Fabio Jesus is a well-known Brazilian drum and bass producer and DJ who goes by the name Alibi. Alibi is from São Paulo but now lives in Vienna, Austria. His catalog is both amazing and huge! He has worked with big names in drum and bass like DJ Marky from Brazil and S.P.Y. from the UK.
Before going solo in 2014, Abi Bi used to work with another Brazilian artist named Level 2 as a duo. Since 2015, Fabio has been playing regularly at SUNANDBASS, which is one of the most popular drum and bass festivals in the world.
Alibi has also had music released on major labels such as Hospital Records, DARKMTTR, and Innerground, to name a few. Break, Roni Size, and Bryan Gee are all big names in drum and bass and have backed him.
We talked to Alibri about what made him love drum and bass, how he works with others, future projects, and he even gave us an exclusive one-hour mix to share below!
Could you tell us about the first time you heard music?
I have a lot of ones that stand out. My dad used to run a record store in São Paulo at the famous “Galeria do Rock.” This meant that I heard a lot of great music at home when I was young. I still remember when he got his first CD player. The back cover of the CD had directions on how to use it. A lot of the music my mom liked was Brazilian, like Samba and Pagode. Fun times.
What made you want to learn more about drum and bass? Was there a certain point in time when you knew this was the way you wanted to go?
That was mostly because of my friends. I was more into Rock and Reggae in the late 1990s, but they got hooked first. They were able to get me to go to some parties with them.
When I was younger, I went to a famous club in Mauá called Coque Luxe. Later, in the early 2000s, we went to other clubs in São Paulo like Lov.E and D-Edge. I became more and more active with the scene. Around 2005, a good friend of mine suggested that we learn how to DJ. I haven’t stopped since then.
You’ve worked with big names in drum and bass, like S.P.Y. and DJ Marky. How do you work together with others, and what do you believe makes a good teamwork?
Collaboration is a great way to grow and get out of your comfort zone most of the time, especially when you work with friends. I find it interesting that different minds can work together to make something new while still staying true to themselves.
I’ve worked with others online, sending examples and stems back and forth, and that can work well, but I definitely like working with people in person more. It’s much more likely that strange things will happen, and you learn a lot from them. I believe that two artists can work together successfully if their sounds suit each other and if they both enjoy the process.
