Who was Matt Tolfrey? Top DJ and eminent music producer passes away aged 44

DJ Matt Tolfrey, 44, passed away on October 13, 2025. He became a popular face by establishing the record label Leftroom more than ten years ago. He then formed three more companies - Leftroom Limited, Leftout, and Is This.

The record producer also had the opportunity to perform at various places, and he became famous in clubs. Furthermore, he had some projects as a solo artist, such as Don’t Be Leftout.

Matt Tolfrey’s close friend Damian Lazarus was the first person to announce the artist’s demise on social media.

The DJ added a photo of the late artist in an Instagram post, writing that Matt was an important part of the “extended Crosstown Rebels family.”

The tribute continued, with Lazarus recalling the time when he met Tolfrey in Nottingham and started collaborating, which went on for many years.

Damian wrote that Matt served as a producer of some successful singles and remixes for certain artists.

“Matt believed in community and bringing people together on and off the dancefloor and his record label @leftroomrecords has played an important role in bringing like minded music makers together. Matt was a brilliant dj and was represented by myself and Will in the very early days of the Rebel Agency (now NGE)”, Lazarus added.

Damian said that Matt Tolfrey’s contributions to the world of music and his smile will be missed by those who were close to him. The tribute mentioned in the end:

“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.”

Matt Tolfrey was active as a DJ for many years

The Isle of Wight, England native’s journey started a long time ago when he joined a Worcester-based bar as a DJ. This helped him get recognition, and he started playing in other places such as the DC-10 in Ibiza.

According to The Mirror, Matt Tolfrey was praised for his work in the techno music and other genres. A few years later, he started the record label Leftroom, which helped most of his close ones working in the music industry release their big projects.

Back in 2011, Matt appeared for an interview with Defected Magazine, where he was questioned about his proudest moment at the time when he launched Leftroom. Tolfrey said at the time:

“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.”

During another conversation with Decoded Magazine around seven years ago, Matt Tolfrey revealed that Nottingham-based promoter James Baillie was the first person who gave him a break.

Tolfrey stated that Baillie once received his mixtape, following which the former invited him to play at the Bomb, where James was working at the time. He further stated:

“About 3 or 4 months after this I got a phone call from James asking if I was going to Tyrant that night, which of course we were, and he said good, because Lee Burridge can’t make it so you’ve got to open and close for Craig Richards.”

As mentioned, Matt launched three more record labels in his career. In 2012, his solo album, Word of Mouth, was released.

He also produced multiple songs, such as Are We Family, Misunderstood, Decisions, Bounce for Me, Almost There, Hollywood Revisited, Drop the Bomb, Candy, Bromance, and more.