English DJ and Leftroom Records founder Matt Tolfrey dies
Matt Tolfrey, an English DJ and producer known for founding the label Leftroom Records, has died, it has been announced.
Fellow DJ Damian Lazarus, who was a close friend of Tolfrey, confirmed the tragic news in an Instagram post on October 13th, stating that the musician had passed away over the weekend. No cause of death has been revealed publicly at this time.
“This weekend we lost a key member of the extended Crosstown Rebels family. Matt Tolfrey played a major role in our music scene and will be very sorely missed,” Lazarus said in his post, alongside a black and white portrait of the DJ.
Tolfrey was born in the UK but raised predominantly in the small West Asian island of Bahrain, before later returning to England as a teenager. He began his career by taking up a slot at a bar in Worcester, before going on to study at Nottingham Trent University.
Reflecting on this, Lazarus continued in his tribute: “We first met in Nottingham when I was booked to play at Stealth and we went on to work and play together for the best part of 20 years. He produced key singles and remixes for us and in recent years was responsible for helping us work with artists that he represented.”
He added: “His cheeky smile and humor will be sorely missed. My heart goes out to everyone that knew and loved Matt but especially to his beautiful daughters Arla and Beau. RIP Matt, you left the room too early.”
Lazarus’ post was flooded with comments from fellow DJs, including Danny Howard and Anja Scneider, the latter of whom wrote: “He was such a sweet, warm soul. It’s so sad. I feel we are losing so many people from our community lately.”
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