With no doubt, his sounds are special in the world of Raw Hardstyle – Regain. He always seemed to follow his own path, and this with a huge success. His latest release ‘Anything’ didn’t disappoint his fans at all, but also unveiled a small change in the Regain style. Time for Hardstyle Mag to meet up with Regain, and talk to him.
Zwiesel
‘Push it to the limit’ we all know these lyrics from the legendary smasher, created by Pawel Goss – aka. Regain. The Polish producer, who came into contact with Hardstyle through his older brother, has remarkably shaped the sound of nowadays Raw Hardstyle. Although the coronavirus is currently holding him back, Regain is one of the artists who seem to be working continuously hard in the background. Regain is one of the artists who seem to be working continuously hard in the background. New releases, performances on stages or even online streaming events this man seems to be everywhere. Time for us, to talk to this man about his life, music and goals.
Hey Pawel, thanks for your time. Your latest track ANYTHING is finally out. What can you tell us about this track?
Hey! First of all – thank you for the opportunity! A few days ago I released my new track “Anything”. My main goal was to bring back the typical Rawstyle sound with an aggressive melody and typical strong Raw kicks. Lately, the scene is overloaded with some “bleep” kick stuff so I decided to go a different direction and express myself with a clear and typical form of Rawstyle. I don’t make tracks with melodies that much so “Anything” is also different compared to my previous stuff.
You already announced this track last December. Now it’s February. Why does it sometimes take that long, to release a track? I mean, some tracks were played at many festivals but the track gets released sometimes months later. What can be the reason for such a – let’s say – delay.
There are two things you have to remember about. The first thing is a finished project – when I finish the track, I really want to play it, test it and see the reaction of people. Second thing is the planning and promotion. My label always plans the release, work on a videoclip and find a perfect date for release. It’s easy to make a track, work on a simple cover and push it to the fans, but me and my label always aim for something more than just a simple release. So I guess these things cause the delays. People wait for a ready product while we work so hard to deliver the best quality of each release.
Do you use sample packs for your tracks? If yes, which ones did you use for ANYTHING?
I sometimes use sounds from Sample Packs for sounds like percussions (snares, claps, crashes etc.), vocals and cool effects that I’m not able to create myself. But Hardstyle in general is not a genre where you use sample packs a lot. To create your own style, you have to make your own kick or melody which mainly describes your style, you have to work on unique sound design and always find a good idea for music arrangement. Sample packs will never give you these things. That’s something you have to work on yourself.
When you start to produce a new track, do you have a standard procedure like a custom (like I always start with the kick) or are you totally flexible – just as the flow goes?
I’m flexible. If you limit yourself with things, it’s not good for your inspiration. You can start from a kick, from a melody or from a vocal or screech. Everything just depends on what inspires you. Lately I started with a clear mid-intro and then I tried to add new things to my track like: a melody, vocals etc.
Sometimes I started my tracks from the break part and when the kick comes in, I had a huge problem to gain the proper energy, because I couldn’t find a perfect kick to the connect to the previous part I did. So this example shows that I blocked myself in my creativity process. It’s just important to understand things and work in other ways than usual. This always gives a different feeling which helps you to create unique tracks every time.
In the track ANYTHING, the melody is playing a big role in. Why is there no anti?
The Regain style can be described as “anti-climax” in every track. But this time I decided to go for a melody to get a real aggression and heaviness just from the kick and melody/lead. I wanted to make something different and use the melody as a main part of the track.
If you describe your style from the early Regain days and compare it to your current style, what would you say has changed and what remained?
My style changed so much in the past few years. I think that music describes our feelings and people pick the tracks/style which connects to their current mood. It’s the same with me as a producer. I create a track which describes me at the particular time. Me – as a person – changed in the past few years and my music changed as well. I don’t always follow the rules of the Hardstyle scene. I produce what I like and feel. Every track for me is another definition of “Regain” which I created and will create.
So what exactly changed? Probably the sound design and my producing skills. Every day is a new day to be better as a producer. I learn a lot and I read many articles about producing. I also watch many cool tutorials which inspire me and in the end my music sounds better, because I just know what I do. I don’t produce randomly and I want to know how this and this exactly works. So I’m sure my music sounds more professional than a few years ago. The thing that will never change is “anti-climax” in 95% of Regain tracks. I’m a huuuge fan of antis, because I like these ‘unexpected’ moments in Hardstyle.
If you could pick 3 Artists for a collaboration, who would it be and why (even from other genres)
I’d really like to work with more vocalists. It’s very hard to find someone from Poland who has the perfect English skills to write lyrics and sing. But maybe one day…
My number one will be always Hard Driver. He has a huuuge skills and you can hear that nothing in his tracks is random. I love his style and tracks. And Radical Redemption! This guy releases so many good tunes. His style is close to my heart just because he has no mercy in his tracks! He is able to produce this clear type of Rawstyle that I love (Like Brutal 6.0). I also respect Adaro, Warface, E-Force, Rebelion, Atmozfears, Keltek… O my God, there are sooo many great producers I’d like to work with! And a little dream of mine is to work with a good House producer. I’m sure it would be something different and crazy!
Despite the lockdown, you seem to be pretty active and visible on the socials, with new music and several projects. Is this Regains way to keep in touch with his fans?
Definitely yes. I’m not interested in posting random messages about vaccines, COVID-19 and all other things that happen in the world right now. I’m not a chemist, medic and I’m not a politician. I’m a DJ and producer so I want to do things for the people they are following me for. I’m motivated to make music like never before. This break from the music events gave me enough time to produce without being tired of flying and performing. I want to be active and wait for better times. People still listen to the music, people still watch live streams and that’s what I want to give them.
Nowadays, social media is becoming more and more an important factor to be successful. How many hours a week are you approximately working on them?
Not so much. My management is better on this field. But now I have more time to manage my social media and keep in touch with my fans, yet I’m still more focused on the music than social media. I know it’s wrong, let’s hope people would forgive me!
Last year you did a special ‘This is Regain’ stream, which was pretty cool. Are there any plans for a new episode?
Yes! We’re working on it and planned it in the first weeks of March. Follow my social media, more information about the special Regain stream will be revealed soon! I’m going to play some exclusive tracks and edits again so be sure you don’t miss it.
Are you already working on new music or other projects?
Yes of course. I’m busy with music every day. I already have a few projects finished and a few projects which will be finished soon! I’m also working on several collaborations with big Rawstyle names and one with a Polish EDM producer. Next to this I also asked a very talented producer to make a remix of my track: Bottle after Bottle. No time to waste, my main goal is to deliver new music and be ready with new material when all music events are back.
Is there a message you would like to send to your fan base now?
Thank you for your enormous support! Every activity from your side really motivates me. We see each other online now but when we get back to the dance floor, we’ll all party together! Stay safe!
2021 looks good.
Wow, this man is really active. We hope that you guys out there enjoyed this interview as much as we did. And obviously the year 2021 looks good for Regain fans. We can really expect huge things coming up, to let us forget the absence of events and festivals a bit. Thanks Regain for the work. We will stay in touch with you