DJ Patife is a Brazilian drum and bass DJ and producer associated with São Paulo’s emergence as an international centre for the music. His background included garage parties, local radio influences, and the rap group Fatos Reais. He began DJing professionally in 1995, taking a residency at Arena Music Hall.
His introduction to jungle came through DJ Marky, who played him the Boogie Times Tribe recording The Dark Stranger. Patife later travelled with Marky to London in 1997. In a UKF interview, he recalled the difficulty and expense of importing records to Brazil, and the personal commitment required to build a collection.
Production followed around 2000, including his remix of Fernanda Porto’s Sambassim. Patife told Agitossp that the project developed after Porto gave him a demo, with Xerxes de Oliveira involved in the resulting remix. Jazz, samba, rap, reggae, and soul remained important sources of inspiration, with emotional expression at the centre of his approach.
After reducing his touring commitments, a visit to Sun And Bass in 2014 helped renew his engagement with drum and bass. That connection led to Viva Brazil Sun And Bass Sessions on V Recordings. His production partnership with Vangeliez also yielded Ain’t That Bad with DRS and Unexpected, which the label explicitly described as drawing on the original liquid sound.
