Viewed as an innovator in the drum and bass style, Bukem is known for developing an accessible alternative to that hardcore genre's speedy, assaultive energies. His style pays homage to the Detroit-based sound of early techno, but Bukem also incorporates still earlier influences, particularly the mellow, melodic sonorities of 1970s era jazz fusion as exemplified by Lonnie Liston Smith and Roy Ayers.Harrington, Richard. LTJ Bukem. The Washington Post 27 April 2001: T.07. ProQuest Platinum. Online (31 October 2007). Early in his career, Bukem was identified for his response to the "almost paranoid hyperkinesis" of breakbeat-based house music, and specifically for his reservations regarding the overbearing force of the hardcore mentality.Chris Sharp, "Jungle." In Modulations: A History of Electronic Music, Peter Shapiro, Ed (New York: Caipirnha Productions Inc., 2000), p. 141.
