Rebekah
Axkan
Cory Simpson

Proper is thrilled to bring Rebekah for her first ever performance in Vancouver with supporting artists Axkan and Cory Simpson. Rebekah’s sets have been recognized as a force of nature for quite some time, but when we caught the heat and light she was laying on the crowd at Movement 2017 we knew there was no doubt that we absolutely had to bring her hybrid DJ/live set to Vancouver. Chewing steel and spitting nails, Rebekah’s no-nonsense, no-compromise set was one of the highlights of our weekend.

Rebekah [Soma / Elements / UK] - Hybrid Set

Rebekah has established herself as one of the leading exponents of techno currently operating on the global circuit. Her love affair with the harder sounds stretches back to the legendary Que Club in her hometown of Birmingham where she drew influence from the likes of Dave Clarke, Derrick Carter, Richie Hawtin and Billy Nasty. The fact she now shares billing with artists of this calibre is testament not only to her talent, but the way in which her music has been received by the techno community.

Having made early inroads with EP’s on Naked Lunch, Smut Music, and Cult Figures, it was perhaps her remix of Matador’s “Blond Slackers” on Stolen Moments that really awakened a wider consciousness. Techno luminaries such as Chris Liebing, Adam Beyer, Perc, Dustin Zahn, Tommy Four Seven, Alan Fitzpatrick and Sandwell District all had it as a feature of their record boxes. With his interest piqued, Chris Liebing invited Rebekah to do a podcast for the infamous CLR Podcast series, and this signaled the start of an ongoing relationship with the monolithic label. Kicking off 2013 by mixing “Reconnected 03” for the imprint, her summer 2013 “Cycles” EP opened her tough, dark, driving productions up to an even wider audience, and was one of the highlights of what would be the break-through year for Rebekah.

2014 saw a series of remixes for solid underground labels such as EarToGround, Sleaze, and Gynoid Audio before a follow up EP for Cult Figures reaffirmed her production proficiency when it came to originals. The year ended with her being invited to launch a new mix series for CLR titled “Mind Sets”. Rebekah also released her first “Elements” EP which reflected her holistic outlook on life by releasing a series of EPs that trace the input of the four elements of Fire, Air, Water and Earth have on the lives of people.

Her relationship with CLR continued into 2015 with her sophomore EP “Distant” reasserting her position on the global techno scene. This followed a sublime three track EP on Sleaze, and preceded her September release on the mighty Soma Records. The “Confined Heart” EP, and especially the title track, showed off a more subtle and emotional side to Rebekah’s productions. A perfect complement to “Kill Floor” which does exactly as the name suggests.

Her “Beginnings” EP on her own Decoy Records at the start of this year signalled the coming of a new chapter. Her track ‘Orbital’ on Mord’s Herdersmat Part 1-7 highlighted her devotion to the new wave of techno artists and imprints.

February 2016 she continued the narrative started with her “Elements EP” and launched her own event series of the same name. Returning to her home city of Birmingham in the UK, the night served as a showcase for Rebekah’s sound and was joined by Truncate. Later in the year a second event took place in Rotterdam where Perc and Paula Temple were added to the line up at the infamous Factory 010. Early 2017, two more shows happened in Rome and Dublin with Dax J, Gary Beck and again Paula Temple sharing the billing including their take of techno to the concept, which Rebekah notes is all about “bringing all the ‘elements’ together that make the experience of techno so exciting and exhilarating, be it visuals, lighting, and of course the sound system”.

In April 2017 Rebekah released the album Fear Paralysis on Soma, coinciding with the last single from the LP, 1997 Reprise, the third EP in a series which has previously seen Anxiety and Code Black receive critical acclaim from her fans and peers alike, both of which are included on the album. Moving partly away from the dance floor, Rebekah has delved in to the deeper side with more ambient and breakbeat tracks, some vocal overlays but not forgetting that the dance floor is where her heart will always be, reflected in some of her signature tough sounds, albeit slightly muted and inline with how she expresses her feelings within this long player. The diminutive artist with the ferocious sound has been going from strength to strength in 2017.

Axkan [Omen / Advanced / L.A.] - Hybrid Set

Axkan (aka Federico Sanchez) is a rising talent in the global Industrial Techno community. Axkan mines a deep vein of Industrial influences in his brand of Techno, including and especially Vancouver’s own Industrial Music game-changers, Skinny Puppy. In 2016 Federico launched Omen Recordings from his current home base in Los Angeles. Axkan’s interpretation of Techno is at once heavy, propulsive and thoroughly bad ass. He recently completed a European tour concentrating on Berlin and Paris, culminating in a tour de force appearance at Berlin’s deep underground Techno power house event "Staub."

Cory Simpson [Depth / Macabre / Seattle]

Seattle’s Cory Simpson is a DJ in a solid tradition of seasoned, veteran DJs from the Midwest transplants that bring their deep love and appreciation of Techno wherever they land. Over recent years, Cory has infiltrated the Seattle Techno scene and made an indelible impact. Focusing on both the deeper and heavier edges of Techno with his regular Depth nights, Cory is the perfect starter to prime the stage for Axkan and Rebekah.

Visuals by C-130