Slipmatt

Slipmatt is the performance name of Matthew Nelson, a DJ and producer from Loughton, United Kingdom, born in 1967. He is associated with rave, electronic music, jungle, happy hardcore, breakbeat and drum and bass, and works both as a solo artist and in the duo projects SL2 and Slipmatt & Lime with DJ Lime.

Early career and SL2

He begins his professional DJ career in 1989 as the original resident DJ for Raindance. In the same year he releases his first single, Do That Dance, as the first SL2 production with his friend and fellow DJ Lime. As SL2, he later has chart hits including DJs Take Control/Way In My Brain and On a Ragga Tip. During this period, Slipmatt and Lime appear on television programmes including Top of the Pops and Dance Energy.

Happy hardcore, compilation work and Ravebreaks

In 1993 he starts the SMD series, short for Slip Matt’s Dubs, which helps shape the then-emerging happy hardcore sound. He also compiles and mixes numerous compilation albums, including United Dance – The Anthems 1 & 2, Moondance – True Rave Anthems and the Helter Skelter series for Ministry of Sound. These releases collectively sell millions of copies. In 2006 he and DJ Billy “Daniel” Bunter create Ravebreaks, a style that combines breakbeats with elements of rave, electro and vocal-led songs.

Career as a DJ and producer

Slipmatt plays internationally across Europe, North America, Australia and Asia, as well as widely in the UK. He performs at clubs and residencies in Spain, Majorca, the Canaries, the Greek islands, Turkey and Cyprus, and he appears regularly in Ibiza, including sets at Space and residencies at Es Paradis and Eden in San Antonio. He also helps form the media company Can You Feel It with Bunter, which releases compilation albums in different dance genres and develops new acts and artists.

Awards and recognition

His work receives recognition in the 1990s from Dream Magazine and M8, both of which vote him Best DJ. M8 also names him Best Remixer, Muzik Magazine nominates him for an international competition, and Kiss 100 awards him for Outstanding Contribution to the Industry. In 2006 he wins Best Old Skool DJ at the Official Old Skool Awards, and in 2010 and 2011 he wins multiple honours at the Nu-Rave Awards, including Best Producer and Best DJ.