MEET:REBEKAH interview by Artur Wojtczak with photos by KEYI STUDIO. Styling by Izabella Chrobok & Grzegorz Bacinski. Make up & Hair by Hendrik Gebhardt.

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Birmingham born, Berlin-based DJ, Producer, Live Act and Label Owner Rebekah is the multifaceted artist leading the way in today’s techno scene. Undoubtedly one of the most revered names in techno, Rebekah boasts a string of notable releases on the likes of Mord, Soma, CLR and Elements, and has been highly regarded by the likes of Chris Liebing, Bas Mooy, Paula Temple, Perc and many more throughout the course of her career.

Initially her live show made its global debut at some of the worlds best and most renowned electronic music festivals and clubs, with her performances receiving accolades from dance music media and fans alike. Later in the year, the haunting techno artist hosted her own ‘Rebekah Invites’ event during ADE, which featured artists such as DJ Stingray, Dasha Rush, Parrish Smith and Dark Chambers. 2020 will see Rebekah delve into some exciting projects, including a highly anticipated solo release on her Elements label and an already brimming tour schedule featuring appearances in all corners of the globe including Tokyo, Toronto, Seoul, Amsterdam and Rome, to name a few.

She’s played at many of the major European clubs and festivals and today she shares with us her thoughts about club culture and the future of techno.

出生于伯明翰的柏林 DJ、制作人、现场表演者和唱片公司所有者 Rebekah 是一位多面手，在当今的 techno 领域处于领先地位。毫无疑问，Rebekah 是 techno 中最受尊敬的名字之一，她在 Mord、Soma、CLR 和 Elements 等乐队上发布了一系列著名专辑，并受到 Chris Liebing、Bas Mooy、Paula Temple、Perc 和许多人的高度评价在她的整个职业生涯中更多。

最初，她的现场表演在一些世界上最好和最著名的电子音乐节和俱乐部中首次亮相，她的表演获得了舞曲媒体和粉丝的一致好评。今年晚些时候，这位令人难以忘怀的 techno 艺术家在 ADE 期间举办了她自己的“Rebekah Invites”活动，其中包括 DJ Stingray、Dasha Rush、Parrish Smith 和 Dark Chambers 等艺术家。2020年，Rebekah将深入研究一些激动人心的项目，包括备受期待的 Elements唱片个人发行，以及已经充满活力的巡演日程，其中包括东京、多伦多、首尔、阿姆斯特丹和罗马等全球各个角落的演出。她曾在许多主要的欧洲俱乐部和音乐节上演出，今天她与我们分享了她对俱乐部文

In September last year, you have launched a campaign against sexual harassment in dance music called #ForTheMusic. How’s the feedback from the music industry so far?

The feedback has mainly been supportive with most people agreeing that sexual harassment and assault has no place within our scene but there are still a few that choose to not believe that this happens at all or they believe that the survivors of such abuse somehow asked for it. This just really highlights that the scene has a way to go to shed its misogynistic views and behavior. In the next months some statistics will be shared on how much of this happens and I am hoping then to gain more support and more of a “what can we do about the problem” attitude.

去年9月，您发起了一项名为#ForTheMusic的反对舞曲性骚扰的运动。到目前为止，音乐界的反馈如何？

反馈主要是支持大多数人同意性骚扰和攻击在我们的场景中没有位置，但仍有一些人选择不相信这种情况会发生，或者他们认为这种骚扰的幸存者以某种方式导致其发生。这确实突出了该场景有办法摆脱其厌恶女性的观点和行为。在接下来的几个月中，（我们）将分享一些统计数据，说明其中发生了多少，我希望届时能获得更多支持和更多“我们能对这个问题做些什么”的态度。

In recent years, it has emerged that many artists, actors or music producers – especially female ones – have experienced acts of sexual harassment or sexism in the industry. It came as a shock when accusations were made against very well-known people in the scene such as Derrick May or Erick Morillo. Does this dark side of the music business still have much to uncover?

I would say that you would be hard pressed to find a woman working or going out in the scene that hasn’t got a story of harassment or misogyny to share, that’s how much of this is going on, it really is the norm not the exception. It’s not surprising when you look closely at the roots of the dance scene, which started with promoters putting on huge parties, the predominance of male DJs over women. Placing DJs on a pedestal and giving them

everything they want on the night…drugs, drink, rich dinners and women, definitely has played to the ego of many DJs. Coupled with the groupie culture where young women are in awe of the power these DJs have, this really gave way to the abuse that has taken place and continues to do so. So, in short, yes there is much more to uncover. There are many DJs, promoters, agents, managers, club owners that have stories on them but many won’t see the light of day due to the survivors not wanting to go public or wanting to face off in court against their perpetrators and, with so much support that came out about Eric Morillo being a hero after he passed and after the fact he was in court for rape, it’s not surprising.

近年来，出现了许多艺术家、演员或音乐制作人—尤其是女性—在该行业经历过性骚扰或性别歧视行为。当有人对现场非常知名的人（例如 Derrick May 或 Erick Morillo）提出指控时，这令人震惊。音乐行业的这个阴暗面是否还有很多东西需要揭开？

我会说你很难找到一个女人在没有骚扰或厌女症的故事的场景中工作或外出，事情就是这样，这真的是常态而不是例外。当你仔细观察舞蹈场景的根源时，这并不奇怪，它始于发起人举办大型派对，男性 DJ 占主导地位。将 DJ 放在一个基座上，并在晚上给他们他们想要的一切，即……毒品、饮料、丰盛的晚餐和女人，这绝对是许多 DJ 的自负。再加上年轻女性对这些 DJ 所拥有的力量感到敬畏的追星族文化，这确实让位于已经发生并继续存在的虐待。所以，简而言之，是的，还有更多要发现的东西。有许多 DJ、发起人、经纪人、经理、俱乐部老板都有关于他们的故事，但由于幸存者不想公开或想在法庭上与他们的肇事者对峙，许多人不会看到曙光，而且，埃里克·莫里洛（Eric Morillo）去世后成为英雄的支持如此之多，而且他因强奸而出庭，这并不奇怪。

How would you compare the role and position of women in the techno music world in the 90s or early 2000s to today? Which talented DJanes are your favorite?

The role has definitely changed, the women that I looked up to or knew about in the 90s and 2000s were very much more about the rock n roll lifestyle. It felt like they had to work super hard to get taken seriously and were not so friendly towards other women in their position. Nowadays I see so many women supporting other women and helping them come through, it’s almost like shrugging off this old mentality of women being the token DJ at the party or only being booked because they are “hot”. This transition has been a slow and long process and as a woman myself starting out in the mid 90s, I too have had to question a lot of where this scarcity mentality comes from and to be honest it’s the messages that has been given to me by men – no single person is to blame, it’s again just the culture. As for my favourites I have so many. Alienata is great at playing electro, Bloody Mary has a great energy with her techno sound, not necessarily hard but groovy and she plays lots of older records which I love to hear. I am into a few ladies who play live; Aja creates herself as visual art mixed with the heaviest experimental and industrial live set, which is super fresh and interesting. And of course Dasha Rush for her DJ sets and live sets where she is always pushing the boundaries using different concepts and collaborations, these ladies are true visionaries.

您如何比较 90 年代或 2000 年代初期女性在techno音乐界的角色和地位与今天？你最喜欢哪些才华横溢的DJ？

角色肯定发生了变化，我在 90 年代和 2000 年代仰慕或认识的女性更多地关注摇滚生活方式。感觉他们必须非常努力地工作才能得到认真对待，并且对处于他们地位的其他女性并不那么友好。如今，我看到很多女性支持其他女性并帮助她们度过难关，这几乎就像摆脱了女性在派对上充当象征性 DJ 或仅仅因为她们“火辣”而被预订的旧心态。这种转变是一个缓慢而漫长的过程，作为一个从 90 年代中期开始的女性，我也不得不质疑这种稀缺心态的来源，老实说，这是男性给我的信息 — 没有一个人是罪魁祸首，这又只是文化。至于我的最爱，我有很多。 Alienata 擅长演奏电子乐，Bloody Mary的techno 声音充满活力，不一定很强劲，但很时髦，她演奏了很多我喜欢听的旧唱片。我喜欢一些现场演奏的女士；Aja 将自己创作为视觉艺术，混合了最重的实验和工业现场场景，超级新鲜有趣。当然，Dasha Rush 的 DJ 布景和现场布景，她总是使用不同的概念和合作来突破界限，这些女性是真正的梦想家。

We are currently observing two leading trends in techno : playing hard, fast beats, sometimes connected with hardcore, but also deep, dubby and hypnotic grooves. What’s the future of the techno sound?

Don’t ask me, ask the clubbers! There is so much of everything out there within the genre, I feel we have reached critical mass of what’s musically possible, especially as pop music/metal techno edits recently made an appearance, realising we may just be out of fresh influences. But maybe I’m not right…. I’m hoping some young new producers prove me wrong….

我们目前正在观察 techno 的两个主要趋势：演奏硬、快节拍，有时与硬核有关，但也有深沉、dubby 和催眠的律动。techno声音的未来是什么？

不要问我，问俱乐部成员！流派中的一切都如此之多，我觉得我们已经达到了音乐上可能的临界质量，尤其是当流行音乐/金属techno编辑最近出现时，我意识到我们可能刚刚熬尽了新鲜的影响。但也许我错了…我希望一些年轻的新制片人证明我错了…

In one of the interviews you’ve said that you simply cannot operate without keeping fit. And you described your exercises as „ moving meditation”. What was your best way to keep fit during the lockdown?

Through the pandemic I stayed on my fitness for about a year of the lockdown until I just couldn’t face working out at home and the grueling pressure of staying fit any longer. This included doing weights and a lot of strength training. But all was not lost as I started running with a friend and realised that the moving meditation part of what I enjoy is the cardio aspect. Going for runs, biking or long walks is still the best for mental health.

在一次采访中，您曾说过，如果不保持健康，您根本无法操作。你把你的练习描述为“移动冥想”。在疫情期间保持健康的最佳方法是什么？

在疫情期间，我在禁闭期间坚持了大约一年的健身，直到我无法面对在家锻炼和保持健康的巨大压力。这包括做举重和大量的力量训练。但是当我开始和朋友一起跑步时，一切都没有丢失，我意识到我喜欢的运动冥想部分是有氧运动方面。跑步、骑自行车或长途步行仍然是心理健康的最佳选择。

You were born in Birmingham and based in Berlin. What’s the main difference between clubbing in Germany’s favorite techno-city and in the UK?

The main difference is the opening hours and sheer amount of parties but bear in mind that it is hard to compare a capital city to smaller cities in the UK.

Culturally I would say that the UK has slight variations of dance music which differs to Germany. You find more breakbeat, garage, house and bass in the UK where it’s harder to find in Berlin. But for techno music Berlin will have more

variety of parties and sub genres of

techno. The other difference is the

opening hours, especially after hours. I found that in the UK people tend to go home and have after parties with their friends when the sun starts coming up where in Berlin people will rave in clubs

for as long as possible, sometimes exceeding 24 hours before going home after parties.Maybe the drugs are different?

你出生在伯明翰，常驻柏林。在德国最受欢迎的techno城市蹦迪和英国蹦迪之间的主要区别是什么？

主要区别在于开放时间和派对数量，但请记住，很难将首都城市与英国的小城市进行比较。在文化上，我会说英国的舞曲与德国略有不同。你会在英国找到更多的breakbeat、garage、house和bass，而在柏林很难找到。但对于 techno 音乐，柏林将有更多种类的派对和 techno 的子流派。另一个区别是开放时间，尤其是下班后。我发现在英国，人们往往会在太阳升起时回家和朋友们派对，而在柏林，人们会尽可能长时间地在俱乐部狂欢，有时派对结束后回家前超过 24 小时。可能药物不一样？

I personally call Berlin „New York of Europe”with its multicultural atmosphere. What’s so fascinating here for you? Tell us about your favorite spots in the city

( cafes, record-shops, boutiques).

The artist lifestyle you can have here is what makes the city for me. Being able to have a studio and pop out for a coffee or meet up with someone mid afternoon is great. To have parties happening all through the week is also a bonus, especially when you are away on weekends. This to me is real living, being in the UK I just felt this pressure and loneliness to conform to the 9-5 rat race. I also love the freedom Berlin gives you, to be able to create what you want, wear what you want, everything is open, like the city itself is a blank canvas. My favourite spots are mainly in my neighbourhood, 19 Grams for the best coffee, 1990 Vegan Living for the most delicious Vietnamese finger food and for some fun raving outfits I have Namilia close by too.

我个人称柏林为“欧洲的纽约”，其多元文化氛围。这里有什么让你如此着迷的地方？告诉我们您在城市中最喜欢的地方（咖啡馆、唱片店、精品店）。

你可以在这里拥有的艺术家生活方式是这座城市对我的影响。能够有一个工作室，出来喝杯咖啡或在中午与某人见面真是太好了。整个星期都举办派对也是一种奖励，尤其是当你周末不在家的时候。这对我来说是真实的生活，在英国，我只是感到这种压力和孤独，以适应朝九晚五的老鼠赛跑。我也喜欢柏林给你的自由，能够创造你想要的东西，穿你想要的东西，一切都是开放的，就像城市本身就是一张空白的画布。我最喜欢的地方主要是在我的社区，最好的咖啡是 19 克，1990 Vegan Living 是最美味的越南小点心，还有一些有趣的狂欢服装，我附近还有 Namilia。

Dr Motte – founder of Love Par

ade and his organization Rave The Planet are currently lobbying German authorities to apply for UNESCO intangible cultural heritage status. How do you like the idea? Do you think that other countries will follow?

A lot of venues are already listed venues in the UK but this could be a great way to not have them turned into apartments or shopping centers and being lost forever. I think the culture of dance music has exceeded all expectations and is now part of life and how we connect with one another so it is important to keep these spaces and the history alive. It’s also important to keep the history of what the venues were originally used for too. In my city there is the Birmingham Music Archive which is an initiative that is celebrating the history of the venue I originally discovered techno at the Que Club, they have the full history including a gallery and interactive films where people share their experiences about the venue.

Dr Motte 博士——Love Parade 的创始人和他的组织 Rave The Planet 目前正在游说德国当局申请联合国教科文组织的非物质文化遗产地位。你觉得这个主意怎么样？你认为其他国家会效仿吗？

许多舞池已经在英国是受保护的，但这可能是一个很好的方法，可以避免它们变成公寓或购物中心并永远消失。我认为舞曲文化已经超出了所有人的预期，现在已经成为生活的一部分，也是我们相互联系的方式，因此保持这些空间和历史的活力非常重要。保留场地最初用途的历史也很重要。在我的城市里有一个伯明翰音乐档案馆，这是一项庆祝我最初发现 techno 的场地历史的倡议； Que Club，他们拥有完整的历史，包括画廊和互动电影，人们可以在其中分享他们对场地的体验。

You were also touring China. How did it feel to play to the Asian public, who are actually still learning the „house & techno lessons”? Did you enjoy playing there as a kind of adventure?

I’ve played China so many times over the last 20 years including Beijing, Hong Kong and as far as Urumchi and the scene there has gone through so many changes. I always love coming over and seeing what new clubs are taking off and where the music is heading and the new artists emerging from there. Of course I love the food and shopping, being so small the clothes fit me well out there!

你也在中国巡演。与实际上仍在学习“house & techno 课程”的亚洲公众一起演奏感觉如何？在那里演出是你享受的冒险吗？

在过去的 20 年里，我在中国演出过很多次，包括北京、香港和乌鲁木齐，那里的场景发生了很多变化。我总是喜欢过来看看有哪些新俱乐部正在起飞，音乐走向何方，以及从那里涌现的新艺术家。我当然喜欢美食和购物，因为我太小号了，所以衣服很合身！

Can dance music influence societies and make our world a better place? Do you see the connection between spirituality and the club culture?

1000% yes! Discovering dance music and dare I say, drugs, really opens up people’s minds and perspectives. The cliché of music bringing people together is true and I like to see it as a vibration, music frequencies matching your own inner vibration then we connect to others who share this too. If you look into the science of meditation it’s about changing your brain waves to alter a state of consciousness. As a DJ I suppose it’s like being an energy worker, with the music being the catalyst. I love seeing nothing more than people connecting through music, sharing the gift that was given to me is always a great honour.

舞曲能否影响社会并使我们的世界变得更美好？你看到灵性和俱乐部文化之间的联系了吗？

1000% 是的！发现舞曲，我敢说，毒品，真的打开了人们的思想和视野。音乐将人们聚集在一起的陈词滥调是真实的，我喜欢将其视为一种振动，音乐频率与您自己的内在振动相匹配，然后我们也将与其他分享这一点的人联系起来。如果你研究冥想的科学，那就是改变你的脑电波以改变意识状态。作为一名 DJ，我想这就像一个能源工作者，音乐是催化剂。我喜欢看到人们通过音乐联系在一起，分享给我的礼物总是一种莫大的荣幸。

What are your 3 favourite club classics that still work on the dance floor?

Outlander – Vamp, those techno keys will never get old. Jeff Mills – The Bells, the floor always gets a renewed energy when it kicks in and a recent find from Miss DJax – Acid storm, straight up and driving 303 riff to end all 303 tracks.

您最喜欢的 3 款仍在舞池中流行的俱乐部经典曲目是什么？

Outlander – Vamp，那些 techno键盘旋律永远不会过时。Jeff Mills – The Bells，当它开始时，地板总是会得到新的能量，最近来自 Miss DJax 的发现 – 酸性风暴，直线上升并驱动 303 即兴演奏结束所有 303 曲目。

Recently you went to the Himalayas. What was the trigger for such a trip ? Any other travel plans in front of you ?

There has always been a fascination with the big 8000m mountains and the people that climb them, so it was a dream to go to the Himalaya. I had originally planned for this trip in March 2021 but Corona hit so it was placed on hold. Then last year was probably the worst year ever, on a personal level with my biological father passing away to cancer. I realised life is short and putting things off is not always the way to go, we should be choosing to do things now while we are fit and healthy to still do them. It was a well needed trip with 12 days of high altitude hiking with amazing views of Lhotse, Everest, Nuptse and Ama Dablam along with some peace and quiet for inner reflection. Hiking will always be my meditation and medicine combined. The question is where to next? I’m already eyeing up Canada for a summer trip.

最近你去了喜马拉雅山。这次旅行的触发因素是什么？你面前还有其他旅行计划吗？

一直对 8000 米的大山和攀登它们的人们着迷，所以去喜马拉雅山是一个梦想。我原本计划在 2021 年 3 月进行这次旅行，但由于新冠来袭，所以它被搁置了。就个人而言，去年可能是有史以来最糟糕的一年，我的亲生父亲因癌症去世。我意识到生命是短暂的，推迟事情并不总是正确的方法，我们应该选择现在做事情，当我们仍然健康。这是一次非常需要的旅行，为期 12 天的高海拔徒步旅行，可以欣赏到洛子峰、珠穆朗玛峰、努子峰和阿玛达布拉姆的壮丽景色，还可以享受一些平静和宁静的内心反思。徒步旅行永远是我的冥想和良药。问题是下一步去哪里？我已经开始关注加拿大的暑期旅行了。

Interview 作者: Artur Wojtczak @wojtczak.artur
Styling 造型师: Keyi Studio @keyistudio
Fashion 时尚 : FAKBYFAK @fakbyfak , MISBHV @misbvh , Therapy Recycle and Exorcise @therapy_berlin , PAT GUZIK @pat_guzik , Studio Winkler @studiowinkler,
Translation 翻译: Emi & Joyce Zhang & Han @emi2lucky / @joycefyz
Photos照片: Keyi Studio @keyistudio / @eyes_dice + @berlin_bunny_
Make up & Hair 结构: Hendrik Gebhardt @henk369