Nookie
DJ Nookie is one of the foundational figures of British jungle and drum & bass, a producer and DJ whose music helped define the transition from hardcore rave into the more sophisticated, breakbeat-driven sound that followed. Born Gavin Cheung, Nookie emerged from the underground in the early 1990s and quickly established himself as one of the scene’s most versatile producers, capable of moving effortlessly between euphoric hardcore, deep atmospheric jungle, soulful drum & bass, house and techno.
His influence extends far beyond the Nookie name. Working under aliases including Cloud 9, Second Vision, New Balance and Binary State, Cheung has spent more than three decades exploring different sides of electronic music. His work has appeared on some of the most important labels in the history of the culture, including Reinforced, Moving Shadow, Good Looking Records, Labello Blanco, Dread and Metalheadz.
Cheung’s musical journey began with hip hop, electro and breakdancing before the explosion of acid house opened up an entirely new world. Growing up in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, he became heavily involved in the record-shop culture that surrounded the emerging dance scene, eventually working at Red Records in London. The shop became a crucial meeting point for DJs, producers and labels, putting him directly in contact with many of the people who would go on to build the UK’s hardcore and jungle movements.
That environment proved hugely influential. Cheung absorbed the sounds coming out of Chicago and Detroit alongside UK acid house, hardcore and breakbeat, gradually pushing those influences into his own productions. His approach was always musical as well as rhythmic, bringing together breakbeats, bass pressure, piano riffs, strings, pads and soulful vocals at a time when jungle was evolving at extraordinary speed.
The Nookie name became closely associated with Reinforced Records, while Cloud 9 became his outlet for Moving Shadow. Nookie represented the more melodic, uplifting side of his production, while Cloud 9 allowed him to experiment with darker and more unconventional sounds.
One of his earliest major breakthroughs came with ‘Gonna Be Alright’, a track that captured the moment hardcore was beginning to mutate into jungle. The Cloud 9 remix became a major rave tune, combining euphoric piano and strings with a rolling bassline and chopped-up breakbeats. Released at a pivotal point in 1993, it helped establish Nookie as a producer capable of bringing emotion and musicality into increasingly aggressive rave music.
Then came ‘The Sound Of Music’, one of the defining productions of his early career. Originally developed from the white-label ‘Gonna Be Alright’, Nookie reworked the track for Reinforced, giving it a new vocal and a tougher jungle framework. It became a fixture in clubs including Paradise in Islington, where DJs such as Fabio, DJ Rap, Rider and Ray Keith were regularly playing it. Decades later, its influence would circle back into contemporary music when it was sampled and reworked by artists including Dizzee Rascal and Jamie Jones.
Nookie’s early catalogue demonstrated that jungle didn’t have to sacrifice musicality for energy. ‘Give A Little Love’ became another underground rave favourite, with its uplifting vocal, piano-led arrangement and breakbeat-driven momentum. Originally released in the early ’90s and subsequently updated for Reinforced, the track remains one of the key examples of Nookie’s ability to connect hardcore rave euphoria with the emerging jungle sound.
His 1990s output continued to expand that musical vocabulary. Tracks such as ‘Snow’ and ‘Jazzmin’ on Moving Shadow incorporated live jazz double bass, an unusual touch that reflected Cheung’s instinct to bring real musicianship and warmth into electronic production. His work increasingly blurred the boundaries between jungle, jazz, soul, house and techno, helping establish a more atmospheric and sophisticated strain of drum & bass.
His relationship with Ray Keith was another important part of this period. The two developed a close studio partnership, with Cheung initially working as an engineer while also contributing creative ideas to the productions. Their collaboration produced a number of respected tracks and remixes, including work around Ray Keith’s ‘You Got Me Burnin’.
Nookie’s musical curiosity also took him well beyond the jungle scene. In the late ’90s he worked with Chicago house pioneer Larry Heard, better known as Mr Fingers, on the album Paradise. The collaboration brought together Heard’s deep house and techno sensibilities with Nookie’s atmospheric approach to drum & bass and electronic music. ‘Mystical People’ remains one of the standout results of that remarkable meeting of two generations of electronic music.
His relationship with LTJ Bukem and Good Looking Records further developed his more soulful and atmospheric side. Nookie became an important part of the wider movement that would eventually be associated with liquid and intelligent drum & bass, while continuing to maintain a harder edge elsewhere in his catalogue. His ability to move between those worlds without sounding out of place became one of his defining characteristics.
Nookie was also ahead of the curve when it came to the changing music industry. In 2004 he launched a digital-only label at a time when drum & bass was still dominated by vinyl, dubplates and physical releases. It was another example of Cheung’s willingness to experiment rather than simply follow the established route.
After stepping back from music in the late 2000s, Cheung turned his attention towards technology and developed bespoke racing and gaming simulators through his business. The move took him away from the day-to-day jungle circuit, but music never disappeared completely. When the events industry was forced to shut down during the pandemic, he returned to the studio with renewed energy, rebuilding his setup and beginning a new phase of production.
That return produced some of his most interesting work in years. ‘Kaeya’, released through Metalheadz, demonstrated that the Nookie sound had lost none of its character. Across its ’96, Rage and D&B mixes, the release moved between rolling jungle breaks, heavy contemporary production and darker club energy, connecting his early work with a modern production aesthetic.
His later catalogue has continued to show just how broad his musical palette remains. Alongside jungle and drum & bass releases, his Binary State project explores Detroit-influenced techno, while recent work has included collaborations and remixes involving Goldie, Adam F and Ray Keith. His remix of Goldie’s ‘Inner City Life’ is particularly fitting: a pioneer of the early jungle movement reinterpreting one of the genre’s most celebrated compositions.
His recent releases have extended into new territory, with 2024 projects including Transitions, NO JOKE and collaborations with Binary State, followed by further music through 2025 and 2026. His current catalogue shows an artist who has never been particularly interested in standing still.
As a DJ, Nookie brings the same musical breadth that defines his production. His sets can move between early hardcore, jungle, intelligent drum & bass, atmospheric rollers and deeper electronic territory, reflecting a career spent understanding how different strands of underground music connect. More than three decades after his first records appeared, he remains an artist capable of bridging generations without relying solely on nostalgia.
Nookie’s legacy is ultimately about versatility. He was there when hardcore was becoming jungle, helped define the melodic and atmospheric possibilities of drum & bass, worked with artists from completely different corners of electronic music, embraced digital music before it became standard and continues to experiment decades into his career.
From Reinforced and Moving Shadow to Good Looking, Labello Blanco and Metalheadz, Gavin Cheung has left fingerprints across some of the most important chapters in jungle and drum & bass. His music still sounds unmistakably rooted in rave culture, but never trapped by it.
Essential Tracks & Releases:
🎧 Nookie – Give A Little Love
🎧 Nookie – The Sound Of Music
🎧 Nookie – Gonna Be Alright (Cloud 9 Remix)
🎧 Nookie – Snow / Jazzmin
🎧 Nookie feat. Larry Heard – Mystical People
🎧 Nookie – Kaeya
🎧 Nookie – Inner City Life (Nookie’s 94 Remix)
Rave euphoria. Musical depth. Endless versatility. Nookie stands as one of the great innovators of the jungle generation — an artist who helped soundtrack the genre’s birth, expanded its musical vocabulary and continues to prove that after three decades, there are still new directions to explore.
