When it comes to Hardstyle, it’s impossible to argue the fact that any artist has had a bigger impact on the genre than Headhunterz. From the moment his first records were released, his unique melodic and energetic take on the genre sparked a new movement within the international music scene. A rise unparalleled, Headhunterz continues to take Hardstyle to new heights. 

Willem Rebergen, better known as Headhunterz, kicked off his DJ career over a decade ago. A visit to Qlimax 2003 lit a spark in Willem, leading to an uncontrollable wildfire, as he dedicated himself to becoming the best producer in the genre. His originals, as well as the album he made with Wildstylez under the Project One moniker, redefined the hardstyle sound of the late 2000’s. Headhunterz’ new take on hardstyle music made the genre grow into an international phenomenon and become something worldly. 

From 2014-2017, Headhunterz took on a new challenge and found himself headlining major festivals like Ultra Music Festival, Coachella and EDC, making him explore the boundaries of his own, musical imagination and discover new parts of the world as well as different territories within the electronic dance scene. Though it did trigger his creativity, Willem became homesick, missing his beloved hardstyle scene. In 2017, in front of 60,000 ecstatic fans who thought they had lost their hero, he announced his comeback to hardstyle at Defqon.1. With open arms, the community embraced him, as he travelled the world to celebrate his return with fans, old and new. It took him to 125 performances across 34 countries in 2018 alone, a journey which inspired him to create ‘The Return of Headhunterz’, an album that tied past, present and future together. Surpassing 15 million streams on Spotify, the album – along with his No. 28 position in the 2018 DJ Mag Top 100, showed that, no matter the adventures Headhunterz would undertake, he’ll always find a warm welcome in his home base.

The album also marked the launch of a new label – ART OF CREATION, with his colleague Wildstylez. A creative and dynamic platform that bridges the gap between music makers and community. At the same time, Headhunterz relaunched the HARD with STYLE Podcast, recorded live from a brand new studio, with state-of-the-art equipment and sound. This is where new Headhunterz music comes to life, plans to conquer new territory for his tribe are forged and the one thing reigns that will always remain Headhunterz’ greatest achievement; the music from within.

As the first Italian DJ to tour the world, he’s put his homeland on the global techno map. As the first DJ to mix live on the eminent BBC music show Top Of The Pops, he’s helped bring techno to the widest audience possible. As the man behind Meganite – one of Ibiza’s most successful and longest running nights – he has recruited some of the world’s most respected underground DJs as residents; Adam Beyer, Marco Carola and Chris Liebing.

This journey to legendary status began over 25 years, 700 releases and 7 million unit sales ago when he became the first Italian finalist in the world DMC championships in 1988. Galvanising this success the following year with a win on a live broadcast Italian DJ competition called The Walky Cup, his national crown as a premiership DJ was realised... And the world beckoned.

A string of sonic successes, dancefloor dominance and industry victories followed; early chart appearances as R.A.F and co- writing for myriad European house acts during the early 90s led him to become a partner Media Records, while his reptilian trilogy in 1998 elevated him to a global level; ‘Lizard’, ‘Iguana’ and ‘Komodo (Save A Soul)’ fused trance with techno on such a level they became hymns for the biblical superclub explosion during the last few years of the 20th century and charted in many countries. From this point onwards, the world could no longer ignore the dance music and techno phenomenon. And Mauro was driving from the front. As one of the most in-demand artists across the globe, he barely left DJ Mag’s illustrious Top 100 DJ list throughout the first decade of the 21st century.

Constantly searching for innovative developments – both musically and technically – Mauro expressed an early vision that is now common place within electronic music: his ability to bring the underground to the masses, to fuse melody, hooks and harmony with industrial strength drum dynamics, his innate understanding of widescreen DJ selections that cover the whole spectrum created a reputation that positioned him in all corners of techno.

This focus and attitude meant that as a DJ he’s been invited to perform the broadest possible range of peaktime sets from Berlin’s famed Love Parade to Turin Winter Olympics via Timewarp, Tomorrowland, MTV Festival, Awakenings, Sensation, Mayday, Ultra Music Festival, Space Miami, Ibiza and thousands more. As an artist this gave him the freedom to flex from major remixes of top tier acts like Freddie Mercury and The Pet Shop Boys while delivering extensive albums that explore every side of techno with daring experimentation with tracks such as ‘Baguette’, ‘Contaminato’, ‘Hong Kong’, ‘The Riff’ and ‘Asteroids’.

As well as his journeyman DJ sets and full spectrum productions, this vision is also evident in his two brands. Both established in the early 2000s and still going strong to date, his Meganite events and Alchemy label are both melting pots for evolution and development. Meganite at Privilege is one of Ibiza’s most infamous techno parties and has since gone on to take over clubs and arenas across Europe and the US while Alchemy has delivered cuts from the likes of Adam Beyer, Chris Liebing, Joseph Capriati, Paco Osuna, Popof, Sasha Carassi, The Advent, Steve Rachmad, Nicole Moudaber and many more. Not just a label, Alchemy has also given the world a successful festival in Mauro’s motherland Turin in 2010 and is the home to his hugely popular podcast series that is syndicated across the world and listened to by audiences of millions. 

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