DJ DB has been a fixture in dance music through every renaissance the style has experienced. His archive of DJ mixes and flyers from the 90s rave era are a time capsule of electronic music's first worldwide explosion, and in NO SCHOOL LIKE THE OLD SKOOL he shares some of these treasures. Get out your notepads…For anyone who doesn't know why he's called Bukem, it's a line from Hawaii Five-0, the TV cop show from the 70s. At the end of every episode, Steve McGarrett would say to Detective Danny "Danno" Williams "Book 'em, Danno."
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In 1992, my brand new girlfriend Wini (now my wife and mother of our two kids) was looking to bring me back some hot new bits from London where she was on a modeling gig. One of those twelve inches was "Demons Theme" by LTJ Bukem, his first release and launch of his own label Good Looking. Its a fucking cliché but my life was never the same again.I got him to sign it when we finally met a years later.
Because I instantly fell in love with his vibe and followed him, I developed a real appreciation of "deep." I also learnt that you don't need to rush through the tunes when DJing. My mission since then has always been to push the more musical and soulful side of drum n' bass in the U.S. Without Bukem, I might have been a completely different kind of DJ.In 1995, Fabio and Bukem started a small club night in London called SPEED. This was the birth place of soulful hardcore/jungle and it was to become legendary. On a visit home to my folks, I was super lucky to be able to check out the club before it became THE uber hotspot, turning away hundreds of heads each week.It's hard to believe now but for two or three years this music was a hip as anything can get!
Mixmag (who in '96 also had offices in New York) released volume three of their series. It was the first time a lot of U.S heads heard Bukem.
Bukem's DJ'ing & original productions are still inspired by a generation of dance music before his own. His soundscapes are like futuristic versions of Roy Ayers & Lonnie Liston Smith. That stuff is the real Old Skool, learn about it!
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This mix is from a show he did in 97 for Kiss 100 FM in U.K.
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Because I instantly fell in love with his vibe and followed him, I developed a real appreciation of "deep." I also learnt that you don't need to rush through the tunes when DJing. My mission since then has always been to push the more musical and soulful side of drum n' bass in the U.S. Without Bukem, I might have been a completely different kind of DJ.In 1995, Fabio and Bukem started a small club night in London called SPEED. This was the birth place of soulful hardcore/jungle and it was to become legendary. On a visit home to my folks, I was super lucky to be able to check out the club before it became THE uber hotspot, turning away hundreds of heads each week.It's hard to believe now but for two or three years this music was a hip as anything can get!
Bukem's DJ'ing & original productions are still inspired by a generation of dance music before his own. His soundscapes are like futuristic versions of Roy Ayers & Lonnie Liston Smith. That stuff is the real Old Skool, learn about it!This mix is from a show he did in 97 for Kiss 100 FM in U.K.LTJ Bukem aka Danny Williamson aka The Bookworm.
CONNECT WITH LTJ BUKEM DISCOGRAPHY Previously -- DB's No School Like the Old Skool: Frankie Bones