Who: LTJ Bukem with MC Conrad
Where: Garibaldi Lift Co. (GLC)
When: Thursday, Jan. 13
Tickets: $17-$20, more at the door
"Keep an open mind," renowned DJ/producer LTJ Bukem once advised anyone who was listening in Japanese pop culture zine Air. "That's the one thing I tell everyone, about myself or music, keep an open mind. I can't tell anyone what they should believe my music is, just keep an open mind. You never know what you might miss."
For anyone who has shut their mind to electronic music’s fringe genres such as jungle and drum ’n’ bass, this is advice that needs to be taken to heart.
Known worldwide as a jungle and drum ’n’ bass innovator and producer, through label duo Good Looking/Looking Good Records, Bukem is also the mastermind of funk, soul, downbeat, house, breaks, and chill-out nu-jazz tracks. A man for all seasons and all sounds. Those that shut him out are only denying themselves the uplifting experience of being drawn in by his impressive sonic array.
He was born Danny Williamson in London in 1967, drawing a nickname and eventual DJ moniker from the TV series Hawaii Five-0’s catchphrase "book ’em, Danno." A keen music lover and student of jazz trumpet and piano, Bukem became interested in DJ-ing the mid-1980s, adopting a career as a full-on turntable technician in 1988.
He recorded breakout track Logical Progression in 1990, which led to the formation of his first label, Good Looking records and its groundbreaking debut offering Demon’s Theme.
In 1994 he instigated sister label Looking Good Records, spearheading the formation of an artist collective that has included such names as Photek, Blame, Nookie, and Seba and LoTec.
Bukem continued to innovate and record throughout the decade. Of note is the 1995 Good Looking Logical Progression compilation on London Records which has gone on to become one of the highest selling drum ’n’ bass compilations to ever be released. Also of note, his millennium-era solo album Journey Inwards , described as "a diverse and multi-directional album of drum ’n’ bass, soul, downbeat, and house tracks that opened the eyes of those that had no faith and warmed the souls and inner beliefs of those that did." Also, the Earth Compilations, the seventh of which was recently released in 2004.
As his career as a DJ/producer extends into its third decade Bukem continues to innovate, showing no sign of slowing down. He released four albums in 2004 – the most recent being a live recording of one of his Progression Sessions sets in Germany.
Truly one of the great DJ/producer minds of the past decades, Bukem brings the Progression Sessions to the GLC in Whistler on Thursday, Jan. 13. With him will be long-time collaborator MC Conrad. It will be the artist’s first ever appearance in Whistler. Local DJs Jungle Souldier and Plastic Surgeon will spin opening sets.
Tickets for the event are available in advance from Dirty Beats and The Electric Daisy Internet Cafe, $17 for the first 100 sold, $20 for the second 100 sold. The tickets will increase in price at the door.
