INTERVIEW: We chat with Ireland’s Rebūke!

With his Beatport charting hit ‘Along Came Polly’, which was heard across the globe’s best dancefloors, Ireland’s Rebūke can rightly be considered one of 2018’s breakout producers. It was definitely not a fluke as the producer from Letterkenny has been producing for over a decade. We had a chat with the producer ahead of his debut Australian tour…

So you’re from Letterkenny in Ireland! How would you describe where you’re from to people who have never heard of it?
Letterkenny has a population of fewer than 20,000 people and around 4 hours away from Dublin airport, so technically it’s a pain in the ass to get to – but I love it.

You’ve stated in the past you draw a lot of inspiration from early rave culture. How and where did that love unfurl?
I just think it’s wicked man. I’m 26 so didn’t get to experience it first hand, but that era just feels so pure and full of life. We’re in this weird era of everyone taking videos all night to be seen, they are spending more time worrying about how they look on the dancefloor rather than getting lost in the music. It’s not something I’m particularly into but can’t complain too much as the same people are keeping me in a job, I just wish we could bring that era back a bit.

Although it seems like you’ve just popped out of nowhere, you’ve actually been in the industry and producing music for 10 years. Was the goal always for mass success as a creative, or was it just something you did as a hobby that then got you International acclaim?
I’ve been making music for years, obviously, the goal was to make a living from it, which thankfully I am doing now. Asides from that money isn’t important to me. I’ve knocked back so many high paying gigs this year just because I don’t think that I will enjoy it or its not something I see myself aligning with. I’m still not where I want to be, but I feel blessed to be in the position I’m in now, and I’m working hard to grow and expand.

Your track ‘Along Came Polly’ landed the #1 spot on Beatport! Did things change for your career after that happened?
Yeah, things went mental after that, but even before the track came out I had a full Irish / UK tour lined up. It’s crazy – the track just really struck a chord with people and its completely changed my life. It’s also been an excellent motivator for me, and I’m really happy to have found my own little sound from it. Thanks, Jamie Jones!

You’ve released music on Hot Creations, Saved, and DFTD. Are there any labels you’d love to collaborate with in the future?
I love all those labels and would be happy to keep putting music on there. I’m currently working with Adam Beyer on a few things. I put an EP out on his Truesoul label last month, and generally find myself gravitating a bit more in the techno realm lately, so I guess id love to collaborate with those types of labels. Sven Vath has been playing some of my tunes lately and I’m a huge fan of him and Cocoon so I’d love to do something with him one day too!

What advice would you give to artists who’ve been producing forever but can’t really get their foot in the door and crack into the industry?
Do something different, that’s what I did and it really paid off. We’ve already got a Carl Cox in the world, Jamie Jones is already killing it and we don’t need clones of them, but what we do need is fresh new talent that isn’t afraid to try something outside the box even if it takes a while to stick. When I started putting out the rebuke/rave EPs (90’s rave reconstructions) we were still in a time where trance became trendy again so nobody really took to it. Then one or two of the remixes kicked off and now everyone’s playing rave tunes in their sets. The same has happened with ‘Along Came Polly’ and ‘The Pipe’.

Tour Dates
Friday 7th June: AV Club, Auckland NZ
Saturday 8th June: 10 years of Thick as Thieves @ The Timber Yard, Melbourne
Saturday 8th June: The Pier, Geelong
Sunday 9th June: Pelly Bar, Frankston
Thursday 13th June: Electric Rush, Queenstown
Friday 14th June: Notion, Christchurch NZ
Saturday 15th June: Chinese Laundry, Sydney