Wide Web. The track Eclipse also went through the internet under the name Titan . A one and a half minute preview of the song Follow Me was also released on various platforms, including a self-made music video that helped the song become more popular before the original version was released in January 2015. However, it was often questioned why the title Musicbox , which was recorded in collaboration with 2013 newcomer Martin Garrix , did not appear on the album, as it was played Hardwell on all appearances, supported by other DJs and heavily questioned by the fans. Hardwell cited the reason that this track still needs a revision. Also Everybody Is in the Place found no place on the album. Another source of promotion was Hardwell's weekly podcast Hardwell On Air , some of which were viewed millions of times. A few weeks before the release, Hardwell also began uploading previews of selected songs to his YouTube channel.
Collaborations
The only solo track on United We Are is the intro song Eclipse . Various singers and other house DJs are involved in the rest of the songs. The song Follow Me , in which the American R&B singer Jason Derulo took part, caused a sensation .
The American singer Matthew Koma , the British singer-songwriter Harrison, known through his collaboration with David Guetta , the singer Heather Bright alias Bright Lights, the singer Amba Shephard and Luciana also contributed to the singing. The musician Andreas Moe , rapper Fatman Scoop, known for Avicii's Fade Into Darkness also worked . Mr. Probz and singer-songwriters Chris Jones and Jonathan Mendelsohn with. Collaborations with other DJs and dance projects also appear on the album. These include collaborations with Tiësto , Joey Dale, DallasK and Headhunterz as well as the DJ duos W&W and I-Fan & Funkerman. The German DJ and author Manuel Reuter , also known as Manian or as a member of Twoloud , RIO and Cascada , Azra Alagic, sister of Haris Alagic, who wrote the track Nothing Can Hold Us Down, worked on this album as songwriter and co-producer sang, and Nick Ditri and Danny Boselovic, also known as the DJ duo The Disco Fries through the song Follow Me .
Commentary bonus version
Parallel to the standard version, the “Commentary Bonus Version” appeared on Spotify, which contains a short commentary by the DJ at the beginning of each track. He explains his position on the respective song and tells the story of its creation. Among other things, he goes into the fact that some songs were created solely through Skype conversations, according to which criteria the vocalists were selected, and to what extent there is a background idea behind the pieces.
United We Are (Remixed)
In late summer 2015, Hardwell announced a remix version of United We Are . This was published on December 4, 2016. In united we are (Remixed) is the original tracklist, just that all the songs were remixed by to an artist. These were contributed by, among others, W&W , Vicetone and Frontliner. The entire tracklist was featured in episode 244 of his Hardwell On Air podcast. In cooperation with the streaming service Apple Music , which had just started , a “German Edition” was published, which also contained the original version.
reception
| Professional criticism | |
| Average rating |
 
|
| source | rating |
|---|---|
| It's All About Music |
|
| We Got This Covered |
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| Music Is My Oxygen |
|
| Laut.de |
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| Hit the floor |
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| Party flock |
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| It's All About Music (Track Review) | |
| song | rating |
| Eclipse |
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| Follow me |
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| Sally |
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| Let me be your home |
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| Colors |
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| Where Is Here Now |
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| United We Are |
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| Don't stop the madness |
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| Young Again |
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| echo |
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| Arcadia |
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| Area 51 |
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| Nothing Can Hold Us Down |
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| Birds Fly |
|
criticism
The reviews for the album were very mixed. The expectations were both positive and negative, as the singles that had been decoupled so far all had different styles of music, but it was criticized that the original, personal Hardwell style was lost. Young Again features progressive house, dare you dance pop, and Arcadia has a big room drop. Furthermore, the music styles of the individual artists are decisive for the variety of the songs. This is shown in particular by musicians like Headhunterz , whose personal style can be classified as hardstyle, Mr. Probz has Deephouse and Funkerman Funkhouse. So far, negative criticism has only been expressed about the song Sally , as this does not correspond at all to the qualities of the Dutch DJ. In addition to the unsuitable rock and Melbourne bounce elements, the dirty text was also criticized.
Commercial win
The decoupling was already able to bring great success in advance and achieve numerous chart placements. The album was also very popular on download portals such as iTunes and after just a few hours it was in the top 5 of the iTunes chart in many countries such as Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. United We Are also climbed high in the official album charts . In Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain and many other countries it reached the top half. In Austria and Switzerland, among others, United We Are was able to move into the top 10 of the official album charts. It also rose to number one in the Netherlands and even made it into the top 100 of the US Billboard charts.
Singles
Dare you
Dare You was released as the first single on the album. The song was released in stores on November 13, 2013. The American singer-songwriter Matthew Koma , who both sang and wrote the song, is a guest musician . A few months later a remix EP with remixes by the DJs and DJ projects Tiësto , Twoloud , Cash Cash , Andrew Rayel and Tritonal was released. The official music video premiered on January 5, 2014. To date, it has been viewed over 10 million times. The single also sold well and was able to advance to the official single charts in 7 countries, including top 20 placements in Belgium and Great Britain. The publication took place not only on Revealed Records, but also on Kontor Records. Dare You can mainly be classified into the genre of progressive house and dance pop .
Arcadia
Arcadia was released as the second single. It first appeared on August 8, 2014. The piece was recorded together with Dutch DJ and producer Joey Dale and British singer Luciana Caporaso. The video premiere took place on August 8, 2014 in parallel with the announcement of his new album. The basis for the music video is the story of Alice in Wonderland . The video has received several million clicks to date. Due to the publication, which took place only through Revealed Records, the commercial success was very low in contrast to the previous single Dare You and only the French charts were reached. The song mostly corresponds to the big room music style.
Young Again
Young Again was released as the third single. The track was released on November 16, 2014. The song was sung by the British singer Chris Jones. The official music video was first shown on October 17, 2014. It starts with several excerpts from various live performances. At the beginning of the chorus, a transformation can be seen and the DJ finds himself in a kind of music world in which it is important to survive. It was viewed over 4 million times in just one month. Young Again is the album's second commercial single with a progressive house and dance-pop style and was able to surpass the success of Dare You in the Netherlands . In Germany, too, the official single charts were only just missed.
Don't stop the madness
Don't Stop the Madness was released as the fourth single. The song was first released on December 22, 2014. A kind of template is the song Madness by Dimitri Vegas , Lil Jon and Coone; Another DJ duo is also involved in this song, in this case W&W , and similar vocal parts that Lil Jon raps in Madness were recorded with the US rapper Fatman Scoop . An official music video has not yet been released, but there is an official preview consisting of a live performance by Hardwell, W&W and Fatman Scoop. However, the track has not yet brought any commercial success. It's another big room single from the album after Arcadia .
Sally
Sally was released as the fifth single. The song was released for download on iTunes on January 16, 2015 and is the last pre-release. The song is sung by the British singer-songwriter Harrison, who became known through the song Ain't a Party together with David Guetta . Sally incorporates characteristics of the Melbourne Bounce and Progressive House genres. There are also traces of rock music in the chorus . Due to the different genres present in the piece of music, which in the eyes of the fans do not fit the musical style of the Dutch DJ, the track quickly came under criticism. Another reason for this is the very explicit text of the chorus. Sally is the first song by the Dutch DJ that also made it into the German single charts. It was also able to enter the top 100 in Austria and the Netherlands. The music video, which first appeared on Hardwell's own YouTube channel on January 28, 2015, was also a success, although - unlike the previous ones - it featured singer Harrison instead of Hardwell.
echo
Echo was released as the sixth single. Before the release was announced, the official music video of the song was uploaded by Hardwell himself on April 18, 2015. It shows a man in the mountains who is chasing a Siberian husky there. In the meantime, scenes from his youth are shown together with his girlfriend. Singer Jonathan Mendelsohn, who sings the text of the song playback, is also shown. When the album was released, the track received a lot of positive reviews. In addition to the influence of Hardwell's big room style, the track also shows traces of trance music and dance pop. Many fans miss joy and party mood, but the Dutch DJ is given high credit for the transmission of emotions and feelings.
Follow me
Follow Me was released as the seventh single on August 7, 2015. Even before the album was released, the title enjoyed great popularity and several previews spread like wildfire on the Internet. Regarding the collaboration, Derulo said that the moment they thought about a collaboration already promised a lot of potential. A joint music video was uploaded in July 2015, but withdrawn due to the late release of the single. In addition to the normal version, a club mix was released in which the third drop is not a progressive but a big room drop. This was referred to as a pure copy of the song The Hum by Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Ummet Ozcan . Although this is common in this line of business, it was heavily criticized due to the dispute between Hardwell and the Belgian brothers. Besides a high ranking in Australia, commercial success has remained very low. This was ensured in particular by the rule that the song was only possible for a year when the entire album was purchased.
United We Are
United We Are was released as the eighth and final single. The song was released on November 4, 2015. The piece is the title track of the album, but can only be found as a new version on the singles. This came about as part of the PR campaign by the tire manufacturer Vredestein , who was also responsible for the production of the music video. As early as the summer of 2014, a live recording as an alleged collaboration with Dannic and Dyro spread on the Internet. Although the song could not achieve any chart positions, it was highly praised due to its strong innovation. Hardwell used the song as an intro in several live shows.
World Tour
The "I Am Hardwell - United We Are World Tour" opened on January 24, 2015 in the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam. There played Hardwell a 3-hour DJ set, in which, among other things Martin Garrix , W & W , Headhunterz and Dannic were brought as a guest musician on the stage. Dannic and Kill the Buzz performed regularly as warm-up acts . The last concert of the world tour was held in cooperation with BigCityBeats on August 27, 2016 at the Hockenheimring in Germany. The plan was to install the world's largest lighting system. In contrast to his other shows, Hardwell played 3½ hours instead of 2½ hours. As guests he brought singer Haris for the song What We Need and hardstyle DJ Atmozfears for their long-awaited collaboration on stage. Despite temperatures of over 35 ° C, there was no free water on the site, which is one of the few points of criticism.
Track list
| # | title | Guest musician | length |
|---|---|---|---|
| CD1 | |||
| 1 | Eclipse | Instrumental piece | 3:12 |
| 2 | Follow me | with Jason Derulo | 3:19 |
| 3 | Sally | feat. Harrison | 3:19 |
| 4th | Let me be your home | feat. Bright lights | 4:38 |
| 5 | Colors | with Tiësto feat. Andreas Moe | 4:00 |
| 6th | Where Is Here Now | with Funkerman feat. I fan | 3:15 |
| 7th | United We Are | feat. Amba Shepherd | 5:15 |
| 8th | Don't stop the madness | with W&W feat. Fatman Scoop | 3:45 |
| 9 | Young Again | feat. Chris Jones | 3:39 |
| 10 | echo | feat. Jonathan Mendelsohn | 5:08 |
| 11 | Arcadia | with Joey Dale feat. Luciana | 3:13 |
| 12 | Area 51 | with DallasK | 3:00 |
| 13 | Nothing Can Hold Us Down | with Headhunterz feat. Haris | 3:18 |
| 14th | Birds Fly | feat. Mr. Probz | 3:27 |
| Bonus track of the iTunes version | |||
| 15th | Dare You (Acoustic Version) | feat. Matthew Koma & Bebe Rexha | 3:06 |
| United We Are (Remixed) | |||
| # | title | Remixer | length |
| 1 | Eclipse | Chocolate Puma | 4:12 |
| 2 | Follow me | Bingo players | 3:55 |
| 3 | Sally | Frontliner | 5:27 |
| 4th | Let me be your home | Dave Winnel | 4:09 |
| 5 | Colors | Vicetones | 3:25 |
| 6th | Where Is Here Now | Franky Rizardo | 3:55 |
| 7th | United We Are | Armin van Buuren | 4:02 |
| 8th | Don't stop the madness | Dirt caps | 4:02 |
| 9 | Young Again | KURA | 3:48 |
| 10 | echo | Kaaze | 5:09 |
| 11 | Arcadia | Sean & Bobo | 4:00 |
| 12 | Area 51 | DallasK | 3:37 |
| 13 | Nothing Can Hold Us Down | Pep & Rash | 3:04 |
| 14th | Birds Fly | W&W | 5:39 |
| 15th | Birds Fly | esquire | 2:50 |
| Bonus track of the iTunes version | |||
| 15th | Dare You (Acoustic Version) | feat. Matthew Koma & Bebe Rexha | 3:06 |
Chart placements
album
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
 NL
|
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| 2015 | United We Are |
DE11 (3 weeks) DE |
AT6 (4 weeks) AT |
CH4 (4 weeks) CH |
UK83 (2 weeks) UK |
US85 (2 weeks) US |
NL1 (22 weeks) NL |
First published: Jan 23, 2015
Sales: + 20,000 |
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
UK
|
NL
|
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| 2013 | Dare You United We Are |
- | - |
UK18 (3 weeks) UK |
NL31 (3 weeks) NL |
First published: November 15, 2013
with Matthew Koma |
| 2014 | Everybody Is in the Place United We Are |
- | - |
UK59 (1 week) UK |
- |
First published: April 28, 2014
Co-Producer (s): W&W |
| Young Again United We Are |
- |
AT56 (1 week) AT |
- |
NL22 (6 weeks) NL |
First published: October 17th, 2014
feat. Chris Jones Sales: + 30,000 |
|
| 2015 | Eclipse United We Are |
- |
AT34 (2 weeks) AT |
- | - |
First published: January 9, 2015
|
| Sally United We Are |
DE60 (2 weeks) DE |
AT33 (3 weeks) AT |
- | - |
First published: January 16, 2015
feat. Harrison Sales: + 15,000 |
|
publication
| country | date | format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Netherlands
|
23rd January 2015 | Download, CD | Cloud 9 Music |
|
UK
|
Sony Music UK | ||
|
United States
|
Ultra Records | ||
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Germany
|
Cloud 9 Music / Kontor Records | ||
 France
|
Scorpio Music |
Individual evidence
- ↑ tracklist.club
- ↑ It's All About Music (Review)
- ↑ We Got This Covered (Review)
- ↑ Music Is My Oxygen (Review) ( Memento of the original from March 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Laut.de (Review)
- ↑ Hit the Floor (Review)
- ↑ It's Party Flock (Review)
- ↑ Booklet from United We Are
- ↑ a b Chart sources: DE AT CH UK NL Singles NL Albums US
- ↑ United We Are in the Dutch iTunes Store
- ↑ United We Are in the UK iTunes Store
- ↑ United We Are in the US iTunes Store
- ↑ United We Are in the German iTunes store
- ↑ United We Are in the French iTunes store
