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LTJ Bukem.
 LTJ Bukem is one of the most recognised names in drum'n'bass. People describe and compare styles simply by using the name "Bukem". His vision of music and sound has led the d'n'b scene from its small beginnings in the UK into a massive international force in dance music. Speaking to Bukem (or Danny Williamson, as his friends know him) you can't help but note the passion and eagerness he displays for this music. It's why he's been doing it for close to 20 years when many other DJs, producers and labels have given it up.
"I just love it!" he exclaims when I ask why he's still around. "I can't think of many things, if any at all, I like better than listening to and playing and making music. Twenty years: it's quite frightening that I have been doing it that long, but it seems like two years - I've done so much, but I can't do enough, you know? It's a mad feeling! I'm just very passionate about what I do, and it's kinda frightening that I'm getting more into it," he laughs. "For the last 10 years I've spent with my head buried in the record label, as well as trying to be an artist and DJ. I feel kind of refreshed now as I'm spending more time in the studio and doing those things I did these things for originally."
Williamson has seen a lot of changes since he started out. "I've been travelling for years now, and I used to sit on planes for hours and just twiddle my thumbs, watch the movie three times in a row, listen to all the CDs that were in my bag, and nowadays I sit and do so much on my laptop; I think of ideas for tunes, or do work for the label, catch up on emails... And Instant Messaging has changed things greatly. Now I wake up and there's 20 or 30 tracks sitting in my inbox that someone hasn't had to buy a stamp and post, they can encode it, send it, and two hours later we can be talking about it! And the whole virtual studio has changed things especially. You don't have to have a double garage sized space to get all the things and sound in your tunes. It now all fits on one table! That has opened so many doors!"
Williamson's passion from music comes from learning classical piano from an early age, and a family relocation that found Williamson under the tutelage of a very open-minded music teacher, Nigel Crouch. One thing Crouch taught the young Williamson was "not to be frightened of listening to anything! People label music so much, which is something I don't understand. People say 'if it's not that I can't get into that, because it's labelled in that way' - that's just ridiculous."
Williamson also has an open mind in how to run a label, giving his artists a great degree of flexibility and support. "I would have the phone ring and promoters would ask for LTJ Bukem, and I'd say "yep, but I'm gonna bring Moloko, I'm gonna bring Blame, and you've got no choice in the matter". If you don't do that how are people going to hear you? It's got to start at that grass roots level, and you've got to do the small clubs of about 200 people in Adelaide, or Hawaii; you can't wait around 2 or 3 years until someone brings you out for a big do. You need growth, it needs to be an organically grown thing, and that's what Good Looking is all about."
Bukem is also all about his DJing. "I still get a thrill DJing," he says "There are two kinds of thrills for me. I love the mixing - I love the art form of it, so every time I play it's like a challenge for me - will I be able to pull off this mix as well as I would like to? The second thing is the people and their reaction. I've spent years playing new music, and them getting into it is awesome," he says excitedly. "And I still get nervious before I play - I need my 5 or 10 minutes where I have no one near me where I get it all together and I'm like "right, let's play this set!"
Julian Cram
 | LTJ Bukem performs alongside MC Conrad at Black Cat on Fri 28 Feb. |
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