Featured Base DJ – Chip Matthews

This week’s featured DJ is responsible for making sure we all start the day off on the right foot every morning. Chip Matthews gets up before the sun every weekday morning to come into the studio and spin out a selection of soul, hiphop, reggae and general all round goodness including a little blues, country and even classic Prince Tui Teka. The Base Breakfast show is made even better by Chip’s informed and often humorous commentary on everything from music news to politics to what’s happening outside the studio window.

Chip has been part of the Base crew since the very beginning when he hosted the Saturday Spot show from 12 – 2 pm starting back in 2004. It was on these Saturdays that Chip first connected with DylanC who was hosting his own show from 2 – 4 pm. Chip took over the Breakfast show in 2008, pairing up with Butterfingers (Opensouls) as Chip Butty. Back in those days Chip was staying up all night DJing and playing bass (Chip has featured on albums and stages with The New Loungehead, Che Fu & the Krates, King Kapisi, Scribe, Sola Rosa, Opensouls, Anika Moa, Anna Coddington, Ladi6, The Tornadoes feat. Tyra Hammond, Eru Dangerspiel and Homebrew). His car would be parked outside the studio most nights so he could sleep there and then get up to host the Breakfast show, sometimes still a little drunk but always on form.

Things came full circle when Dylan joined Chip on the breakfast show in 2009 along with Tyra Hammond (Opensouls). He has weathered a storm of various news girls starting with Cherise who left to have babies, Holly who left to go overseas, Ben Rogers who went into hiding, some other guy no one can remember clearly, the brief return of Holly, to the current rotation of Rebekah, Renee and Kahurangi (although Renee left for Australia a few months back) but Chip has stayed the constant and necessary ingredient to the show’s success.

Chip is now a dad and has got himself a mortgage, a missus and a grown up job at MAINZ but he’s still DJing at various joints around town and playing base for different acts. He has most recently been touring with Homebrew and was on stage with them when they played live at the VNZMAs last week.

If weekday mornings are not enough Chip in your life and your twitter feed is looking a little boring then go ahead and follow Chip on twitter. He’ll make your twitter experience a whole lot more fun and informed while also letting you know the name of that great song he just played.

If you’re not already tuning into Base Breakfast, check it out. Chip will make your morning ten times better. And don’t forget Base Breakfast is being served live on Saturday, Nov 17th at 11am when Chip and Dylan open up the Base Stage at the Grey Lynn Festival.