Interview by Ali Cantor

Rebecca Saforia is one of the trance scene’s coming names, with in demand releases on Ben Nicky’s Abstract imprint, a regular radio show on Slinky.fm and some nifty skills behind a pair of CDJs. The Puzzle crew decided her moody yet uplifting take on the trance sound would be a perfect fit for London’s biggest small party and booked her for our next shin dig on 22nd May. Ahead of her debut PP set Puzzle resident DJ Ali Cantor caught up with Rebecca to talk production, the Queen and the weaving of dreams.

Hi Rebecca – how’s tricks?

All good here thanks - yourself?

Not too bad thanks! For the uninitiated, can you give everyone a little bit of background info – where you’re from and how you got into DJing?

I’m from Blackpool originally and have always been interested in dance music ever since I heard ‘Black Box – Ride on Time’ and ‘Snap – Rhythm is a Dancer’! DJing was a natural progression for me and at 16 I got my first mismatched belt drive turntables which were impossible to mix on! At the time I was mostly playing Italian house and managed to get a few sets in local clubs. For some time I also played as a mobile wedding DJ but after a little while doing that decided I didn’t want to compromise my musical style. Since then I’ve been DJing on and off but started to really take it seriously last year.

I have always been a clubber as well as a DJ and have travelled all over the world to various events. I felt it was time to concentrate on a lifelong dream of being a successful trance producer and DJ.

You’ve recently had releases on Abstract that have done really well, scoring a couple of number 1s on various trance download charts. How long have you been producing and what’s your technique for writing tracks? How did the association with Abstract come about?

I’ve been producing again seriously for about a year although I also dabbled many years ago. Most of my tracks are a bit of an experiment as I think it takes time to define your style as a producer. I’m enjoying working with various tech sounds to try to create a sense of perspective and depth with my music while still keeping the melody uplifting. I’m also enjoying playing with a darker style to try and create a particular atmosphere and feeling on the dancefloor of not only euphoria but anxiety too. My ethos is the best sets have euphoric highs and anxious lows. The Yin and the Yang!

Being signed to Abstract was a through a chance meeting on Facebook, a friend of a friend knew Ben Nicky when I was looking for a label to sign ‘Palingenesis’ which , even though it was released later, was actually the first track I was looking to get signed. It’s been a very good partnership for both of us. It’s helped me launch my producing career and I’ve had the good fortune to work with Fast Distance and Ben Nicky via the relationship.

Do you have any more releases in the pipeline you can tell us about?

The release schedule is pretty hectic this year with next month seeing the release of the Ben Nicky and Rebecca Saforia Remix of Soundplayers ‘Pangea’ which will be out on Monster Tunes. It’s already receiving huge support from Paul Van Dyk and many other established names.

Then we have the Rebecca Saforia & Ben Nicky Remix of Fabio Stein ‘In The West’ to be released in the next few months on Spinnin’ Records. For me this is a real Ibiza tune so I’m hoping it will be huge!

Later on in the year ‘Prion’ is to be released on Red Sky Digital with a remix by Alex Daf and I have a track called ‘Paradigm’ for which I’m currently in negotiation with a number of labels.

I also have a few others in the pipeline so keep posted!

You also host a radio show on Slinky.fm – how did this come about and what’s the general idea behind the show? Feel free to plug away!

Well I got sick of playing to my sofa and decided to send my mix to Lee Haslam at Slinky, the next day I had a set on the show! I’ve been lucky enough to play along side Sander Van Doorn, Mark Eteson and Matt Darey on Slinky.fm which has been quite amazing!

The monthly show Tranceforia Sessions is out second Saturday of each month @ 4pm and is available to download from my website www.rebeccasaforia.com along with lots of other free mixes! You can also subscribe to my monthly podcast via my website by clicking the ‘Subscribe’ button.

Anything else exciting planned for 2010?

Absolutely! It never stops here! I’m playing a 5,000 capacity festival in Blackpool this weekend and Puzzle Project on the 22nd, and after that I have confirmed bookings as Pacha, Ministry of Sound and Glasshouse and an open set in Ibiza so please keep an eye out on my website for dates!

In terms of Djing, how would you describe your style? What sort of music can the Puzzle crowd expect?

This is a difficult one really. I try to select my tracks carefully and only tunes that move me in some way make it into my collection. I look for a number of factors including euphoria, epicness techiness/anxiety and last but not least depth and drive.
I guess my style is quite high contrast with euphoric highs and tech lows but again it depends on the night!

What other styles of music do you like? I understand you also play out under the name Dreamweaver, can you tell us a little about this?

Dreamweaver I see as my DJ alter ego which was inspired by Dr Lektroluv who is quite well known in Europe but not in the UK. I play quite experimental electro, electroclash and fidget with a little bit of techno thrown in for good measure!

The style is fluctuates between very dark and weird to quite fun, you can find a Dreamweaver set under the ‘Tracks and Mixes’ section on my website www.RebeccaSaforia.com.

When you’re not DJing or in the studio, you’re……?

A company director for a web design and web marketing company and also training to be a hairdresser so I can open a salon somewhere hot!

Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions – looking forward to catching your set on the 22nd. In keeping with tradition I’ve got a few quick fire questions to close things out:

Favourite film?

Oh, I love Avatar, Moulin Rouge and Titanic!

Fave food?

Thai yummy by a long shot!

Best holiday ever?

Oh I’ve had so many fabulous times abroad! I recently went to Fabulous in Hertogen Bosch in the Netherlands with my ex and we had a fabulous time watching Dr Lektroluv, Sander Van Doorn and Sander Klienenberg.

Most famous person you’ve ever met?

Hmm well some years ago my university asked a few students to meet the Queen and I was asked and said yes. Unfortunately for my university though I ended up standing up the Queen!

Shameful! Most embarrassing moment ever?

I was playing a gig a couple of years ago at the University of East London student union and right at the start of my set after 2 tunes my hard drive died. I was sooooo embarrassed as I was using Serato at the time and had nothing to play for 40 mins while my friend dashed home and got my other laptop!