DJ DB

DB (David “DB” Burkeman) is a British‑born producer and DJ associated with breakbeat, drum and bass, jungle and liquid funk. He relocated from London to New York City in 1989 and has been based in the United States since that move.

Burkeman first entered the U.S. scene after moving from London in 1989. He co‑founded the Breakbeat Science record store and the Breakbeat Science label, projects widely cited in press and scene histories. Across the 1990s and 2000s he released numerous mix CDs and worked in A&R for labels and agencies, activities that shaped how jungle and drum and bass were heard and distributed in the U.S.

Public documentation of DB’s individual studio production techniques is limited; his recorded legacy is strongest in curated mixes and label work. Those mixes and A&R projects focus on breakbeat‑driven programming and a range of drum‑and‑bass moods, from harder jungle‑leaning material to smoother liquid selections. In performance and on CD he emphasised tight break edits and track selection that moved between raw break patterns and more atmospheric, melodic pieces — a vinyl‑era approach to sequencing and flow rather than large catalogs of solo single releases.

Concrete contributions: co‑founder of the Breakbeat Science record store and label; credited as an early pioneer who helped introduce jungle and drum and bass to the United States; producer/DJ responsible for numerous mix CDs; A&R roles for labels and agencies. Since the 2010s DB has largely retired from club DJing and shifted his creative work into visual art and publishing, authoring books on sticker art and album‑cover design.

Specific named influences or detailed collaborator lists are not broadly documented in public sources tied to DB’s career. What is verifiable is his role in building infrastructure (Breakbeat Science), his catalog of mix CD releases, his A&R and label work, and his later work in art and publishing.