Gabriel Ratliff (aka DJ Gabriel), 32, along with Christopher Patrick (aka DJ Christopher Patrick) are the original founders of Search+Rescue Productions which was created in spring 2006. With over a decade of experience djing everything from indie rock to breakbeats and over two decades of experience playing drums, Gabriel has a distinctive yet eclectic style. He gravitates towards music that is built on rhythmic foundations, and surrounded by enveloping soundscapes which convey a message with unadulterated and passionate delivery. Pulling from a musical as well as artistic background, Gabriel is an aficionado of styles like shoegazer/dream pop, trip hop, idm, and various styles of house and breakbeat.
He began djing at WUTK, University of Tennessee – Knoxville in spring of 1997 and went on to have a specialty radio show called Trancemissions, which later became a 4 hour dj set with Chris Patrick at a Saturday night headlining timeslot. Carrying up to three residencies in the Knoxville area, and ordering dance vinyl records for a local music store, Lost & Found Records, Gabriel continued working towards a larger audience and a professional career as a dj which brought him to Colorado. Since moving to the Denver area Gabriel worked as dance buyer for Bart’s (Boulder) for several years as well as in the vinyl department at Twist & Shout (Denver). He has played along side electronic powerhouses like Hybrid and X-1, and in venues like the Church, Bar Standard, Funky Buddha Lounge, and Soma.
After several years in the local dj scene, Gabriel began learning to produce and remix music which led to playing in projects like Pure Drama, Drop the Fear, and A Shoreline Dream. He has had positive feedback in reviews from SPIN.com, XLR8R, and Filter magazine. After writing several albums, many live shows, and touring the US, he decided to turn his focus back towards the electronic scene. He recently produced a new 2xCD DJ mix, called At the End of the Day, ranging from deep to progressive house, and compiled of artists like Trentmoeller, Deadmaus, Robert Babicz, and Deerk Hollaender. He and fellow S+R DJs currently hold a weekly Friday night event at Santa Fe Tequila Co in Denver’s Art District, as well as several upcoming events in the Denver-Boulder area.
