Matthew Nelson (born 22 April 1967 in
Loughton
Loughton () is a suburban town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex. The town borders Waltham Abbey, Theydon Bois, Chigwell, Chingford, and Buckhurst Hill, and lies north-east of Charing Cross. For statistical purposes ...
,
Essex
Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, England
), better known as DJ Slipmatt, is a British
electronic music
Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
producer and
DJ. He was one half of
breakbeat hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore (also referred to as hardcore rave, oldskool hardcore or simply hardcore) is a music genre that spawned from the UK rave scene during the early 1990s. It combines four-on-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats usually sampled from ...
group
SL2, who had a 1992 UK hit with "
On a Ragga Tip".
Biography
In 1988, while working as an electrician and courier, Nelson obtained his first turntables and started playing
hip-hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
and
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
.
[ He then founded a pirate radio station named "Raw FM" in London's East End, and in 1989 began his professional DJ career as DJ for the Raindance rave event.][ His first music production was in 1989 where Slipmatt collaborated with DJ Lime forming SL2. The single, "Do That Dance", was released in that same year. This was followed by the number 11 UK chart hit "DJs Take Control" / "Way in My Brain". The follow-up single, " On a Ragga Tip", reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart in April 1992. As a result of their chart success, the band were propelled into the media spotlight and made appearances on '']Top of the Pops
''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...
'' and other television shows. SL2's chart success continued with a remix of "Way in My Brain", which made the top twenty in the UK chart.
Amidst the chart success, Slipmatt cemented his name on the rave
A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...
DJ circuit and was a regular at major Fantazia and Dreamscape events. In 1993, Nelson set up a new project, the SMD series (Slip Matt's Dubs). The first release, ''SMD#1'', sold over 10,000 copies, with a further three instalments following in the series. A compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...
collected these recordings.
1994 saw the release of "Breaking Free" and "Hear Me" on Slipmatt and Lime's own Awesome Records imprint, the former being embraced by jungle
jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century.
Etymology
The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...
and rave DJs alike. The tracks were later remixed by DJ SS (Formation Records) and DJ Seduction (Impact Records) respectively. By 1995, Slipmatt's DJ sets had veered strongly towards the tougher hardcore genre and Nelson set up Universal Records to represent this burgeoning style. Releases from Force & Styles
Darren James Mew (born 23 May 1975), better known as Darren Styles, is an English music producer, DJ, singer and songwriter from Clacton-On-Sea, Essex. Originally a member of the breakbeat hardcore group DJ Force & the Evolution, Styles found s ...
(as A Sense of Summer), DJ Sy & Unknown, DJ Demo and others followed. The tracks "Breaking Free" and "Hear Me" were again remixed, this time by Ramos & Sunset Regime.
As Slipmatt, he has compiled and mixed several albums, including ''United Dance Anthems 1 & 2'' and ''Moondance True Rave Anthems''. Slipmatt's remixes include many remixes for Ministry of Sound
Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publisher (popular music), music publishing busin ...
and various well known and established record labels.
Since 1994, Nelson presented his own radio shows on Kiss 100
Kiss is a British digital radio station owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Kiss Network. Kiss broadcasts nationally to the UK via DAB digital radio, as well as on Bauer's Rayo platform.
The station started in 1985 as ...
as well as numerous other stations over the years. Nelson has played in the US, Australia, Thailand, and around Europe. He has DJ'd at Ibiza
Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...
's Space
Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...
, Es Paradise, Eden, Summum, and most of the San Antonio West End clubs.
In 2003, Slipmatt's track, "Space", peaked at #41 on the UK Singles Chart.
Slipmatt has DJ'd at Fantazia, Raindance, Moondance, Dreamscape, Pleasuredome, Hardcore Heaven, Dance Concept, Helter Skelter, One Nation, United Dance, Uprising, Dizstruxshon, Alderney Bunker Parties, World Dance, Slammin Vinyl, Glastonbury, Bestival
Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. The name Bestival is a portmanteau of the words best and festival. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festi ...
, O2 London & thousands of raves over the years.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1967 births
Living people
English DJs
English electronic musicians
English techno musicians
Breakbeat hardcore musicians
English record producers
English drum and bass musicians
People from Loughton
Musicians from Essex
British electronic dance music DJs
British hardcore techno musicians