Bio Full Biography »

An early chart hero during the early-'90s rave explosion and the leader of the growing happy hardcore nation later in the decade, Slipmatt changed the course of hardcore techno towards a serious artist-oriented direction -- more in line with earlier dance styles like house, techno and drum'n'bass, all of which endured a period of critical rebuke before emerging as styles "worthy" of critical comment and praise. As a DJ, producer, dance-mag reviewer and head of the crucial United Dance label, he became the don of happy hardcore. Born and raised in Essex, Slipmatt loved music from an early age and became entranced with punk, ska and dub during the early '80s. After working for a mobile DJ from the age of 16, he bought his own turntables and started mixing records by himself. A partnership with another DJ, Lime, resulted in the single "Do That Dance," recorded as SL2 for B-Ware Records. The duo self-released their second record, "DJs Take Control," which just narrowly missed the British ...