Lennie De Ice

Born: 14th May 1967 - Died: 10th Dec 2024 (aged 57 years old)

Lennie De Ice was an english record producer and DJ from London, having been influenced by acts such as Mantronix, The Jonzun Crew and Afrika Bambaataa. He started out as a Raregroove and Hip-Hop DJ in the late ‘80s with friend DJ ET, however, it was at the club The Dungeons on Lea Bridge Road, East London, where he was introduced to acid house after attending a rave on Carpenters Road in Stratford where he was inspired by acid house producers such as A Guy Called Gerald. He became involved with Forest Gate’s legendary De Underground record shop & started producing under the mentorship of Uncle 22 who taught him how to use Cubase.

His debut release We Are I.E. (1991) is cited as one of the first proto Jungle records that is claimed to have been made in 1989 but was not released until 1991, when it became a regular fixture in sets by fellow jungle pioneer and co-owner of De Underground DJ Randall. The track quickly began circulating among DJs on the circuit and as Randall explained to Spinzcycle in 2012: “Before we knew it, jungle and drum & bass were forming. It was a real moment.”

Lennie's influence extended beyond ‘We Are I.E.’. Throughout the 1990s, he released music under aliases such as Body Snatcher and Lick Down Crew and collaborated with collectives including CIS Production, Dub Hustlers & Madd-Ice. Much of his work appeared on his own label Do Or Die Records and Armshouse Crew Records, he also had radio shows on Rave FM, Friends FM, and Dance FM.