Sl2

SL2 formed initially as a three-piece consisting of producers Slipmatt and Lime alongside MC Jay J. Like countless other British teenagers immersed in hip-hop during the late 1980s, the members gradually gravitated toward the emerging rave circuit. Their first major opportunity arrived in 1989 when Slipmatt’s older brother, who operated the then-legendary Raindance promotions outfit, installed them as the organization’s resident DJs, enabling them to perform at events nationwide. The following year their debut release, “Do That Dance,” appeared on B-Ware Records and moved briskly, yet dubious label accounting left the group unpaid. They therefore launched their own Awesome Records imprint and issued “DJ’s Take Control,” which sold 3,500 copies and drew the interest of the fledgling XL Recordings. XL promptly licensed the track, propelling it to number 11 on the U.K. singles chart by the end of 1991. Their subsequent single, the anthemic “On a Ragga Tip,” secured their breakthrough. Aligning with the ragga-infused strain of breakbeat hardcore that dominated large raves and would soon be labeled jungle, the record climbed to within one position of the top spot during spring 1992. Later that year “Way in My Brain” reached the Top 30, yet internal tensions prompted the trio’s dissolution in 1993. A 1997 remix of “On a Ragga Tip” nevertheless returned the track to the Top 40, prompting Slipmatt and Lime to resume working together. Although no further recordings have appeared, the pair have continued to perform occasional DJ sets and PAs ever since.