SL2

SL2 aka DJs Slipmatt & Lime aka Matt Nelson & John Fernandez are one of the biggest original early rave names in the business, and they are still going strong. They have performed all over the world in front of crowds up to 100,000 people, playing all the major raves in the early nineties and also spinning the decks across every continent and all over the UK. Their tunes still get played everywhere from the most underground rave events right through to the commercial clubs and still get regular plays on Radio 1.SL2 started making music way back in 1986 when they bought their first drum machine, a Roland TR505, and teamed up with North London rap duo ‘Gino & Mikey’. This music was very raw and basic back then but after endless blagging they still managed to get played in their local club in Tottenham. In 1988 Matt & John met a crew from Ilford which included Devious D and the man who went on to be SL2’s MC, the man like Jay J. They produced a variety of rap and Hip House recordings together but this was more of a learning curve for the team rather than serious production.After countless trips to the studio and hours of drum programming in the bedroom, SL2 eventually released their first single in 1989 called ‘Do That Dance/It Ain’t Nothing’ which was signed by Simon Gough of B/Ware Records. Again this was a learning curve for SL2 as they never saw a penny even though the record sold thousands. The duo recorded the single engineered by the late Michael Menson at Noise Gate Studio in New Cross South London which was the home of Double Trouble. After being ripped off by Simon Gough, Matt and John decided to fund their own follow up in 1990 which was ‘The Noise/Bassquake’. They released on white label and the record flew off the shelves. With the taste for the record business now, they decided to start their own label ‘Awesome Records’ and gave ‘The Noise/Bassquake’ a full release. Awesome Records number 2 was ‘DJs Take Control/Way In My Brain’ which they engineered themselves with the help of Alan Zippo from New Age Studios in Whetstone North London. The 500 promos they pressed sold within a couple of hours and within a week SL2 had an incredible 8 offers on the table for a record deal!The boys decided to go with XL Recordings and subsequently went on to experience untold success with ‘DJs Take Control/Way In My Brain’ when it hit number 11 in the national chart. They then followed up with 'On a Ragga Tip' which in April 1992 hit number 2 in the national charts and the number 1 spot in the Network Charts, staying in the top 7 for an incredible 8 weeks. At this time, Slipmatt and Lime were propelled into the media spotlight with many TV appearances including Top of the Pops 3 times and Dance Energy on BBC2.Long time friend Jay J toured with SL2 and still does to this day as their live MC, alongside dancers Kelly and Jo who also appeared with the group at their shows all over the world and who are now retired from dancing and both married with kids.More recently, Slipmatt and Lime have been recording again and have also remixed a few of their old hits and had great success with the new versions with Ministry Of Sound on their compilation albums. SL2 plan to re-release On A Ragga Tip again in 2008 with ‘Can You Feel It Media’ which will include a variety of different style mixes and a new video.a