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If you've never heard dnb before, but are a fan of well-mixed music, ltj bukem works the decks like a zen master. Hovering around 158 bpm throughout, showcasing plenty of classic oldschool samples, jungle's roots in hardcore are more audible than in today's dnb.
There's no ragga break, or tech step break, and the sublimity of the mixing can have the effect of bleeding the tracks together almost too perfectly.so not to play the elitism card, but other facets of the music have more than enough originality to quench a discerning listener.Not every historic moment is a historic moment for everyone, but there are good reasons why this album represents a historic moment for many. And yet, they are each undeniably jungle, and many of them can still go toe to toe with the best productions available when listening bliss is the goal (rather than visceral concussive blasts of monster bass).The drum programming, I will say, lacks a lot of the spasmodic originality that modern electronica holds dear.
Two discs, one mixed and one unmixed. Jungle, even atmospheric jungle, has gotten significantly faster and harder in the 12-14 years since most of these tracks were produced.
This has been a public service announcement. If you are a dnb / jungle fan, you probably already own this.
If you are an aspiring dance dj, in any genre, listening to disc A will improve your craft.In some ways, this album is showing its age.
There are a few pieces that have some interesting loops and rhythms and a good ambiental feeling to it (note though "So Long" on disc b seems to be influenced by #5, disc 1 on Selected Ambient Works vol.II by Aphex Twin) but these are few and far between to make up for the overall dull feeling of the compilation. If you like smooth repetitive grooves than it may be your thing but if you want to listen to some good d'n'b check the likes of Roni Size or Talving Singh instead. This compilation is likable after listenieng to it a few times but it lacks both originality and excitement in my opinion. Almost all tracks follow the same pattern, the drums are rather uniform making it sound like d'n'b had nothing more to offer.
Less music and more technical wizardry, Bukem is no doubt a talented man when he's on his machines, but his musical vision is so narrow that the album quickly bores the listener. A narrow genre usually acquires fanatical followers with narrow musical appreciation so this is no surprise. If you're like me you'll find that after a few weeks of fairly regular listening it will mysteriously slip to the back of your CD collection, where it will probably collect dust for some time to come.
Like much "underground" music, those who follow it do so with a near religious fervor. Just be warned. Look around, you'll see that most drum and bass albums either get five stars or one star.
This is a fun album, but drum and bass gets old- and fast. The reason this and other mediocre albums get such rave reviews is because of the unusual cult following that drum and bass music seems to have. It's a fun album, but it will wear you down quick.
It's more a novelty than anything else. Drum and bass isn't a very diverse genre anyway, and after you hear variations on the same drum sequences, you'll see what I mean.
Good to dance to as well as kickin back too also, so buy this cd. This has one of the best intelligent drum&bass beats I have heard so far.
So what are you waiting for. The media has labeled LTJ BUKEM'S style as "ambient" or "intelligent" but regardless of what label or genre you catergorize his music as, one thing is for sure.LOGICAL PROGRESSION will go down in the drum'n'bass hall of fame as a masterpiece. Go out to your nearest record store and scoop this one up immediately. Whether you're a ragga soldier, dark tech stepper, or a jump up junkie.BUY THIS CD. It doesn't matter what your current preference in drum'n'bass is because once you hear the smooth and enlightening chords along with the snappy breakbeats that only LTJ Bukem can fuse together in a most refreshing way, you will be hooked.
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