Irish producer/dj Rebuke has been a refreshing addition to the club scene of late, capturing the attention of many big hitters such as Nic Fanciull and Alan Fitzpatrick with his deftly crafted beats. This month, he returns to the spotlight with the Rebuke/rave tunes package, offering up an ensemble of updates to iconic rave belters. We caught up with the main man this week to get the lowdown.

WWD: Great to have you joining us today! Where in the world are you right now and what’s been on the agenda so far today?

Glad to pop by! Been a fan of WhenWeDip for years. I’m back in Ireland after a few days away in Malta last week with my girlfriend. Currently I’m sat outside enjoying the mini heatwave we’re getting in Ireland at the moment, it doesn’t happen often here so I’m rocking out with my cocker spaniel out (his name’s Rolo).

WWD: You’re dropping a new Rebuke/rave tunes package this week. What was the vision behind your vibe in this piece?

Yes! Im excited to finally get it out there. Rebuke/rave is basically a collection of reconstructed 90’s rave classics that I feel are untapped but go off like frog in a sock when played out. I was getting a bit bored of all the trance and disco remakes so decided to go down a different route. Thankfully its paid off and the support has been amazing so far across the board with DJs like Alan Fitzpatrick, Perc, Skream and Solardo amongst others playing them out.. I’ve been getting some wicked videos that i’ve been posting up on the Rebuke social feeds

WWD: Do you often road-test works in progress or do you prefer to know they are good to go before playing them in your sets?

A bit of both really, i’ll play works in progress to get an idea of how they sound in a club then go back and make more tweaks til I think it sounds right. After that i’d normally play out the finished version for a month or two before sending it out to a few select ears that I trust. Im very critical over what I put out and I think everyone else should do that too.. theres enough average music out there to do us a lifetime so I think we owe it to ourselves and those listening to not rush music for the sake of it, and really pour your heart into everything you do. I get so many tunes sent that reads something like “this isn’t finished, mixed, mastered and I dont like the bassline”, its like basically saying “Ive a shit product, but do you wanna try it anyway?”.

WWD: Can you share with us some information about your current studio set-up?

My current studio setup is pretty basic as far as hardware goes. I work with Logic & Ableton and have a few go-to plugins for different types of sounds. Im a big fan of the Komplete pack and ive been starting to get into Reaktor alot lately, it makes some fuckin’ wonky sounds that come across as really original and out there (my tune Outhouse from the Saved EP was written on it).
As for monitors I mainly use Genelec 8040’s and i’ve a set of Yamaha HS80’s for reference monitors now and then.

Are you protective of your music library when it comes to sharing promos with other artists? Is it important to have a selection of secret gems in your pocket?

Kind of. Some DJs (and producers) are super secretive over what they play and their tunes, but I think music is for sharing so I’m not too caught up on people playing out my stuff, its an honour really that anyone wants to play out my tunes. The only thing I dont like is music leaking before its finished as Im critical over what I put out (goes back to the question about road testing and works in progress).

WWD: If you could have an extra 4 hours in the day, what would you spend it doing?

Listen to Joe Rogan podcasts, look at clips of Only Fools and Horses and tag Debbie in Facebook videos of cute dogs 😀

WWD: Outside of music – one change you hope to see in 2018?

Thats a tough one, I don’t want to sound like a hippy and say world peace (which of course we’d all love). What I would like is for people to come together more as local communities, and help out people more vulnerable than us.
In Ireland suicide rates are an all time high and thats something Id really like to see change even though its going to take more than a year. I was reading an article the other day of an Irish woman that lost 12 members of her family to suicide and one of the quotes that really got to me was when she said “We’ve a pain on our shoulders from carrying coffins”, it made me really sad and I feel people suffering should no longer feel the need to hide in the darkness.

WWD: From a music perspective, what else can we expect from you over the coming months?

I’ve a really busy schedule over the next few months! My next release comes out on New York label SOUP accompanied by a remix from Harry Romero (I know.. Choo Choo’s remixed one of my tunes!?). To follow on from that, i’ve a single coming out on Defected that i’m really excited about, they’re a label Ive admired for years so its great to finally be part of the team. I’ll also be carrying on with the Rebuke/rave series, i’ve just finished a remix of Moby – Thousand thats been going off so far..

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