Tolfrey released hits from artists including Lee Burridge, Kate Simko, DJ Bone, Jasper James, among many others.

BELOVED DJ and music producer Matt Tolfrey has tragically died at the age of 44.

His close friend Damian Lazarus paid a heartbreaking tribute on social media.

"This weekend we lost a key member of the extended Crosstown Rebels family," he wrote.

"Matt Tolfrey played a major role in our music scene and will be very sorely missed.

"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 such as @alinkatwirl @jadenthompson_ @ajchristou & @holaguti."

He added: "Like us, 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).

"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."

No cause of death has been revealed publicly as of yet.

Tolfrey was born in the UK but raised in the small West Asian island of Bahrain.

He returned to England as a teenager and kick started his career at a bar in Worcester before heading to Nottingham Trent University.

His talent quickly shone through, and in his first year was given a show on Fly FM.

Junk Funk won the station's best newcomer award and Tolfrey was promoted to head of night-time DJs.

In 2005, Tolfrey launched his own record label called Leftroom after being hailed at clubs including The Bomb, Stealth, and Fabric.

He released hits from artists including Lee Burridge, Kate Simko, DJ Bone, Jasper James, among many others.

Leftroom Limited and Leftout were also born from the success of Leftroom.

Tolfrey's first full-length album, Word of Mouth, was released on Leftroom Records in 2012.

The star ultimately created his own agency called TheOne800, which also collaborated with industry giants.

Alongside these business ventures, the inspirational musician continued to work as a DJ.

Top DJ and music producer Matt Tolfrey dies aged 44