How the hardstyle version of ‘Where Have You been’ broke out of the scene

ERABREAK and Resilience are back with a new release that’s already getting a lot of attention. Their rework of Rihanna’s ‘Where Have You Been’, together with Nathalie Blue, is spreading fast on TikTok and even getting support from artists outside the rawstyle scene.

But for Resilience, this track means more than just a successful release. It marks a clear change in his sound. “I have always been thinking in imaginary boxes and rules when it comes to a certain sound I made for years,” he explains. “At some point I realised that I was far too focused on the old school sound, therefore limiting myself heavily creative wise.” That mindset eventually led to a difficult period. “It felt like I created a border for myself where I could never get past. And if I did, I was scared that people would blame me for trying different things.” Letting go of that changed everything: “I began focussing on creating tracks without any imaginary borders and rules, and that is when I gained my creative freedom and fun in the studio again. This release is the first glimpse of that new sound.”

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That new direction can clearly be heard in the track, which blends rawstyle with industrial and hard techno influences. Still, that wasn’t a calculated move. “We weren't consciously focusing on the hard techno scene,” they say. “We were focusing on bringing the ultimate rave weapon. We don’t want to look into certain genre boxes, but more in the overall rave sound.” The crossover appeal surprised even them. “We didn't expect the track to get this much hype, especially from the hard techno scene. We thought maybe some attention outside hardstyle because of the industrial kicks, but not like this.” One of those moments came quickly: “We sent it to Karah on a Saturday morning and a couple hours later he played it in IFEMA Madrid for 20.000 people. That was a very cool experience.”

The choice for the track itself was simple. “It’s one of our all time favorite songs to shout on the dancefloor,” they say. “So we thought why not make a crazy hardstyle version so people can scream the lyrics and then go hard on the kicks.” Turning such a well-known track into something new wasn’t easy. “We wanted to keep the nostalgic feeling, but also make sure it’s not just a simple edit. In the beginning we struggled with making it unique, but we started changing the chord pattern and even the iconic vocal line.” Nathalie Blue played a key role in that process, and is currently also making a name for herself on The Voice of Holland. “To replace Rihanna’s vocals, you really need a talented vocalist. She really brought the idea to life.”

With festival season coming up, this is just the start of what’s next. Resilience will showcase more of this new sound at REBiRTH Festival, where he opens the REBELLiON stage on Saturday from 12:00 to 12:45.