Slipmatt’s Ultimate Universal Collection
After the incredible success of my last album, the SMD Collection, I thought it only natural to gather together the tunes from my other label, Universal Records, from that same era of Happy Hardcore. I’ve taken great pleasure in remastering the whole collection and squeezing as much as possible on to two discs. One mixed and one with full length tracks, this offers the cream of the label including some rare exclusives that people have been asking after for over 20 years. There’s also a 120 minute mix by myself.
The History
I started Universal Records 22 years ago in 1995. At that time Happy Hardcore was massive and there was a ton of good, fresh, and exciting producers around. The idea was to capture some of this talent and simply get it out there for the world to hear. The UK was very unique at the time and I was very proud to showcase our homegrown vibes.
Getting Started
Force & The Evolution were top of my list to get in the studio, and that I did. It was great helping mix other artist’s tracks in my studio. This was what it was all about for me really, mixing and remixing. It was sort of my forte in that era. Force & The Evolution were released on Universal as ‘A Sense Of Summer’, and then eventually turned in to Force & Styles and became, in my opinion, the biggest Happy Hardcore recording artists EVER!
The Team
At the same time Mark Giles aka DJ Demo was out and about with me on the road and partying at the weekends. Having fun, getting smashed, and going mental is a f#cking understatement lol. So, Mark ended up working with me on the label, and subsequently learned the ropes of production pretty quickly. He actually ended up with more releases on the label than anyone else, including classics with myself as Happy Rollers with 95 Style, and as DJ Demo with You’re Mine (which he actually spelt wrong on the label and sleeve) lol. Even though he couldn’t spell at the time, he went on to become a very successful business man!
The Artists
Other fantastic artists on the label were Sy & Unknown, Hixxy, Vibena, DJ Chewy, Brisk, Billy Daniel Bunter, DJ Ham, Kingsize & Eternity, Ramos & Supreme, Sharkey & Druid as Digital Manoeuvres, DJ D.N.A, Freestyle & DJR, Kriston, Kathryn Lee, and later remixes from Vibes, Dougal, and Gammer.
The Album
The album is a beautifully packaged very limited edition Double CD. It will also have the personal touch of my signature on every copy purchased at www.worldofrave.co.uk . Please don’t miss out on this very limited slice of history. It’s been 22 years in the making, and is such an important part of our 90s Dance Music culture. Once these are sold out, that will be it forever. The SMD Collection sold out in 2 weeks before the end of the pre-sale… Happy listening :)
For more info please contact info@slipmatt.net
