‘We Are I.E.’ jungle pioneer Lennie De Ice, dies aged 54

Jungle pioneer Lenworth Green – also known as Lennie De Ice – has passed away at the age of 54.

The death of the East London producer was confirmed yesterday (December 10) by his friend DJ Mystic “Dubplate” Matt – real name Matthew Copeland. Copeland took to his official Facebook page to share a photo of the two as well as a caption that read:“Bonafide brother fo’ life.

“The man who introduced you all to the amen break in jungle, the man who was the first person in our generation to ever have a track in the video game Ridge Racer, founder of the legendary Armshouse Crew. A true gent – you will be missed brother, for those that know and love you, you will forever be the soundtrack of our generation. God bless my brother fly high and keep the party going up there LENNIE WE R IE DE ICE RESPECT!”

At the time of writing, no cause of death has been revealed.

Gree was influenced by early hip hop, electro, rare groove, and acid house tracks, which led him to create his own unique sound using drum machines, synths, and the famous amen break.

In 1991, Green released his single ‘We Are I.E.’ which has been cited as the earliest – if not, the first – UK jungle track to be made. It was featured in an EP from Reel 2 Reel Productions.

‘We Are I.E.’ was created from various samples including the Amen break, 808 State’s ‘Fire Cracker’, Algerian raï song ‘N’Sel Fik’, Spaghetti Western gunshots, backspins and the “let me hear you scream” vocal from ‘The Bugger Groove’.

The track became a staple in sets by DJ Randall, a fellow jungle pioneer and the co-owner of De Underground. Speaking to Spinzcycle about the track back in 2012, Randall shared: “Before we knew it, jungle and drum & bass were forming. It was a real moment.”

In the 90s, Green would go on to release music under the names Body Snatcher and Lick Down Crew. He also collaborated with various collectives such as CIS Production and Madd-Ice. In the 00s, Green would go on to slow down and take a break from production as a whole.

Reflecting on the track in the jungle drum & bass history book Who Say Reload in 2021, Green said: “To be considered one of the pioneers for the template of jungle is an honour,” (as per DJ Mag).

Faithless‘ Sister Bliss took to her official X/Twitter account to pay tribute to Green and tweeted: “Ah man just seen the news about Lennie De Ice … We are I.E was such as seminal track – still playing it today.”

Exit Records founder dBridge paid tribute to the late jungle icon in an Instagram post that read: “Lennie was part of the Armshouse Crew back then and I remember they used to host the Drum and Bass stage at Notting Hill Carnival in the early ’90s. He released our first Dubb Hustlers record and introduced me to other labels I would later release music on…. I’m pretty sure Lennie was the first person to take me to Music House too… I owe a lot to Lennie and the world he introduced me to.”

Check out more tributes below.

Ah man just seen the news about Lennie De Ice … We are I.E was such a seminal track – still playing it today 🖤#RIPLenniedeice

— sister bliss (@thesisterbliss) December 11, 2024

Back in the day, when this track came along, it changed the game, changed the program, gave us a benchmark for Jungle Drum & Bass music.⁰⁰Salute Lennie De Ice 🙏🏾#jungle #junglemusic #dnb #drumandbass pic.twitter.com/7ndENYIOFx

— Bassline Smith (@basslinesmith) December 11, 2024