# LTJ Bukem — Music

LTJ Bukem’s Music (1993) is No. 4 in our Drum and Bass ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 1993
- **Label:** Good Looking
- **On one list:** Drum and Bass
- **ISRC:** GBCCH9300039
- **Updated:** 2026-08-28
- **Artist:** [LTJ Bukem](https://waxonia.com/artist/ltj-bukem/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/ltj-bukem--music/

## What we say

### No. 4 in [Drum and Bass](https://waxonia.com/genre/drum-and-bass/)

Where atmospheric drum and bass begins. Bukem swapped darkness for Rhodes chords and open space, and invented an entire strand of the genre that is still being mined.

## Analysis

10 sections, the first drop of 2 at 1:39, 19% of the way in, 24% of it spent climbing.

- **Key:** F# minor
- **Dynamic range:** 8.7 dB — moderate range, typical of a modern master
- **Length:** 8:49

- `0:00` A · **intro**, instrumental — opens the record below its own average energy — playing: vocals
- `1:40` B · **build** (bar 43), instrumental — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: drums, bass, other
- `2:55` B · **peak** (bar 76), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, other
- `4:30` B · **steady** (bar 117), instrumental — holding a level — the groove, neither rising nor falling — playing: drums, bass, other
- `4:43` C · **build** (bar 122), instrumental — energy and brightness climbing without a break — playing: drums, bass
- `5:36` D · **peak** (bar 145), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass
- `6:25` D · **peak** (bar 166), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, other
- `7:27` E · **breakdown** (bar 193), instrumental — energy falling away mid-record, percussion thinning — playing: drums, other
- `8:04` D · **peak** (bar 209), instrumental — sits at the top of this record's range — playing: drums, bass, other
- `8:31` C · **outro** (bar 221), instrumental — the closing fall — playing: drums

**Drops** at 1:39 (bar 43), 8:03 (bar 209). A drop is a moment, not a stretch.

**What is playing.** Separated into parts by a source-separation model, so each lane is the instrument it names.

- **drums:** the drum kit, separated from the mix
- **bass:** the bass part, separated from the mix
- **vocals:** the voice, separated from the mix
- **other:** everything else — synths, guitars, keys, strings

Measured from the YouTube master on 2026-08-29. Section labels describe how the energy
moves, not musical form. Anything we were not confident enough to state is omitted
rather than hedged.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/LTJ%20Bukem%20Music) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=DNQDoiuGq58)

---

Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.