SL2

SL2 was the name of a popular and pioneering hardcore/rave music act in the early 1990s from London, England.

They also recorded, remixed or produced under the names "Slipmatt & Lime" and "T.H.C."" The SL2 name came from the Technics SL1200 turntables they used to perform their sets with.

Background

The act consisted of DJ/remixers Matt "Slipmatt" Nelson and John "Lime" Fernandez, accompanied by two female rave/breakbeat dancers, Jo Millett and Kelly Overett (who would later go on to be a member of the Italian eurodance act Cappella), and male Dancehall vocalist Ronan Fitzgerald. The latter three appears with Nelson and Fernandez whenever they do live shows or in their videos.

SL2 was also one of the most influential acts in the early days of the Breakbeat Hardcore movement by weaving samplings of dancehall, Detroit house, electro/techno, and Drum and bass into memorable nightclub classics. They also played a part in the successful early days of XL Recordings, and even though the act never released a full-length album during their tenure with the record label, most of their tracks can be found on the "XL Recordings Chapters" compilations, as well as many others.

The duo released their first single, "Do That Dance" in 1990 as a promo. But it was not until 1991 when they scored with their signature 'breakthrough' classic "DJs Take Control," which peaked at number 11 on the British Pop charts that year.

By 1992 the act joined the many rave artists who would crossover to the British Pop charts with a pair of hits that have also become classics in their own right: "Way In My Brain" and "On A Ragga Tip". The latter was also their highest charting hit in their career, peaking at number 2 in the charts in April of that same year. It was heavily sampled from a reggae number from Jah Screechie entitled "Walk and Skank" (which itself was based on Slim Smith's "Never Let Go"). "Way In My Brain", originally a B-Side to "DJs" and was listed together as a single during the former's charted run, recharted via a new remix, peaking at number 28 that summer.

Although the duo has since moved away from the rave scene, they still do various projects and DJ sets from time to time.

External links

* [http://www.slipmatt.net/ Slipmatt's official homepage]
* [http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=thedjslipmatt Slipmatt's] YouTube page
* [http://www.fantazia.org.uk/DJs/slipmatt.htm DJ Slipmatt at Fantazia.org]
* [http://www.backtotheoldskool.co.uk/dj_slipmatt.htm DJ Slipmatt - Back To The Old Skool]
* [http://e.discogs.com/artist/SL2 SL2 discography at e.discogs]