We speak to Matt Tolfrey ahead of the release of his new Classic Through the Eyes of... mix compilation.

As head of the consistently brilliant Leftroom record label, Matt has released records from the likes of Jamie Jones, Audiojack and Lee Curtiss, remixed luminaries such as Roman Flugel, Tom Middleton and Sasha and put personal productions out on friendly imprints like Get Physical, Rekids and Crosstown Rebels. He also knows about as much as anyone can about Classic, claiming to own every vinyl the label ever released.

With this in mind, there’s no-one more qualified to mix the first in the new Classic Through the Eyes of… series. Here, we catch up with Matt to discuss remixing some of his favourite tunes, celebrating five years of Leftroom and – most importantly – drinking tequila…

What drew you to Classic when they started putting out music? What was it about the label that appealed to you?

Classic always had an element of low slung funk that I loved. None of the output was ever overly serious in terms of heads down music, but it always had that ‘thing’ about it, which I guess what makes it the label it is. If I’m totally honest, the vinyl artwork was always amazing, and when I used to go record shopping their releases would always stand out from others on the shelves.

At that time I was a regular at The Bomb in Nottingham (still to this day my favourite club) and Derrick and Luke would play there regularly. Dave Congreve was the resident of the club at the time and he would always mix the West Coast sound of H-Foundation, Doc Martin and Tony Hewitt, with the Chicago sound of Classic, and it always went off. That club definitely shaped me in terms of the DJ I am today and the music that inspires me.

You’ve said you own every Classic record…going back through them, were there any tracks that you realized you’d missed the first time around?

My Classic collection is pretty spot on, but I will admit there was one release I didn’t have. There was a vinyl sampler that I was missing that had an amazing Ewan Pearson remix of Freeform Five that I really wanted to try and squeeze on the mix, but I couldn’t quite get it to fit as it is a real peak time record!

Derrick and Luke are pretty interesting characters, which comes across in Classic and its music. Do you think it’s important to have a certain amount of personality behind a label? Or can the music itself be enough?

I think the two are intertwined. A good DJ’s personality always comes out in the music he or she plays, and I guess a label owner’s personality comes out in the music they put out. Music can always speak for itself, but taste is the main issue. The basis of it all is good taste, and I can safely say that Derrick and Luke have good taste (in music at least!)


Leftroom has a number of sister labels and offshoots, whereas Classic released a wide variety of music under a single name… do you think might be indicative of the difference between the industry now and when Classic started out, in terms of the amount of genres and sub-genres that now exist?

Classic was putting out records every two weeks at their peak, and this is something I don’t think you can successfully do now. People would see it as overkill. This was one of the main reasons I knew early on that Leftroom would have offshoots as i thought that splitting the music over two labels would always aid how frequently we could release.  

Music always seems to be categorised so that it makes it more accessible in a way. Genres are the spawn of this, and yes there are many nowadays, and it’s this kind of mentality then leads to people trying to create their own new ‘sub-genre.'

Tell us about putting the compilation together… did you have any tracks in your head which you already knew you just had to include?

The mix came together pretty quickly tracklist wise. I made a shortlist of about 25 tracks, and then I narrowed them down to see which actually fit the flow of the mix the best. One thing I did know was that Losoul’s ‘Lies’ (Watch Ya Lift) would definitely be the last record. It holds a lot of good memories for me, mainly of times I have shared with my close friends dancing the day/night away.

2011 marked five years of Leftroom…what’s been your proudest moment in relation to the label during that period?

The five years of Leftroom tour was a great achievement for me as it really showed that we are still supported by the market out there. There have been a number of releases that shaped the label that I am very proud of, but with the nature of this industry at the moment and things changing so fast, I am just happy to still be putting out music that I truly believe in.

Who’s been the artist who’s most impressed you over the last year?

There are a lot of great DJs and producers out there at the moment, and it is really hard to choose one from the pack. But someone who really blew me away recently with their ability to re-create the energy they have in the studio onto a live stage is Maceo Plex. Eric is a very talented, hard worker, and someone who is only going to go from strength to strength. He brings an element of ‘live’ funk to his tracks, that he performs so well when you see him. He’s like a one man band; he’s got the beats, the groove, the swing, the voice – now all he needs is a monkey on his shoulder crashing some cymbals!

You’ve remixed a couple of classic bits of Classic on this compilation. How did you approach that? You had the full catalogue to choose from, so what drew you to these particular tracks?

In the back of my mind, I have always wanted to remix my three favourite tracks on Classic, so when i got the opportunity to do it, I grabbed it with both hands. DJ Ali’s 'You Don’t Know' is a timeless track that everybody likes; I would find it very awkward standing next to someone if told me they didn’t like that track. The vocal sucks you in, and it will stick in your head for days!  Rob Mello’s ‘Fantasize’ was more of a challenge than anything as this track had never been remixed before on Classic. Rob did a No Ears Dub in 2004, but I thought it was time i gave it a go. I’m really happy with the result, it has been tearing it up everywhere I play it, and you can really tell that the crowd recognise from their reactions. Brett’s ‘Stucco Homes’ is a Fabric anthem for me; it really showcases a sound that I relate to Tyrant in 2002 which still inspires me to this day. Brett has a sound of his own, and this track was the peak of his output on the label.

What’s in the pipeline for you in 2012?

2012 is shaping up to be a busy one as I am releasing my debut album ‘Word Of Mouth’ on Leftroom in May. I’m currently deep amongst the inner foundations of the album, getting drawn in different directions, but the project is unfolding nicely. The album will be complemented with remixes from some of my favourite artists, and luckily for me, Derrick has already said yes! I am going to be touring the album worldwide from March next year, and already it seems I am going as far as Australia. I have a release on Culprit early next year with a good friend of mine from Miami, Lazaro Casanova, and I’m also still working on some key collaborations with some close friends of mine, Sam Russo, Kate Simko and Geddes.

Finally – and most importantly – who can out drink who between Derrick & Luke?

This really depends on what the poison is. Tequila would be a very close match and would end up very messy indeed. Petron – I think Derrick would come out on top, especially the coffee one.  But if it was a good old classic ale, I am sure Luke would win hands down (but only coz Derrick wouldn’t drink it!!!)

Classic Through the Eyes of Matt Tolfrey is out 12th December – listen & pre-order