Next to DJ Marky, there is no bigger export from the land of Mardi Gras than Brazils DJ Patife. Alongside his long time partner in crime, Cleveland Watkiss, Patife hits the stages of Perth once again this weekend at Heat nightclub.
“I never thought I could survive working with music,” Patife remarks, speaking on a career that has seen him rise to fame throughout the world. “[In] 1998 I decided to quit my daytime job and dedicate my time to music. It was hard in the beginning for my mum and dad to understand that, ‘specially [because] nobody in my family deals with music.”
In his native Portuguese, Patife translates into Scoundrel, and without planning, the name Scoundrel became the moniker by which his fans have known him throughout his career. “I was 10 years old when my friends started to call me like that,” Patife says. “I didn’t like it and that’s why they kept calling me like that!” – the translated meaning however, sits at odds with the laid back attitude within his music, a musical that could only be scoundrel-ess in its vibrancy.
From an early age growing up in Sao Paulo, Patife was drawn to the snapping sounds of rhythmic drums via what has been a common become a right of passage in terms of musical introduction for drum n bass producers and DJs: hip hop. “Back then, it was the only thing that I was fascinated about. Rock was the big thing but that whole Hip Hop scene was the biggest influence for me. I also used to do Break-dance as well! I think the fat beats and breaks got me into it.”
Patife’s varied influences have enabled his sounds to reach out to people both within the d’n’b scene and beyond. “I love so many kind of music, from Reggae to Jazz, from Samba to R&B, I love Alicia Keys, Bebel Gilberto, John Legend, Jill Scott, Angie Stone, 4 Hero, Djavan, Sergio Mendes, Marisa Monte… uuuhh, i can fill in 100 pages!” Patifes’ relaxed, easy going and often soulful, funky Latin vibed sets draw from this varied influence, and by doing so he is able to please near every punter, no matter their musical preference – bringing d’n’b out of the underground and into the mainstream.
“I don’t believe in underground anymore,” Patife says. “The whole d’n'b thing is everywhere now, of course it isn’t been played on tv’s and radios as it should but, everyone knows d’n'b today.” In complete opposition to some stalwarts who believe that d’n’b is only pure when hidden away in dark side-alley clubs, Patifes attitude is completely the opposite, and his drive seems to completely throw the so-called “underground” to the wolves. “If I can do something to bring out even more, i will do it.”
His love for the laidback and funked up lifestyle not only extends throughout his music, but also runs parallel to his respect for our own shores. “In my opinion,” Patife says, bringing in line a commonly voiced opinion. “Australia has the biggest scene I have seen in the world. I like the vibe in the clubs, the way people dance. They know the tunes, ‘specially in Perth – I will never forget my first time at Traffik.”
When an artist has such a love for your own home town, and reinforces this joy at returning with an emphatic “I love the sun down there, the fruit, the GIRLS, everything!” – you know, right where it hits you in the bass of your bones, that the gig he will play will (in all hope) be nothing less than remarkable.
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