Musician, DJ, remixer and producer, not to mention founder of the Good Looking Records label,  LTJ Bukem looms as a seminal figure of contemporary drum 'n' bass and its jazzier forays and funky explorations. This month Bukem and his Good Looking Records crew , MC Conrad and Nookie, return to Japan for the legendary Progression Sessions at the Tokyo Liquid Room and Club Joule, Osaka.

Bukem is among a handful of music makers who, amid the explosion of UK house music and rave culture more than a decade ago, gave birth to what eventually became drum 'n' bass. After years of nurturing the nascent genre through its first baby steps on the fringe, Bukem had by the mid-90s not only defined a distinct drum 'n' bass sound, but had launched a global underground music scene, from London to Berlin, New York, and Tokyo, where Sony Music signed a Japan-distribution deal with Good Looking in 1997. Years of  relentless DJing in clubs worldwide, as well a steady stream of  influential discs ever since his seminal "Demon's Theme" in 1991, have helped Bukem spread the D 'n' B sound.

"Music is personal to each and every one of us and affects us all in different ways," Bukem said in an email from London last month. "But you know, as a DJ, when you're touching people, and I get this feeling in so many different ways in so many different countries. It's a joy to watch."

Gavin Cheung, better known by his drum 'n' bass moniker, Nookie, as well as some of his other aliases (Cloud Nine and Second Vision), has been a fixture of the UK drum 'n' bass scene for years and has developed a reputation as one of the scene's more formidable talents.

Earlier this month, Bukem and Nookie and the Good Looking label crew returned to Japan for two nights of their legendary Progression Sessions.  Joining Bukem were MC Conrad and homegrown Tokyo junglist Makoto. Air caught up with Bukem and Nookie as they prepared for their Japan tour.

AIR:  What are some of the exciting projects you've been involved with during the past six months?

Bukem:  Working on a remix for Herbie Hancock,
Seeing the label expand it's musical horizons.

Nookie: My Album The Deepend was released just before Christmas as was my latest E.P., "Oceanic," also I've been doing a lot of touring with Bukem.

AIR:  Any really wicked gigs lately?

Bukem:  Had a really good time in Poland last week. It was -7 and very cold but the 2 gigs we did were very hot.
New Years Eve in New York. So good to see so many people enjoying themselves.

Nookie: New Year's Eve in New York was one of the highlights over the Christmas period, excellent vibe.

AIR: Good Looking Records have done several Logical Progression tours in Japan over the past few years. How have these experiences been?

Bukem: I always love coming to Japan as everyone knows. We get treated with so much care and respect, something that doesn't always happen when you travel so much.
The vibe especially in the Liquid Rooms is probably the best it can get on some occasions.

Nookie: I've personally never done a Progression Sessions in Japan, but I have been there twice before, and have to admit Liquid Rooms in Tokyo is one of my best experiences, also when I played in Osaka.

AIR: What are some particularly memorable experiences here, as far as: Spinning? Logical nights? Record shopping in Tokyo? Musical/cultural inspiration? Travel and culture?

Bukem:  Always spinning is memorable.
I have to always look in your record shops as you can find anything you want if you have the time, and that's special. From the first time I came to Japan I always take back with me to the UK a real sense of respect. By that I mean the way people conduct themselves and the politeness etc. It's something we can all learn from.

AIR: he Logical Progression, Earth and Producer CD series keep coming out with solid, beautiful tracks. The Producer series has been getting  a lot of good press. How is it different from the others?

Bukem:  The producer albums are different in that they are featured around one artist. A lot of people are new to the GLO and don't know about an artists past, so it's a good chance to showcase the artist and show exactly where there heads at in terms of his or her productions.
Nookie: The Producer series tends to offer a more exclusive track listing, some of the tunes may have been released on vinyl but never on CD format.

AIR:  Also, Bukem's "Journey Inwards," two years ago, was such a wonderful surprise, such a fresh departure, a step further, a  step away, musically, from what we'd come to expect. Comment on that? How was the making of that record different from other records? How is it indicative of the kinds of projects you would like to do in the future?

Bukem:  I don't think I could document every form of music I'm into on one album, but my album touched on many different sides of my musical brain. It was done in the way I would always like to do an album, by this I mean incorporating different styles that I love.

AIR: We've heard about some of the ups and downs in the drum 'n' bass scenes over the past couple of years, tough times, some might say, how was this period for you?

Bukem:  I've never looked at the scene in terms of ups and down, because through change we have never changed our goals. I think every label in the scene, like us should always be concentrating on new ways to market the music as that's been the hardest thing over the last 10 years.

Nookie: I've always tried to strive to create my own sound and something different, I think the musical side of Drum & Bass has always been more accessible to a wider audience, not just people into D & B, but also House, Down tempo, etc.

AIR:  What have you got planned in 2002 as far as personal musical projects, Good Looking projects, tours and events?

Bukem:  Personally it's always hard for me to be in the studio for any long periods of time due to traveling for 8 months of the year, but since the introduction of all the virtual gear I can now do a lot on my lap top when traveling so I hope to have some writing done in the forthcoming months.
Good Looking has different genres within it's labels now and we are to introduce house this year, the labels called Deep Rooted.
We also have a lot of artist albums planned for the next 12 months, both on Cooking and Good Looking.
We shall be doing the usual amount of extensive touring, hopefully visiting a few new territories.
The main thing is to stay healthy and inspired where ever possible.

Nookie: I've got my US tour in February, a Producer album on the way, a new E.P. plus lots of DJing work worldwide, I think 2002 will be a very productive year for D & B as a whole.

AIR:  What are some sounds that you're really excited about these days?

Bukem: I love too much music if that's possible. I'm also on about 100 record mailing lists so therefore receive a lot of different kinds. I'm into all labels because like mine your not going to like everything a label releases so I look out for all labels and try not to miss the music that label puts out that inspires me.

Nookie: Any sounds that can stir emotions within yourself, music is very personal, people react in different ways to sounds, that's what I find interesting, the power to move someone emotionally as well as physically on the dance floor.

AIR: What kinds things spark ideas for creating a new tune?

Bukem:  For me it's the frame of mind your in. I always want to create something, but I think it's how your mind is as opposed to where you are that determines the tune that you create.

Nookie: Influences for a track can be sparked off from a number of things, a drum sample, a synth sound, even a new bit of kit or software. Also I tend to get a lot of ideas when I'm out in a club listening to other DJ's, not just D & B, and feel the vibe from the crowd.

AIR: Bukem, you were in New York City for New Year's Eve at the Limelight. Tell us about it. How was it?

Bukem: First of all we got put on a terrible airline that delayed us 7 hours. I missed 12 o'clock but when we actually got into the club it was packed and looked excellent. The decks were hard work to play on as they were on springs, as this prevents feed back on the turntable, something I can't understand since there are many other ways to prevent feed back, but anyway the vibe was so good. I love playing New York, and considering the events of the past 3 months it felt like a release.

AIR:  What are you really looking forward to doing on this next visit to Japan? Music-wise? Otherwise?

Bukem: Just the usual, playing in one of my favorite place on the planet, the Liquid Rooms. Playing to such good people with such a good vibe.
Eating plenty of Beef Curry as it doesn't taste anything like that anywhere else.
Looking for some Perfect Beats in your wonder world of record shops.
Seeing Makoto as he's the only GLR artist I don't get to see as much as I would like to.
Seeing all the friends made in the last 6/7 years.

AIR:  Any collaborations with Japanese artist coming in the near future.?

Bukem:  Maybe from my other artists, but I need to concentrate on getting music created myself.

AIR:  What are some Japanese artists or recent tunes you like?

Bukem: UFO, Kyoto Jazz Massive, Makoto, Krush - "Big City Lover" is one of my all time classics.
Especial-Label, Yukihiro Fukutomi...and many more
Nookie: Makoto and Akira are doing some really inspiring music, production is always crisp and tight. I've been playing "Mind Vision."

AIR:  Whether it's Tokyo or London or New York, what's the best thing about playing a club?

Bukem: I've seen people raise there hands and stand like a statue, scream like some one in pain, danced like they have never danced, jump up on stage and try and rewind the record themselves, thank you like you have just saved there life. To tell you the truth, music when it hits you in the right way for you, can make you do anything, and you know what, it doesn't really matter what you do, it's your moment and no one can tell you how to enjoy it.