LTJ Bukem & goodlooking records

Furney is James Fearnside, aged 30, based in Aylesbury but born in Bradford. He first got into dance music by listening to mixtapes from the early acid and hardcore DJs kindly supplied by his older sister. As these DJs moved into drum & bass James followed them and his sister has clearly been a big influence. "I start...ed DJing because she used to make me spend money on all these records, I didn't have a clue what I was buying but she used to point all the tunes out to me. I was always fascinated by home-produced music too and an Atariand an Akai were the next things to get if you already had Technics and wanted to be taken seriously." Describe the Furney sound, not so much in terms of genre but the kind of moods and feelings you're trying to create: "I like the mystical, dreamy vibe, music that makes you think about things or feel a certain way, or puts you in a different place, rather than something that's easy to dance to on drugs. Music with a bit of stickability." James' early releases came ot on labels like Big Bud's Sound Traz and Super8sound imprints as well as Advanced Recordings and Deep Kut run by Total Science. "I think a lot of the labels heard my name through LTJ Bukem, he was the first person I would send my tracks to and in turn he would share them with other DJs he thought might like them." When a talented young producer who's already cut his teeth with some well received releases joins forces with one of the iconic labels in drum & bass, you know there's going to be sparks. That's exactly what's happened when Furney & Good Looking records got together and this looks set to run and run. Furney's debut release for a revitalised Good Looking was 'Drum Tools' in collaboration with MC Conrad which appeared on the other side of LTJ Bukem's first track in three years, 'Switch'. Next up was 'Pipez' coupled with 'Leap of Faith' by Utah Jazz, both tracks will feature on the 'Bukem in Session ' DVD recorded live at Exit festival in Serbia. "Pipez is a re-rub of and old Jack Smooth track from 1994. I loved the elements so much I decided to re-work them to today's tempo for a bit of fun. Bukem loved it so much he played it in every set for a year and then got the backing from Jack Smooth to put it out." Then followed 'Distance', coupled with Soulmatic's 'Self Belief'. with it's crisp production and driving bassline, 'Distance' is a perfect example of why Furney's productions have become such a big hit on the dancefloor. It's small wonder, therefore, that Bukem has got him involved with Good Looking. " 'Distance' is a little number I knocked up with Herrick. It has a very Rhodes piano groove with chipmonk house vocals - it's nothing new sounding but it moves the dancefloor." Finally, what do you hope you will be doing in five years time? "I hope to have left my office job and be doing something musical with my day-to-day life rather than squeezing it around a nine-to-five." (Parts taken from a 2008 Knowledge Magazine interview by Matthew Duffield)