DJ Slipmatt - Godfather of Hardcore

When one refers to an artist as ?an absolute legend?, ?Godfather? or ?international hero?; more often than not it can be a term applied by the support of loving fans Worldwide or in some cases media hype that pertains to the artist in question being somewhat exceptional in their chosen skill on a global level. ?Godfather? as many of those that have witnessed Francis Ford Coppola?s award winning cinematic trilogy of films of the same name will attest, can also refer to a Sicilian Crime Family Boss. Now, whilst the DJ and Producer and all round ?international legend? known as ?Slipmatt? has no affiliations with Sicilian families or crime (thankfully), he is most definitely in this case one deserving of the titles ?Godfather? and ?Boss?. Here?s the exception to the rule though, he did not give himself these names, these accolades were not created off the back of some 90?s hype campaign, the name Godfather ? in reference to the ?Godfather Of Rave? is a name he has worked very hard for nearly three decades to earn, and earn it he most definitely has. Picking up and playing his first record at just eighteen months old, it was pretty much decided upon there and then that it was obvious that bringing new music to the masses on a regular basis was going to be his chosen profession moving forward. By the age of 4, he had purchased his first record and by 10 he had played his first gig at his School Disco. Little did anyone truly realise at this point that for many years to come he was going to be the one educating people at School, well that is of course if you count the ?Old Skool?, a generation that he and a very close circle of friends would become the pioneers of. At 13 he had a very impressive collection of 2 Tone, soul and reggae records; then at 14 he was already playing out at parties and putting together his own tracks by playing around with different genres of music, splicing tapes and experimenting with samples. It was around this time that he discovered a deep and respectful fondness for house music and a taste for blending house and hip hop together which one might comment that he became quite skilled at, so much so that he took his skills to the World famous DMC mixing competition shortly after where he joined fellow (now international) artists Carl Cox and DJ Hype in the running. At just north of the tender age of 18, Slipmatt had worked hard to purchase his first set of Technics 1200 turntables and already was a fully fledged, beat matching, crowd rocking DJ, playing to fully stacked parties and events before he had so much as considered his still so far away twenties. This would be a feat achieved with close friend and musical colleague, DJ Lime with whom Slipmatt would create an outlet for their musical exploits together in the setting up of pirate radio station Raw FM. That would not be their primary achievement though, as in late 1989 the two would form to create the now legendary production duo SL2, alongside MC Jay that would go on to become one of the most incredible acts in underground music history. To achieve even this much as a DJ, in such a short space of time is quite the feat, especially in the late 80?s and early 1990?s, but Slipmatt has always been a do-er.; so much so that his pioneering of the acid house and early rave scene in the UK circa 1988 / 1989, inspired his older brother Paul to create the ?Raindance? event brand, a party that is supported in the thousands and still going strong for the masses in London today and has become equally as infamous amongst the peers of this generation?s rave scene as Slipmatt himself had. Slipmatt is not just limited to Radio and several TV appearances you understand. He was also a regular featuring artist in Dream Magazine, M8 voted him ?Best DJ? and Muzik Magazine nominated him for a top flight award. Slipmatt is also no stranger to the World famous DJ Magazine Top 20 DJ poll either, being voted in the Top 20 by the readers on a number of occasions, as well as receiving the title of ?Best Remixer? from the readers of M8 and deservedly; was awarded for ?Best DJ? and ?Outstanding Contribution to the Industry? from Kiss 100. In 2003 he scored a DJ Chart No.1 with his production ?Space? which was heavily supported on BBC Radio 1?s A-List and then later, in 2006, won an award for ?Best Old Skool DJ? at The Official Old Skool Awards followed in 2010 with a ?Best DJ? and ?Best Producer? Award courtesy of nurave.com and another in 2011 ? ?Best DJ? ?Music Industry Award? again, via nurave.com. At the turn of the millennium however, dance music began to evolve once more, with the club sound becoming more and more viable on a commercial level globally, trance, breaks and a fusion of other genres becoming prominent within night life culture, Slipmatt, always versatile in his approach to new music successfully maintained a career embracing new sounds. In 2006 through to 2009 Slipmatt compiled and mixed a series of chart smashing CD album compilations with business partner Billy ?Daniel? Bunter. It is because of all of this hard work and dedication, that Slipmatt has done and repeatedly continues to play across the globe in the USA, Australia, Europe, every corner of his native UK for club events such as Raindance, HTID, Epidemik, Tasty, Slammin Vinyl, Ravers Reunited, Fantazia, Hardcore Heaven and Dreamscape; at leading Festivals such as Glastonbury, Boomtown and Bestival and, a particular favourite of his, overseas visits to Ibiza where Slipmatt enjoys regular return trips to the White Isle?s most infamous hot spots such as Space, Es Paradis, and Amnesia. Slipmatt held a 19 week Summer residency at ?Summum? during 2007 and 2008, whereby the night he was resident was voted as second place in the ?Best Ibiza Club Night? stakes during that period and then in 2012 also held a 17 week Summer residency at Eden. Slipmatt is often asked to return to many clubs across the Mediterranean too, with hot locations such as Corfu, Malia, Rhodes, Zante, Majorca, and Cyprus also on his well established hit list. Well over twenty years on, with best selling, international single, album and compilation chart releases deservedly adorning his studio wall, a recollection of performing at every major branded event, festival, party or club in the UK, USA, Europe, Australia and then some clearly and lovingly marking his memory (and now ridiculously large flyer collection) and with no signs of stopping such activities any time at all just yet, one can only hope, more of the same is on the agenda, but with a constantly cutting edge twist, as is Slipmatt?s style, of course. Godfather Of Rave? Absolutely.

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