Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Journey Inwards
2. Watercolours
3. Rhodes to Freedom
4. Our World - LTJ Bukem, , M. Holmes, S. Holmes, , L. E. King
5. Undress Your Mind
6. Point of View
7. Viewpoint

Disc 2:

1. Sunrain - LTJ Bukem,
2. Deserted Vaults [Instrumental]
3. Inner Guidance
4. Close to the Source
5. Suspended Space
6. Unconditional Love
7. Feel What You Feel

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #102804 in Music
• Released on: 2000-04-04
• Number of discs: 2

Amazon.com
Though he was once on top of the drum & bass heap, in recent years LTJ Bukem, king of ambient drum & bass, has been pushed aside in favor of hard and dark tech-step. Fame came easily to Bukem, who with his labels Looking Good and Good Looking spearheaded the movement of intelligent drum & bass with the release of the Logical Progression series, quickly cementing his place in the short history of urban breakbeat. Journey Inwards marks his long-awaited return and attempt to reclaim his throne in the fickle drum & bass community. True to form, Bukem turns in a two-disc set of songs heavy on the reverb, caressed by light lyrics and sweet singing throughout. Horns and synths are as integral--if not more important than--bass lines, and often the bass takes a backseat to the music's melodic enterprises. Jazz peeks its head in a few places, particularly when Bukem slows the tempo, as in "Sunrain," cuing up the old suspicions that Bukem creates adult contemporary jungle. Not concerned with rocking the joint, Bukem instead lulls slowly to sleep or seduces his admirers. Whether he's playing with scattershot drums or mellow-yellow downtempo, Bukem manipulates the mood as deftly as he chops a beat. --Tricia Romano

Customer Reviews

A timeless masterpiece that has no equal.
LTj Bukem's Journey Inwards is a rare gem in the world of music. It's not so much an album but a work of art, lovingly crafted, flawlessly mastered, and polished to a perfect shine. Hardcore jungle fans are best warned to stay away; this isn't a dance album, really. Bukem, who made his name with his own melodic style of jungle (drum & bass), abandons the furious pace of the rave dance floor in favor of a jazz-like sensibility. Upbeat, but not hard. Complex layering, yet remarkably accessible melodies that you just can't help but tap your foot to. Nimble, but not really fast. Slick, but remarkably natural and acoustic sounding. Instead, it's an endlessly listenable odyssey, a seamless blend of jazz, big band, a dash of swing, and a whole lot of electronic flourishes. The Bukem's home turf of drum & bass slithers throughout the album, subtly moving in and out and keeping the sound fresh. It's an incredibly classy act; the music seems the perfect fit for a prestigious penthouse party, a gloriously lit urban skyrise of Manhatten or Chicago at night in the background, lights low, fine drinks all around. Journey Inwards is a dreamy, sensuous collection of grooves, beats, and saxophone tones that grow richer and more tasteful with each listening. Few artists break into this kind of ground, and Bukem does it masterfully in this work, undeniably his most original and finest hour.

Road Music
Belt yourself in...turn the key....head out on the highway...Pop this in and tune to "Undress Your Mind" or "Feel What You Feel"...and you'll find the fit is downright...perfect. This is about motion and it moves at a rate of rightgeous....Buy it and listen...and you will move.

The more Cerebal side of Bukems Productions
Few could argue, that there aren't many people, that have done more than LTJ Bukem, to push the genre of Drum 'n' Bass, into a more widely accepted audience. An active pivotal figure from the scene's early days, he has been on a increasingly successful quest to push traditional atmospheric drum'n'bass tracks, with a strong undercurrent of 70's Rhodes Jazz-funk fusion, into the concessions of the general public for a while now. Although actively disliking the term 'Intelligent Drum N Bass', (which is odd....seeing as 'Intelligent Drum N Bass', largely sidesteps, tough hardhitting bass & Hyper-speed beats, for a more melodic & rhythmically midtempo fusion of stylish, smooth & sublimely textured breakbeats. Which is largely what Bukem's music is favourably likened to???).

His influences musically, have always been referenced in his music, so the elegant ambience of 70's Jazz-fusion, were detectable in early hits such as "Horizons". And although his "Logical Progression" & "Progression Sessions" albums, veer more towards hypnotic Jungle/Breakbeat. This particular album largely forgoes club-friendly breaks, in favour of a Jazz inflicted sound, that is in partial reference to heroes & Jazz pioneers, 'Roy Ayers' to 'Pharoah Sanders'. Those looking for anything along the lines of the phenomenal "Logical Progression" series, would be we advised to take note of the fact that, this is cerebral, organic 'mood' music, that is resolutely of a strictly downtempo nature, and the intimate mood for vast majority of the music here, would struggle to find a place inside a traditional Drum N Bass club, as there are no Vocal/MC gymnastics to latch onto, with all tracks being instrumental (apart from 1 vocal track, and a couple of snippets of dialogue, on 1-2 other tracks), here the focus is pushed squarely towards the sort of music that Bukem most likely listens to, outside his profession...tracks that in some way or form are retrospective collections of natural ambience, similarly inclined towards melodicism or epic expanses of sound.

So what can you expect from this 2-Disk CD??

The music created over the 2-Cd's is one that'll disappoint those looking for an album of traditional Drum N Bass material, instead, Bukem has created an exceptionally crafted collection of tracks that incorporate: Jazz-Fusion, 70's Funk, Intelligent Breakbeat, organic breaks, Soul-Jazz, Ambient atmospheres, Mellow, Jungle, Jazz-Funk, Downtempo, funky jazz.....in fact anything of a decidedly midtempo, cerebral nature has been included here. The tracks themselves are stunning in their composition, all moody soundtracks (which is an idea that features prominently throughout the album), soothing melodies, Elegant bass sounds, Cerebral arrangements, beautiful Fender Rhodes playing, sensual tones, and an ambitious approach to song creation that continues to explore the possibilities of integrating jazz improvisation with drum'n'bass production. More impressively, it manages to meld structural elements more in common with downtempo R&B, with an ideas that are quite indebted to the organic jazz sounds that Bukem is so clearly in love with. It's an astonishing varied bunch of tracks, not so far as there is massive diversions in tempo and genre.....more to do with the fact that it takes manages to move confidently from smooth Jazz-Funk ("Journey Inwards"), through to the shimmeringly atmospheric sounds and waves of Rhodes keyboards ("Rhodes to Freedom"), to tracks that are more in tone with the proficiently superb liquid ambience, of the sort of Nocturnal intelligent Drum N Bass that, Bukem made his name by ("Watercolours"), or having the sole vocal track on the 2 disks, that manages to reference that sort of elaborate and dramatic 70's spy thriller sound, that marked out the tremendous instrumental side of somebody like 'Curtis Mayfields' work ("Sunrain"), or indeed exhibiting the frequent synthesized bass and pulsating hi-hat flourishes of smoky jazz-noir, that are sleek and expansive in their arrangement ("Deserted Vaults). So although everything here isn't of a high BPM, Bukem is skillfully able to take relatively simple ideas, and make highly polished instrumental tracks that with the use of restrained beats and an orchestral tug, are arguably some of the most organically refined work he's done.

Those that like the sound of this album and are considering making the purchase, of what I consider to be up there with his seminal "Logical Progression" & "Progression Sessions" series, must be warned that, there really is very little in the way of the sort of Drum N Bass, that features on those albums, and instead is preoccupied with smooth grooves, Jazzy arrangements and complex mannered, intricate drum programming that features on the majority of Bukem's more relaxed productions. The mood here is very laid-back and unrushed, and if your waiting for some energetic, quick-tempo dancefloor rhythms in the realm of breakbeat headspace, and driving bass and deft pacing, then I'm afraid that it never truly arrives. As there is far too much considered and sophisticated grooves here, that work far better as late night Chill-out music, or reflective mood music (this works especially well, on late night car drives), then they do as dance-orientated music. Anyone familiar with Bukems "Earth" series. (A compilation of tracks from Various artists that cover everything from: Soul-Jazz, Jazz-fusion, ambient breakbeat, funk-fusion, Latin soul-jazz, instrumental Hip-Hop), will absolutely adore this, is it's very much in the same vein. Anyone just looking for some exceptionally produced, impressively eloquent music, will find this could well rank as some of Bukem's finest work.....Exceptional!!!