Once upon a time…
When Estonian Rahel Aasrand and American Mike Beck met unexpectedly not far from the banks of the Adige river in Verona, Italy in the Spring of 2016, what appeared to be a mere coincidence now seems like a moment of destiny. Rahel was living in Verona, having recently completed her masters in violin performance at the Conservatorio di Musica di Verona. She stepped into an osteria with a friend after an afternoon of busking. As fate would have it, Mike was scheduled to perform there that very evening. He invited Rahel to join his performance – and here we find ourselves years later, recognizing that evening as the start of something extraordinary.

Rahel and Mike began performing together, eventually adopting the name Rahel n Beck for their duo. Their musical voyage has been a continuous search for balance, harmony, time, listening, being heard and most of all – with the push and pull inherent in their individual backgrounds – exploring the intersection of their musical identities.

The combination of violin, acoustic guitar and voices blended in harmony give the duo a folkish sound but their repertoire defies constraint. Their original songs exhibit flavours of classical music mixed with traditional Irish, folk, country, blues and rock.

Their varied influences are revealed through a diverse presentation of songs written by other artists. You’ll hear ancient epic folk tales amid modern hits, obscure songwriters followed by universal anthems. Each Rahel n Beck performance is a unique creation, a reciprocal exchange of energy between all those present.

From the sultry beaches of Key West, to the ancient remote banks of the Colorado River in the depths of the Grand Canyon, from intimate house concerts in Estonia to stormy songwriting sessions on the shores of Italy’s Adriatic coast, from lush green valleys in Luxembourg’s Eislick to bracing performances beneath the majestic backdrop of Switzerland’s Matterhorn, music has brought them to colourful amazing places in a dozen different countries.

Rahel n Beck recently started working on their first studio album. It will include some of Rahel’s compositions, a couple songs written by Mike (one of which he wrote as a duet in the year Rahel was born!) as well as new compositional collaborations between Mike and Rahel and a few select covers to which Rahel n Beck lend their voices and dicephalous interpretation.

Together Rahel n Beck strive to evolve, discover and grow as both musicians and human beings and keep themselves engaged in pushing the limits of what they think is possible. Their mission is to impact their audiences and the world with positivity and optimism, while they share their love for music and the beauty in it. Their ambition is to bring people together in harmony and song and help us all recognize that what unites us and what binds us is much stronger and more powerful than the differences that may exist between us.