Monthly newspaper and online publication targeting 18 to 35 year olds. The ultimate guide to the hottest parties, going out and having fun. Music, fashion, film, travel, festivals, technology, comedy, and parties! London, Barcelona, Miami and Ibiza.
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/642372
Hey Rebekah, how are you doing? I'm good thank you! Just back from a holiday in Thailand so feeling refreshed after the festive period and I'm raring to go. Is 2016 treating you well so far? So far it's been nice, I'm happy with the gigs I have played, the holiday and the fact it has stopped snowing in Berlin already. Tell us a bit about how you first got into techno – was there one track or one party that sparked it all for you? My love affair started after encountering techno for the first time at the Que Club in Birmingham at a night called Atomic Jam, it was definitely life changing and I just felt like I had come home. The music that was played there was nothing I had heard before, it was still mid 90's so the sound was ravey. The Birmingham sound – heavy, lots of bass – is very distinctive, what is it about the area that inspires this kind of music? In my opinion I just think that Birmingham for many years didn't have many opportunities for young people and definitely not in a creative area. Employment wise you would of been looking at working in a factory and that would be after you left school; this runs true even further back from the 80's and 90's as Ozzy Osbourne stated in his autobiography. The anger then needs an outlet and this came through within the Birmingham sound of either metal or techno. And it's back on the up, why do you think it's becoming so popular again? The young kids getting in to techno seem to have this energy and I think it matches the music, the crazier the better! Also there are new producers looking to the past and the Birmingham techno from the 90's, which is so classically constructed, really just grooves but the question is how can you make a groove sing for six minutes or so? Regis and Surgeon were really on point with this using percussion and effects. It's also the fact that analogue gear has made a comeback too, finally producing outside of the box. Speaking of Birmingham, you're starting and curating the new Elements night alongside Dark Chambers and Jay Sirett at The Blackbox at the end of Feb. It sounds like it's going to be a massive show, what can people expect? Myself and two friends, fellow DJs and producers, Dark Chambers and Jay Sirett have been talking about putting something on for the last few years and we finally felt the time was right. We've been heading out to all these amazing parties on mainland Europe and really wanted to re-create this experience back home, using lights and visuals and just bringing in all the 'elements' we feel make up the techno experience. As ever, you've got a busy schedule, and Dockyards Festival in Amsterdam is another huge event. What is it about this festival that appealed to you? Amsterdam is really happening right now, quite possibly it has never really stopped for techno and it's just great to go over and play at these big festivals. What I like most is how organised the Dutch are and how great they are with hospitality, they really know how to throw super parties and no expense is spared with sound and production. Your latest EP [Beginnings] is so good! Talk us through the creative process behind the record. The EP is a collection of tracks that I have been working on for the last eight months or so, the straight forward tracks were made pretty easily. I've been using an analogue sequencer, which always creates some interesting patterns. 'Last Time I Died' I spent a lot more time on, as I do if it's more breaks, I felt it needed more attention to the percussion and the sounds as it's more out of my comfort zone in the studio. Is an LP in the works? Yes it's early days in production and is mainly a lot of sketches but something is emerging. It's a really nice process to be able to just create some different music, but with a theme running through it. [Beginnings] is out on your own label Decoy Records, how does the label boss role suit you? I really don't feel like the "boss", I run it alongside a friend another DJ and producer from Birmingham, and it can get pretty mental managing releases, so we share the workload. But it's nice to have a label to showcase other talents and contribute to the techno scene. How has being based in Berlin influenced how and what you produce? Berlin has given me so much freedom. When I arrived almost four years ago it just opened me up to all sorts of electronic music, there are no limitations to what you can create. What one thing would you do to change the world? For it to become a meat free world. Idealist I know but with the current factory farming practices we are destroying the environment and we could also stop the amount of suffering. ISSUE 84 / 20016 31 Hailing from the Midlands and now based in Berlin, Rebekah is fast becoming one of techno's leading lights. She's played at hotspots like Awakenings, Berghain, Tresor, Fabric and Tomorrowland to name just a few, was previously part of Chris Leibing's CLR family and runs her own label Decoy Records. We caught up with her to talk techno, Birmingham and Berlin " The young kids getting in to techno seem to have this energy and I think it matches the music, the crazier the better! " INTERVIEW: REBEKAH follow @djRebekah Interviewed by: Christina Dean HOUSE