“Even though it sounds gigantic, this song is literally drums, bass, fresh elements… and then one of the greatest singers of our time”: Producer Mike Sabath reveals the surprisingly limited instrumentation in Raye's Where Is My Husband!

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 23: Raye performs onstage during All Points East at Victoria Park on August 23, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images)
(Image credit: Jim Dyson/Getty Images)

Such is the sonic force of Raye’s single Where Is My Husband! that it would be easy to assume that it was recorded in a studio packed with musicians. However, co-writer/producer Mike Sabath has revealed that the number of players and instruments involved was actually surprisingly small.

Speaking in a new Mix with the Masters series that breaks down the song, Sabath lets us in on the secret of its production. “Even though it sounds gigantic in terms of the amount of instruments, this song is literally drums, bass, fresh elements.. and then one of the greatest singers of our time,” he says.

It’s probably the last of these that’s had the biggest impact on Where Is My Husband!’s slow-burn success. We first got to hear it way back in June 2025, when Raye opened her Glastonbury Festival set with the song, but it wasn’t actually released until 19 September.

Despite charting highly right from the off, it took until 2 January 2026 for Where Is My Husband! To reach number 1 in the UK, and it’s just hit its peak in the US, too, rising to number 13.

Mike Sabath producing ’WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!’’by RAYE | Trailer - YouTube Mike Sabath producing ’WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!’’by RAYE | Trailer - YouTube
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Raye herself previously discussed the complex vocal arrangement in the song in a couple of Instagram videos, and Sabath is clearly in awe of her talent. “She’s just ridiculous,” he says at one point, before adding that Raye created the bridge arrangement on her own while he was out of the studio for the day.

“I was like, ‘This is either too much or like the sickest of all time,’" he says of hearing it for the first time. “And it ultimately ended up being super great.”

Sabath also discusses the closing section that follows the now iconic ‘Your husband is coming’ spoken line (delivered by Raye’s real-life grandmother), noting that “I felt like it wanted to have this moment that felt like it could soar over 100,000 people.”

Going back to Where Is My Husband!’s beginnings, Sabath remembers that the song started with the drum groove (drums are his first instrument), that was created with the help of the Addictive Drums plugin. He also explains why the finished song starts with a drum roll: “When there’s a drum roll, you are presenting something. You are making a statement - you’re beginning the show.”

“That to me helped me understand the function of this song,” he continues, adding that it made him realise that this was the first song that needed to come out from Raye’s second album to reintroduce Raye as a “global queen superstar.”

The full series is available to subscribers now on the Mix with the Masters website.

RAYE - WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! (Official Music Video) - YouTube RAYE - WHERE IS MY HUSBAND! (Official Music Video) - YouTube
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Ben Rogerson
Deputy Editor

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it. 

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