LTJ Bukem -
Danny Williamson - was born in
London in 1967.
He started his DJ career around
1988 as DJ Bukem, becoming "LTJ Bukem" after he told a friend that he wanted to change it to something different; they suggested "LTJ", and that was that.
The "Bukem" came from
Hawaii 5-O; A policeman says "Book'em Dano" when arresting someone (Bukem samples this in one of his sets- anyone who's heard much of his music would probably recognize it).
Bukem is one of the pioneers of
drum n bass - he created his own incredible style of it which incorporates
jazz,
groove &
soul flavours with
jungle, intelligent beats, and often in his live sets rhyming/hip hop style lyrics by
MC Conrad and
DRS (as well as others).
He himself refers to the style just as "
drum n bass". In an interview
1 he said, "D&B is D&B, why have different styles of one style? It only confuses and confines people's attitudes, and therefore closes minds"
He also mentions that he draws influence from a vast array of different styles and sounds, saying that there are beautiful aspects to all genres.
Bukem is regarded by some as one of the greatest DJs and has continued to be viewed as such since his first single "
Logical Progression" - released July 1991.
With MC Conrad he created his own label rather than join an existing one -
Good Looking Records - which has since gone on to be the home of some of the best drum n bass DJ's and MC's around, including
Makoto,
Rantoul,
Artemis and
DRS.
His music tells me a story - not a story of words, just of wicked sound. I can listen and re-listen to all of his sets and albums and never get sick of them.
If you like
electronic, dnb, jazz, soul, or laid back chilled beats, go grab some Bukem immediately. Trust me, you won't be dissapointed.
If you're looking for a sample of some quality tracks by him, take a listen to "
Atlantis", "
Demon's Theme", "
Sunrain", or "
Music".
I had the opportunity to see him live when he was in
Adelaide on Christmas Day '02 and I missed it. I'm still kicking myself.
Discography
The Progression Sessions The Progression Sessions are my favourite LTJ Bukem works. They're laid back with lyrics by MC Conrad and DRS & they all come with two cds - a vocal version and an instrumental version of the sets.
- Progression Sessions 1, 1998
- Progression Sessions 2, 1998 - It should be noted that this was produced by Blame, not Bukem.
- Progression Sessions 3, 1999
- Progression Sessions 4, 1999
- Progression Sessions 5, 2000
- Progression Sessions 6 - America Live, 2001
- Progression Sessions 7 - Live in Tokyo, 2002
- Progression Sessions 8, 2003
The Earth Series
- Earth 1, 1999
- Earth 2, 1999
- Earth 3, 1999
- Earth 4, 2000
- Earth 5, 2001
- Earth 6, 2003
Logical Progression
- Logical Progression Level 1, 1996
- Logical Progression Level 2, 1998 - I've been informed that this was also mixed by Blame. Thanks mkb
- Logical Progression Level 3, 1998
- Logical Progression Level 4, 2001
Bukem also selected the tracks for most of the
Points in Time series on Good Looking, but didn't mix or produce them.
As well as these, Bukem has (and continues to) play many live sets for various radio stations, clubs and parties around the world.
Sources-
** Years of listening.
** Good Looking Records - http://www.glo.co.uk
** 1: http://www.justdancelah.com/features/bukem.htm