LTJ Bukem
Encyclopedia
LTJ Bukem is the stage name
used by the drum and bass
musician, producer and DJ Danny Williamson (born 1967). He and his record labels Good Looking and Looking Good Records are most associated with the jazzy, atmospheric side of drum and bass music.
in his teenage years, having a jazz funk band at one stage. However by the late 1980s he decided to become a DJ
, and gained fame in the rave
scene of the early 1990s. As a producer, he released a series of jungle
tracks such as "Demon's Theme" (1991), "Atlantis" and "Music" (1993). His most notable release was the track "Horizons" (1995) which attained considerable popularity.
He then dipped in visibility as a producer, with his work running the London
club night Speed and his record label
Good Looking Records
coming to the fore. A series of compilations entitled Logical Progression highlighted a jazz
and ambient
influenced side of drum and bass. The style became widely known as intelligent drum and bass, although Bukem himself was opposed to the moniker, unhappy with the implication that other styles of jungle were not intelligent. Bukem also explored the downtempo end of electronic lounge music, with sister label Cookin' and the Earth series of compilations. Some of the artists who rose to fame under Good Looking in this period include Blame, Seba
, Big Bud, Blu Mar Ten
, Future Engineers
, Tayla, Aquarius (Photek
), Peshay, Source Direct
and Artemis.
On July 16, 1995 he did an Essential Mix
alongside MC Conrad. In 1997 he remixed the James Bond
theme for David Arnold
's concept album of James Bond music
. In 2000 he finally released a debut solo album, the double-CD Journey Inwards
. The album heavily emphasised his jazz fusion influences. 2001 saw a remix of Herbie Hancock
.
He ran the Speed clubnight in London with fellow drum and bass DJ Fabio
.
He DJs extensively around the world, often under the 'Progression Sessions' or 'Bukem in Session' banners, with MC Conrad
.
style, Bukem is known for developing an accessible alternative to that hardcore
genre's speedy, assaultive energies. His style pays homage to the Detroit based sound of early techno
, but Bukem also incorporates still earlier influences, particularly the mellow, melodic sonorities of 1970s era jazz fusion as exemplified by Lonnie Liston Smith
and Roy Ayers
. Early in his career, Bukem was identified for his response to the "almost paranoid hyperkinesis" of breakbeat
-based house music
, and specifically for his reservations regarding the overbearing force of the hardcore
mentality.
Bukem's music from the early 1990s onward represents his efforts to map out an alternative future for breakbeat
house music
by incorporating softer-edged influences culled from London's
1980s rare groove
and acid jazz
scenes. Music on Logical Progression reveals these influences, as does his approach on 1993's Music / Enchanted, which features string arrangements and sounds from nature. His use of keyboards, live vocals and slow- motion breaks
on these and future releases earned Bukem's music the tag intelligent drum and bass. While this designation caused controversy within the drum and bass
community, it also influenced the popularization of hardcore
music in the UK
during the mid 1990s.
Remixes
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
used by the drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
musician, producer and DJ Danny Williamson (born 1967). He and his record labels Good Looking and Looking Good Records are most associated with the jazzy, atmospheric side of drum and bass music.
Life and career
He was trained as a classical pianist and discovered jazz fusionJazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
in his teenage years, having a jazz funk band at one stage. However by the late 1980s he decided to become a DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
, and gained fame in the rave
Rave
Rave, rave dance, and rave party are parties that originated mostly from acid house parties, which featured fast-paced electronic music and light shows. At these parties people dance and socialize to dance music played by disc jockeys and occasionally live performers...
scene of the early 1990s. As a producer, he released a series of jungle
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
tracks such as "Demon's Theme" (1991), "Atlantis" and "Music" (1993). His most notable release was the track "Horizons" (1995) which attained considerable popularity.
He then dipped in visibility as a producer, with his work running the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
club night Speed and his record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Good Looking Records
Good Looking Records
Good Looking Records is a Jungle/drum & bass record label, formed in the early nineties by pioneering DJ/producer LTJ Bukem.Artists who have released on this label include LTJ Bukem, Tayla, Furney, Redeyes, Q Project, Peshay, Big Bud, Nookie, Makoto, Intense, Artemis, New Balance, MC D.R.S., PFM,...
coming to the fore. A series of compilations entitled Logical Progression highlighted a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
and ambient
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
influenced side of drum and bass. The style became widely known as intelligent drum and bass, although Bukem himself was opposed to the moniker, unhappy with the implication that other styles of jungle were not intelligent. Bukem also explored the downtempo end of electronic lounge music, with sister label Cookin' and the Earth series of compilations. Some of the artists who rose to fame under Good Looking in this period include Blame, Seba
Seba
Sebastian Ahrenberg, better known as Seba is a drum and bass producer and DJ hailing originally from Ingarö, an island just outside of Stockholm, Sweden. Seba is also the owner of Secret Operations, a drum and bass record label.-Musical career:...
, Big Bud, Blu Mar Ten
Blu Mar Ten
Blu Mar Ten is a music production outfit based in London, and is made up of Leo Wyndham and Chris Marigold and Michael Tognarelli.-History:Blu Mar Ten's first track to be released was "The Fountain" / "Lunar" in 1996 on the now defunct Way Out Records. The track appeared on numerous compilations...
, Future Engineers
Future Engineers
Future Engineers are a Scottish based Drum and Bass duo consisting of Lee Batchelor and Keir Cleminson.Having released on popular D&B labels such as LTJ Bukem's Good Looking records, Partisan and 720 Degrees, Future Engineers established a reputation as a prolific and highly talented production duo...
, Tayla, Aquarius (Photek
Photek
Photek is Rupert Parkes , a Los Angeles-based British record producer and DJ. He joined the drum and bass scene relatively early , and is still one of its most respected players...
), Peshay, Source Direct
Source Direct
Source Direct is a drum and bass producer team from St Albans in the United Kingdom, initially consisting of Phil Aslett and Jim Baker. Source Direct are often compared with ambient drum and bass artists such as LTJ Bukem and other Good Looking Records producers, but their work displays a much more...
and Artemis.
On July 16, 1995 he did an Essential Mix
Essential Mix
The Essential Mix is a weekly radio show on BBC Radio 1 currently broadcast between 03:00 and 05:00 Saturday morning. Originally broadcast on 30 October 1993, The Essential Mix features contemporary DJs and music producers of electronic dance music....
alongside MC Conrad. In 1997 he remixed the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
theme for David Arnold
David Arnold
David Arnold is an English film composer best known for scoring five James Bond films, the 1994 film Stargate, the 1996 film Independence Day, and the television series Little Britain.-Film and television career:...
's concept album of James Bond music
James Bond music
The James Bond series of films from EON Productions has had numerous signature tunes over the years, many of which are now considered classic pieces of cinematic music...
. In 2000 he finally released a debut solo album, the double-CD Journey Inwards
Journey Inwards
Journey Inwards is the first full-length release by drum and bass artist LTJ Bukem which is composed entirely of his own music. It was released in 2000 as a double-CD and a quadruple-LP on Bukem's own Good Looking Records label.-Disc one:...
. The album heavily emphasised his jazz fusion influences. 2001 saw a remix of Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
.
He ran the Speed clubnight in London with fellow drum and bass DJ Fabio
Fabio
Fabio, Fábio is a given name descended from Latin Fabius. Fabianus originates from Fabius and it is equivalent to the English Fabian.It may refer to:-Performing arts:* Fabio Grossi, Italian principal dancer* Fábio Júnior, Brazilian singer...
.
He DJs extensively around the world, often under the 'Progression Sessions' or 'Bukem in Session' banners, with MC Conrad
MC Conrad
MC Conrad is a British MC, well known for his collaboration with drum'n'bass DJ LTJ Bukem, as well as other artists on Bukem's Good Looking Records...
.
Style and influences
Viewed as an innovator in the drum and bassDrum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
style, Bukem is known for developing an accessible alternative to that hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore is a derivative of the acid house and techno, of the late 1980s and early 1990s, that combines four-to-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats, and is associated with the UK rave scene.-The rave scene:...
genre's speedy, assaultive energies. His style pays homage to the Detroit based sound of early techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
, but Bukem also incorporates still earlier influences, particularly the mellow, melodic sonorities of 1970s era jazz fusion as exemplified by Lonnie Liston Smith
Lonnie Liston Smith
Lonnie Liston Smith, Jr. is an American jazz, soul, and funk musician who played with important free jazz artists such as Pharoah Sanders and Miles Davis before forming Lonnie Liston Smith And The Cosmic Echoes, recording a number of albums widely regarded as classics in the fusion / Quiet Storm /...
and Roy Ayers
Roy Ayers
Roy Ayers is an American funk, soul, and jazz composer and vibraphone player. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped pioneer jazz-funk .- Biography :Ayers...
. Early in his career, Bukem was identified for his response to the "almost paranoid hyperkinesis" of breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
-based house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
, and specifically for his reservations regarding the overbearing force of the hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore is a derivative of the acid house and techno, of the late 1980s and early 1990s, that combines four-to-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats, and is associated with the UK rave scene.-The rave scene:...
mentality.
Bukem's music from the early 1990s onward represents his efforts to map out an alternative future for breakbeat
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
by incorporating softer-edged influences culled from London's
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
1980s rare groove
Rare groove
Rare groove is defined as very hard to source or relatively obscure soul or jazz music. Rare groove is primarily associated with funk, jazz and pop, but is also connected to sub-genres including jazz fusion, Latin jazz, soul, R&B, northern soul, and disco. Vinyl records that fall into this...
and acid jazz
Acid jazz
Acid jazz is a musical genre that combines elements of jazz, funk and hip-hop, particularly looped beats. It developed in the UK over the 1980s and 1990s and could be seen as tacking the sound of jazz-funk onto electronic dance: jazz-funk musicians such as Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd and Grant Green are...
scenes. Music on Logical Progression reveals these influences, as does his approach on 1993's Music / Enchanted, which features string arrangements and sounds from nature. His use of keyboards, live vocals and slow- motion breaks
Breakbeat
In 1992, a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out,...
on these and future releases earned Bukem's music the tag intelligent drum and bass. While this designation caused controversy within the drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
community, it also influenced the popularization of hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore
Breakbeat hardcore is a derivative of the acid house and techno, of the late 1980s and early 1990s, that combines four-to-the-floor rhythms with breakbeats, and is associated with the UK rave scene.-The rave scene:...
music in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
during the mid 1990s.
Discography
- Delitefol (released as a white label only Cat no. WIZ BUK 01)
- Logical Progression (released under the name LT Bukem)
- Demon's Theme / A Couple Of Beats (Good Looking Records Cat no. GLR001 released 1991, repressed 2000)
- DJ Biz - Losing track of time (LTJ Bukem mix) released 1992
- Teach Me To Fly (LTJ Bukem & DJ Trace released 1992)
- Who Knows Vol 1 (released under the name The Bookworm)
- Bang The Drums / Remnants (LTJ Bukem and Tayla Good Looking Records Cat no. GLR002 released 1993)
- Return to Atlantis (LTJ Bukem and Apollo Two Good Looking Records Cat no. GLR003 released 1993)
- Music / Enchanted (Good Looking Records Cat no. GLR004 released 1993)
- 19.5 / 19.5 Reprisal (LTJ Bukem and Peshay Good Looking Records Cat no. GLR008 released 1994)
- Mixmag Live! Volume 21 (LTJ Bukem compilation /remix DMC Publishing Ltd Cat no. MMLCD21 released 1996)
- Logical Progression (a four volume label compilation series)
- Progression Sessions (a ten volume compilation/remix series)
- Earth (a seven volume compilation/remix series)
- The Journey (LTJ Bukem and Mystic Moods Mystic Moods Cat no. MMOODS 6/7 released 1996)
- Mystical Realms EP (Good Looking Records Cat no. GLREP001V released 1998)
- Journey Inwards (2000)
- Suspended Space EP (Good Looking Records Cat no. GLREP007V released 2000)
- Producer 01 (2001)
- Producer 05: Rarities (2002)
- Some Blue Notes Of Drum 'N Bass (2004)
- "Fabriclive 46" (2009)
Remixes
- Sweetness Michelle Gayle (Mellow Drum n Bass mix by LTJ Bukem 1994)
- Feenin Jodeci (LTJ Bukem Remix 1995)
- Transamazonia The Shamen (LTJ Bukem Remix 1995)
- If I Could Fly Grace (LTJ Bukem Remix 1996)
- The James Bond Theme David Arnold (LTJ Bukem Remix 1997)
- The Essence Herbie Hancock (LTJ Bukem Remix 2001)
External links
- [ LTJ Bukem] at Allmusic
- LTJ Bukem interview