As a former model and now house DJ, Rebekah is not nearly as big a bimbo as you’d expect. Sure, when I get her on the phone from the UK she’s just had her pre-Australian-tour manicure and she’s generally conscious about the way she looks, but this girl is definitely no Portia Surreal. She’s serious about the music she plays and while accepting that she can’t escape her past as a pin-up girl for the likes of FHM, Playboy, Loaded, Maxim et al she’d rather people judge her on her skills rather than her tits.
She first started mixing nine years ago when she was 17 while still at college in Birmingham. A bit lost as to what exactly she wanted to do with herself, she started going out clubbing and inspired by the sets of Scott Bond, who happened to be a family friend, she acquired a set of turntables and a mixer. After finishing school she found herself in the lucrative world of wearing practically nothing for magazines. While there were perks to the job, she soon got bored of standing for hours and hours in front of a photographers and decided to take up DJing full time.
Since then many promoters have booked Rebekah purely on her reputation as a hottie only to find out that she can actually move a dance floor. With a growing reputation, she now plays several gigs every weekend in the UK for brands like Ministry of Sound, Godskitchen and Miss Moneypenny’s and has toured overseas to South Africa, South-East Asia, China, El Salvador and Europe.
“Obviously I’m never going to be able to shake off the modelling thing,” she explains, “because it’s something in my past and it’s something my management have used. But saying that, as a female DJ you’re always going to get booked on what you look like anyway. There aren’t really any female DJs that are bad looking, if you’ve noticed – even the girls who haven’t modelled. And the thing is, over here all the female DJs that haven’t modelled to begin with will end up getting their kit off in the music magazines anyway. It’s whatever sells I suppose.”
“The thing is, I’m not a bad DJ. I’ve been doing it for nine years and technically I’m really good. I know my shit, so it’s really annoying that the modelling overshadows my DJing. But when you come and hear me play, you’ll forget about the modelling because, at the end of the day, I kick ass on the decks.”
She says her main influences are French and Chicago house, with a touch of funk, but she has her own distinct style of mixing and selection. “I like to keep it rolling. I’ve got my own loopy sort of percussive sound and I don’t really play all the big tunes, I’m not a big cheesy DJ. I don’t mind slipping a few anthems in – if I really like them – but it’s not what I started DJing for. To play one big tune after another, you can get any old DJ from down the road for $50 to do that. I try to give something a little bit extra and a little bit different, bringing in new sounds and really just experimenting a little bit.”
She’s currently getting her label, Kitch Bitch Recordings, off the ground. With three releases already out, she’s now in the process of doing a deal with a distributor and getting some new material ready. “This year’s been finding the sound and next year’s going to be putting the sound out there.”
With an unbeatable combination of looks, skills and savvy it would seem like the world would be Rebekah’s to subjugate, but despite all her advantages she’s set her sights on relatively modest goals. “My ambition is really just to carry on. Just to get the record label off the ground and get it working and carry on doing what I love, which is DJing and travelling the world. I’m really, really fortunate and lucky to be able to do that. That’s all I do and it’s what I love.”
DJ Rebekah’s latest tune Gorgeous is being released on Groovedigital Recordings. You can also check her website at www.djrebekah.com.
Tour dates are:
3rd Dec – Baja – Gold Coast
4th Dec – Platform 1 – Melb
9th Dec – C Moog – Byron
10th Dec – No12 lounge – Brisbane
11th Dec – Bohem Lounge – Syd
12th Dec – SavvyBar – Adel
