LTJ Bukem Interview

LTJ Bukem is no stranger to Australia, playing to packed-out crowds for well over a decade. We spoke to the Drum & Bass extraordinaire about his return to our shores for Let Them Eat Cake and Chinese Laundry, and how the genre he created has changed.

Hi Danny, how are you?
I’m very well, thank you. I’ve been away to America for the weekend and I’ve just got back.

Cool! What were you doing there?
I go over there every couple of months for long weekends to play gigs. I used to do long tours of 30 days, but that got tiring after 10 or more years! But it’s still a good time.

And whereabouts are you at the moment?
Right now, I’m in the UK.

So, we know you as a Drum & Bass master, but you had origins of Jazz and Funk music; how did the transition between the genres occur?
It’s very much interconnected to everything I’ve done over 25-30 years. It stems from what I did when I was younger, playing the piano and classical music at an early age. When I was about 10, I was introduced to Jazz and I learnt about improvisation and the free way of thinking about music. As a result, I started buying records of L.A. Jazz guys like Chick Corea and Bill Evans, and that led on to Soul, which was massive in the ’80s in England, so it was in my blood from a very early age. When I came onto Electronics in mid-late ’80s and Hip-Hop in the mid ’80s, it was all Jazz-related and took me on a certain way that influenced my choices in House and Drum & Bass.

Do you think your origins still have an influence in your music today?
Absolutely, massive. People tend to think of me as pigeon-holed into Drum & Bass, which I guess I am, but very often I’ll play bits that are influenced by my love for Jazz, Funk and Reggae. Even some darker stuff I find attractive for its funkiness or the way it’s been constructed; it’s all stemmed from what I liked in the beginning.

‘Horizons’ is such an iconic tune from the ’90s; do you think it epitomises your career or would it be unfair to put all that on one track?
A lot of the tracks when ‘good looking records’ first started – Music Apollo, Horizons, Demons Theme – were the start of Drum & Bass so people immediately remember you for the birth of a genre. I am pleased that those tunes had that effect on others. I don’t think it defines my career, but it means a lot to a lot of people.

We’re really looking forward to seeing you at Let Them Eat Cake and Chinese Laundry in January 2014; do you have any ideas on your set yet?
Obviously it will be Drum & Bass, focused on new music on the label that we’ve been releasing, as well as some pieces of old stuff. It’s definitely going to be how I’m feeling recently about the music, so it could go from mellow and cosmic to a bit more steppy-ish and hard. It will be a broad spectrum of my mind musically.

You’ve visited Australia previously at events like Playground Weekender and Future Music Festival; what do you think of the music scene out here?
There’s some great Drum & Bass music that’s been coming out of Australia, obviously with Pendulum, and it’s fantastic to see the growth of the music coming out of the country and I have the upmost respect for it. It’s exciting to be invited back to play, as Australia’s playing a big part in the Electronica scene as a whole.

Do you think it’s important for British Drum & Bass acts to break countries like Australia?
If you’d have asked me that 20 years ago when I first came to Perth, I would have said yes, it’s important to go over there and let them hear your thing. But nowadays, with digital media, whatever you do is heard around the world if someone’s interested in you. When one is interested in a certain genre or type of music, you dig deep to find out who’s doing it, and you often don’t know where that person has come from or their origins. But performing-wise, I think it’s important to let people see you do your thing.

What advice would you give someone who’s just started producing?
First and foremost you should do what you believe in. It’s very easy for people to listen and do something because that’s what’s in at the moment. I’m not against that, but following your heart is the best way to get your music loved by others. I think it’s hard now for new people to get their names heard, because every scene is saturated with so much music and more music’s available to go out and buy than ever before. Enjoy it, stick by what you believe in and go for it. With DJ’ing, the art is very different to how we viewed it 20 years ago with vinyl, so it’s important to have your own style and get booked.

You mentioned ‘good looking records’, are you able to be as hands-on as when it was born?
Even more so! I sit and spend 10 hours a day listening to music and replying to artists, getting involved with new acts and learning more about A&R. In the earlier days, my business partner did more of that, but I wanted to learn about it and the structure and what needs to be done.

Are there any acts that we should be checking out?
It’s crazy because unlike 10 or 15 years ago when we first started, there are so many guys to listen to every single day. There’s always someone popping up from a corner of the world that’s sent me a tune. A good place to go would be our Good Looking Soundcloud page, there’s a really good scope of artists that have recorded with the label that can give people an idea.

What do you get up to when you’re not touring?
[Laughs] I regularly get asked that, but I find myself working more or less seven days a week! When I do get spare time, I like watching films and sport. In fact, I’m going to come to Melbourne at Christmas to watch the test between England and Australia. I think I’ve managed to get into the members section so I’ll have the best seat in the house! It’s quite general really; I don’t get up to mad stuff because life’s so much like that anyway – I want to do normal things!