Good Looking/Inertia

“I can’t, never will, never will be able to”. LTJ Bukem describing his sound

The above is perhaps an apt way to begin reviewing one of the world’s harder producers to categorise. While his sounds have been labelled ‘intelligent’ and ‘jazzy’, and slotted somewhere into that area we have come to know as drum and bass, LTJ ‘Dano’ Bukem continues to produce music which elegantly evades description. The first producer to’ mesh’ many sounds with the ragged drum and bass breakbeat, Bukem has gone on to claim an enviable, and deserved reputation as one of the scene’s most influential pioneers.

The first in a new series of albums from Bukem’s own Good Looking label, ‘Producer’ is a collection of nine of the best cuts from the man himself. The album brings together some of the quintessential pieces in the Bukem repertoire. Jungle classics such as ‘Demon’s Theme’, ‘Music’, and ‘Atlantis’, with its incredibly haunting “I need you, I want you” vocal, are combined with atmospheric pieces – ‘Cosmic Interlude’ and ‘Orcehstral Jam’ – and down tempo favourites such as ‘Moodswings’ and ‘Installations’ to produce an incredibly beautiful, layered and complex entity.

The first time all nine have been brought together on one album, ‘Producer’ will undoubtedly find itself in the seminal category in a very short period of time. A must if you’re a fan of the man, or indeed of drum and bass with depth.

BUY: Producer – LTJ Bukem from chaosmusic.com