LTJ Bukem Good Looking Records

It's high time and long overdue that we pay some respects to one of the most innovative and forward thinking producers and record labels in dance music: LTJ Bukem and his Good Looking Records crew.  Let's face it, most drum and bass producers/DJs in the last few years has fallen stale and too predictable, rehashing the same old ideas and spinning their wheels in the monotony of dark-core vibes.  Quite frankly we're sick of it, and with so many ideas and concepts still to be tapped into, LTJ Bukem and his GLO family are leading the way to D&B salvation.  Founded by Bukem and one partner in a small office in North London, Bukem started modestly, one hit at a time, with fresh tracks that helped pioneer the sound and shape drum & bass would eventually take.  Tunes like 'Demon's Theme', 'Atlantis (I Need You)' and 'Music' quickly grabbed attention and still maintain themselves as classics.  Bukem began signing and launching the careers of other DJs such as PFM, Peshay, and Photek, and after a business plan and partnership with Tony Fordham, the GLO family grew with other signature artists like Blame, Blu Mar Ten, Big Bud, Taylor, Intense, Artemis, PHD and Seba, along with the freestyle MC skills of Conrad and DRS.  With a jungle/d&b scene mostly focused on dark and aggressive hardcore vibes, Bukem and his crew provided more of a jazzy, ambient and funky sound the genre was so desperate for…more of a sophisticated and thinking man's style to the music.  Good Looking's Logical Progression events soon became staples in clubs across the UK and the world, finding residencies in premiere clubs like Cream and Ministry of Sound.As the label grew, so did Bukem's drive to create new sounds and vibes, thus expanding diversifying the family with smaller sub-labels, thus allowing all artists the freedom to record any kind of music they were into and placing them stylistically to each sub-label.  Looking Good lead the way, followed by Earth, Cookin', 720 Degrees, Ascendant Grooves, Nexus, Diverse Recordings, Soul Food and MC Conrad's Words 2 B Heard.  In 1998 Progression Sessions was born and a whole new CD series came with it, launching tours worldwide that still are running strong.  The Points In Time series is the perfect way to help you catch up with the growing and evolving sounds of the Good Looking family, and here's some other classic releases over the past four years that are essential listening for any music lover:

LTJ BUKEM PRESENTS:SOME BLUE NOTES OF DRUM & BASS-GOOD LOOKING RECORDS/BENZ STREET

The most recent release in Canada, it's an unmixed compilation of older material from the GLO back catalogue.  Very similar to the Producer series, this has 10 selected gems of jazzy "blue note" drum & bass, which is perfect if you're new to Bukem and the Good Looking crew, but may be redundant if you've a long time collector.

EARTH VOLUME 6-GOOD LOOKING RECORDS/ZYX MUSIC

The Earth series never disappoints, with down tempo, jazzy grooves that suites almost any situation in the soundtrack of your life.  For dinner parties, romantic evenings, driving home or your parents dropping by, it's thoughtful deep music to feed your soul.  Tunes by Makoto, Words 2 B Heard: Substance featuring Mark Holmes, Sian and K-Scope.

EARTH VOLUME 7-PRESENTED BY LTJ BUKEM-GOOD LOOKING RECORDS/ZYX MUSIC

LTJ Bukem takes the Earth series to another plateau, this time recording the tracks on a 5.1 DTS Surround sound version on DVD, with a second audio CD version also.  The DVD has some interactive bios and a back catalogue listing, plus some interview footage with Bukem on the Earth series and the 5.1 surround mix.  Tracks by Bluba Lu, Makoto, Nookie, DJ Trax and Bukem.

PROGRESSION SESSIONS JAPAN LIVE 2003-MAKOTO FEATURING DEEIZM

This mix marks a first in the Progressions Sessions series, utilizing the fresh and skilled MC rhymes and vocals from female MC Deeizm.  With rhythmic similarity and philosophical lyrical depth to MC Conrad and DRS, Deeizm is one of the best female MCs around, and rapping alongside the prolific deck wizardry of Makoto, another revered Good Looking artist who has shown profound musical range.  Recorded live in Tokyo, there's also a studio instrumental mix on CD 2.

PROGRESSION SESSIONS AMERICA LIVE 2001-LTJ BUKEM FEATURING MC CONRAD

Another brilliant live mixed effort from the dynamic duo of Bukem and Conrad, this time it's a live mix from Boston, Massachusetts during their 2001 American tour.  Bukem is without question the world's greatest drum & bass DJ, taking you on a cosmic journey of deep spiritual enlightenment and serious funk laden beats at the drop of the needle.  I think it's such a thoughtful gesture providing these releases with a second studio instrumental mixed version.

PROGRESSION SESSIONS UK LIVE 2003-LTJ BUKEM FEATURING MC CONRAD

Easily one of the best Progression Sessions releases ever, Bukem and Conrad working with Zen-like serendipity, coming live from their residency at Mr. C's The End club in London.  It's one of the most gritty and aggressive MC workouts Conrad has every given to us and shouldn't me missed out on.  CD 2 comes with a studio instrumental mix.