Arguably the prime innovator in the development of jungle from its early status as an offshoot of hardcore techno into the respected, stylistic genre it became by the end of the 1990s, LTJ Bukem gained fame as an auteur in all fields of the drum’n’bass movement: as a top-flight breakbeat DJ, owner and label head of the Good Looking/Looking Good stable of labels and, of course, for his recordings — inspired by the lush strings and natural ambience of ’70s jazz fusion masters like Lonnie Liston Smithand Chick Corea as well as elegiac Chicago house and moody Detroit techno.
Allied with the early-’90s rave and hardcore scene, Bukem began working on production near the end of the 1980s; though his light, airy sound made little sense to his contemporaries, Bukem’s style was emulated much more as the jungle scene gained momentum during the mid-’90s. While such producers as Roni Size andGoldie gained the limelight for their solo work, Bukem purposely downplayed his own artistic career in favor of mix albums and label-spanning retrospectives that highlighted dozens of artists from his labels.
From running soundsystems to cutting up breaks at raves, from relocating the heart of breakbeat culture to redefining the spirit of drum and bass, the man known to his friends as Danny Williamson has sat at the forefront of breakbeat evolution, lighting the way with little more than a zest for life and a love of music.
