3 The Hard Way at Hard Bass was just the beginning

By Laurens van Beers 11 April 2016

3 The Hard Way, the new live-act, which consists of Regain, Requiem & Jason Payne, performed at Hard Bass last January for the very first time. How can you make your debut better than closing down Hard Bass in a full-packed GelreDome? These gentlemen thought the same and they couldn’t believe their luck. Because of this performance we were wondering Pawel (Regain), Boray (Requiem) and Sanjay (Jason Payne) have some plans on the horizon.

Time to ask them some quick-fire questions!

1. Gentlemen, good afternoon. What does 3 The Hard Way mean for you guys and what is it like to be a member of this group?
Sanjay: 3 The Hard Way for me is a strong alliance between three different artists, combining their sounds to one powerful sound! Being part of this group is a great honour. It’s really nice to work together with Pawel and Boray, who I admire on a musical level and on a personal level as well.

Boray: It’s exactly how Sanjay describes it. Last year has been an amazing year for me as Requiem. So it was amazing to receive a phone call if I wanted to be part of a live-act with these two guys. There has been a good vibe from the beginning. Next to gigs we can really get along with each other, so it wasn’t that hard to make this decision.

Pawel: It’s fantastic to be part of this group. I already talked a lot with Boray and Sanjay before the start of this project, so we are well attuned to each other when it comes to combining our styles. If you look at our personalities, we are quite different. But in my opinion we are a good match and we have brought some original stuff.

2. What is the difference between performorming as Regain / Jason Payne / Requiem solo and as 3 The Hard Way?
Sanjay: When you do a solo performance you can do it your own way. As 3 The Hard Way we will present our tracks together.

Boray & Pawel: Exactly, and during our solo performances people truly come for us as artists.

3. What makes 3 The Hard Way so unique?
Sanjay: The combination of our different styles and our energy! I think we are a really good team, which can bring something new to the audience. At Hard Bass the atmosphere was perfect, so we definitely want more!

Pawel: We all have our strengths and with this group we will show them all!

Boray: We also want to show that a live-act doesn’t have to contain fuss all around it. It has to be a combination between a team and solo act. We will show the world.

4. Hard Bass was the premiere of your act. How did you live up to this special night?
Sanjay: Sleepless, haha! Not particularly because of the nerves, but mostly because of the new tracks I wanted to produce for the act! In the meantime, when the official announcement came, the audience congratulated us in such a way that I don’t even have words for it. It was incredible!

Boray: The first days I walked around the streets with a really big smile. The best thing about it is that people can see there is something going on, but you absolutely can’t tell anything, haha! It was really hard to hide I was going to destroy the GelreDome with Sanjay and Pawel. The last weeks were hectic, I was really nervous of course. Luckily everything went well, so we were well prepared.

I brought my dad, brother and niece for the first time to my set. They couldn’t miss this performance of course!

Pawel: When I heard it for the first time, I was speechless. It always has been a dream for me to perform at Hard Bass. When we had to make a photoshoot at the b2s headquarters, I began to realise I was about to live the dream. It was nice to experience this with Sanjay and Boray.

5. Your entrance at Hard Bass was spectacular. How do you look back to the very first performance as 3 The Hard Way?
Pawel: Yes, it was really amazing. The audience and the show, everything perfectly came together. I was stunned! We made an appointment with b2s how to walk up on stage. Everything was planned to perfection. If I look back now, it couldn’t have been better.

Sanjay: I agree with Pawel, I will never forget this performance. If you are standing on that enormous stage, in a fully-packed GelreDome, with the energy of thousands, it is beyond words. The b2s crew had to drag me off the stage, because I didn’t want to leave, haha!

Boray: Haha, it really was a magic moment. I was satisfied to the max and soon we will meet up to discuss how we can make it even better than before!

6. Which reactions did you receive from your family and friends?
Boray: They were very happy for me. It was an unspeakable feeling to see my dad and my brother with a smile from ear to ear. When you tell your family you can perform in a sold-out GelreDome, they don’t know what to say either. Playing for 30.000 hardstyle lovers with the most important people around you. Priceless!

Pawel: My family and friends were very happy for me. Like Boray I brought some family with me to Hard Bass. My uncle and my brother watched us breaking down the GelreDome and they loved it, haha!

Sanjay: Everybody was with me and they loved it too! It is heartwarming to hear from your family and friends that they are very proud of you.

7. Which was the best moment on stage during Hard Bass?
Boray: The sickest moment for me was when the whole Dome shouted the melody of ‘Collateral Damage’. At that moment the adrenaline is pumping through your veins, so I wanted to shout it out loud from the rooftops.

Pawel: For me it was the moment when we played our track ‘Strength.Domination.Power’ for the very first time. For the first time in this immense location with the best sound system. Sick!

Sanjay: I think it was the moment during our intro and during my track ‘Venom’. It always is more exciting to play a brand new track, especially on a event as big as Hard Bass. When you see everyone going crazy, it is just perfect!

8. ‘Strength.Domination.Power’ is your first track. How was it to work on this track with the three of you?
Pawel: It was really nice. We all had different ideas, so we chose the parts we needed and which fitted in the best.

Sanjay: Yes, I enjoyed it very much! Everyone has their own way of working and their own sound. So it is really nice to put it together and make it a whole. And to be honest, the result is impressive!

Boray: For me it wasn’t that easy all the time. I was searching for the right sounds for the track. We divided the track and everybody had to work on his own part. We don’t live near each other, so we had to send small parts all the time. Indeed, the result is impressive.

9. About the track. It hit number one at the charts, even the ‘Viral 50 NL of Spotify’! It is a real smasher, did you expect this?
Boray: Haha, no absolutely not! You don’t expect such a rough track will end at the number one spot. It was completely unexpected. But it is fantastic to see that so many people appreciate our track. Besides, it is a confirmation there is a certain chemistry between the three of us, which you will enjoy more often in the future!

Sanjay: I totally agree with Boray. We will definitely do more things together, haha.

Pawel: I didn’t expect this either. But the track got a lot of attention at Hard Bass, so people really were dying for music from 3 The Hard Way. It is very nice to get rewarded like this.

10. Do you already have new ideas for the next tracks?
Pawel: We also have our solo careers, which take a lot of time, but of course we are being busy with fresh sounds for 3 The Hard Way. Soon we meet up again in the studio to work out some new ideas.

Boray & Sanjay: We won’t tell anything, but the first brainstorm sessions are finished.

11. And now, what’s next for 3 The Hard Way?
There is a very big gig on the horizon, but we can’t tell you about it. Wait just a little more!