Interview by: Ian Kreer [imperial]

Matt, tell us a little about yourself, and how did you become a part of the Electronic Dance Music scene?

 I’m 35, from Seaford, Delaware and currently living in Laurel, DE, both are small cities about 2 ½ hours from D.C. I’ve been married for 15 years to a wonderful woman named Celeste and she supports me in everything I do. Who could ask for more? My first EDM experience started back in 1993, I was dating a girl that was into clubbing and we went to Rehoboth Beach to a club called “XLR8”. I walked into the club and I was in awe at the sight. Fantastic light show, amazing sound pounding in my chest, and club kids all over, dancing like this was the last party they would ever be at. The DJ was interacting with the crowd and was the guide for the musical journey they were on. I was also confused by a lot of what I had seen but the music is what stood out above everything else. The beats, synths and vocals just dominated the musical subspace. Where had this music been hiding? I was instantly hooked and knew this was going to be the beginning of a wonderful life experience.


Fast forward to 1996, I was working in Rehoboth Beach for a t-shirt retailer and after I got off from work I would go down the street to that same club, now called “Channel Z”. I was introduced to the DJ which happened to be the same DJ that was there back in ‘93 when I first went to the club. Tim Heffelfinger (DJ Sunkis) was his name and from that night over the course of about a month or two I would sit in the DJ Booth while he played and recorded his sets every Friday & Saturday night. These tapes quickly became classic archives of some of the best music that came out of that time period. I later found out there were some major parties held at this club, one of them called “Aqua”, another called “Love Bomb. Some of EDM’s big names played at the club too; Micro, Baby Anne, Josh Wink, Dante, Mystic, On-E from Dee-Lite, Dave Trance, DJ Who, and many others. During this same year I purchased my first pair of Technics 1200 turntables and Tim showed me how to DJ, I have been doing it ever since. I have also gone to many parties in the DC/Baltimore area such as Fever @ Paradox, Starscape, the Massive parties at Bourbon Street, etc.

“The beats, synths and vocals just dominated the musical subspace. Where had this music been hiding?.” -Matt


Where did your DJ name come from? And how did you become a DJ?

I’ve had 2 names throughout my career so far. The new name was one of my wife’s creations. She always liked the name “Sticky Fusion” but didn’t really have anything to put it to. We both have always been into music and she always said if we ever did anything together in regards to performing, that would be our name. She has been busy with work and school so I took on the name to carry the torch so to speak. But I began DJing under the name DJ Ballistic. DJ Sunkis and I would play anywhere we could once I learned how to DJ. We played coffee shops, bars, clubs, restaurants, Universities, private house parties, even a warehouse that was converted into a club (kind of). Any place where there were people wanting to have a good time. In 2010 I went through something very personal and difficult in my life and that ended with a “re-invention” of myself so the name DJ Ballistic was left behind. The new name, “Sticky Fusion” illustrates my 2 passions; Technology & Music. I am a Network & Systems Administrator by profession and staying on the cutting edge of technology has always been an interest for me, which is good because it is also a job requirement. That covers the “fusion” part but what about the “sticky” part? Well I feel the music I play sticks to the people that hear it.


What Genre best describes what you play?
I hate putting a label on it. I play many types of music but I can tell you I started out listening to DJs and artists such as Sasha, John Digweed, BT, Paul Oakenfold, Paul Van Dyk, DJ Icey, Micro, Sander Kleinenberg, Dubtribe and so many more. So if I have to put a label on it I would say…Progressive!!!… Whether I play electro and breaks one time or progressive house and trance the next… it is almost ALWAYS progressive. I just love music you can feel deep within yourself, the music that infects your body & soul leaving you no choice but to dance to it. A good friend of mine, Josh coined the term “the dancefloor is ticklish this evening”. I know exactly what he means too, the pounding energy in the track and then that break comes that gives you a bit of a rest ever so suddenly and then slowly builds you back up and drops you again to continue the journey.

“The new name, “Sticky Fusion” illustrates my 2 passions; Technology & Music.” -Matt



As I stated earlier I started out with “the classics”, a pair of Technics 1200 turntables. Over the years I have experimented with new technologies and my first analog to digital setup was Stanton’s Final Scratch. I liked it well enough but it was lacking a bit in terms of accuracy and even sound output in my opinion. I used it for a couple of years and then I ended up replacing that with Rane’s Serato ScratchLive which I used almost exclusively up until the latter part of 2010. I had always wanted to experiment more with live remixing on the fly and actually performing as opposed to just DJing. My favorite artist, BT was using the Akai APC40 and Ableton Live and I immediately wanted to do something similar. So I purchased the equipment and am now dabbling with it along with a few very cool VSTs. My most recent purchase to add to my performance rig is an M-Audio Axiom 25 MIDI keyboard that is running the Stutter Edit VST from iZotope that BT developed and it is a blast to play with. Alas, I am still very new to the MIDI control surface game and have lots to learn but I am eager to do so. For the studio I have recently added a set of KRK Rockit 8 studio monitors and they are quite sexy.


Sticky Fusion – Electric Collective [RECORDED : 5-14-2011]


Where do you want to go in the future as far as being a DJ?


I would honestly like to start producing my own tracks. I have a feeling there is nothing like creating your own music and then performing it live and getting the crowd pumped up and telling them that they are the first ever to hear your new track. That would be a serious rush for me. I also think it would be cool to perform at a really large event like Starscape or one of the Massive’s at Bourbon Street.

“I had always wanted to experiment more with live remixing on the fly and actually performing as opposed to just DJing.” -Matt

Do you have any future gigs planned? If so, where?


My next gig is called DV8, an EDM event that my friend Tim (DJ Sunkis) and I are throwing in Salisbury, MD on the 25th of June. We are bringing in our own sound & lighting for this one and we are going to rock the roof off that club. It will be a great time to be had by all in attendance.

Website, links?
http://www.facebook.com/stickyfusion (Artist/DJ Fan Page)

http://www.facebook.com/djstickyfusion (My personal page)

http://www.twitter.com/stickyfusion

 Twitter
http://www.soundcloud.com/stickyfusion Soundcloud



Want to give any shout outs to anyone?

Absolutely! My wife first of all, you are such an inspiration to me, I love you Celeste.
 Tim, for getting me started in this world of mixing. And Travis, Josh, Kristen, Jenn, Kevin, Heather, and the rest of the Delaware crew that shows up to the parties to show their support.