SL2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| SL2 | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Slipmatt & Lime, THC |
| Origin | London, England, United Kingdom |
| Genres | dance music, hardcore/rave, ravebreakz |
| Years active | 1985-1993, 1998-present |
| Labels | XL Recordings, American Recordings, B-Ware |
| Members | |
| Matt "Slipmatt" Nelson John "Lime" Fernandez Jay-J (vocals, rap) |
|
| Former members | |
| Jo Millet Kelly Overett Devious J Ronan Fitzgerald |
|
SL2 was the name of a 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.
[edit] Background
The act consisted of DJ/remixers Matt "Slipmatt" Nelson and John "Lime" Fernandez,[1] accompanied by two female rave/breakbeat dancers, Jo Millett (Lime's girlfriend at the time, and who would later become a Jungle Music producer) 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 appeared with Nelson and Fernandez whenever they did live shows or in their videos.
The SL2 name came from the initials of the two members of the act, Slipmatt (S) and Lime (L), and because they were a duo; hence "SL2". The duo were school friends together in Loughton, Essex, where they shared a mutual love of Hip-Hop and Reggae. Their first produced recording was in 1985, when they did a demo for a rap duo called Gino & Mickey. By 1988, the duo began going to raves, which is when then began their foray into their signature genre and the birth of the SL2 name. When its was first formed, it utilized a pair of DJs, Devious D and Jay J, whom they met at a one of the events. In 1989, Paul Nelson, Matt's brother, gave the group their first exposure by appearing at the Raindance Rave Festival.
The duo released their first single, "Do That Dance" in 1990. However the label that signed the duo and released the single, B-Ware Records, cheated them out of royalties and were never paid. But it was not until 1991 that they scored with their breakthrough track, "DJs Take Control", which peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart.[1] It would be the single that would land them a deal with XL Recordings that same year, with Fitzgerald, Overett and Millett joining the duo afterwards.
"DJs Take Control" would establish SL2 as 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. They also played a part in the early days of XL Recordings, and even though the act never released an 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.
By 1992 SL2 joined the many rave artists who would crossover to the UK chart, with a pair of hits, "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 UK in April 1992.[1] It was sampled from a reggae number from Jah Screechie entitled "Walk and Skank" (which itself was based on Slim Smith's "Never Let Go").[citation needed] "Way In My Brain" (a reworking of Wayne Smith's 'Under Me Sleng Teng'), originally a B-Side to "DJs Take Control" and was listed together as a single during the former's chart run, recharted via a new remix, peaking at number 28 that summer.[1]
By 1993 the act broke up but would reform again in 1998 after "On A Ragga Tip" was re-released with new mixes. As of 2009 the duo has resumed producing and DJing, this time focusing on the Ravebreakz style sub-genre.
The song "On A Ragga Tip" was included as music on the video game FIFA Street
