Pioneering jungle and breakbeat producer Lennie De Ice has died aged 54

Pioneering jungle and breakbeat producer Lennie De Ice, real name Lenworth Green, has died aged 54, his friends and family have confirmed.

Though no cause of death was given, fellow producer and friend of Green, Matthew Copeland, shared the news on Facebook yesterday (December 10), writing: “Fly high and keep the party going up there.”

“Bonafide brother fo’ life,” he wrote. “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.”

During his music career, Green was credited with producing some of the earliest breakbeat and jungle tracks alongside pioneering UK talent like DJ Randall and Fabio & Grooverider.

The London-born artist was first influenced by early hip hop, electro, rare groove, and acid house tracks, creating his own sound using drum machines, synths, and the soon-to-be-famous amen break.

In 1989, Green recorded ‘We Are I.E.’, which has since been heralded as one of the earliest– if not the very first – UK jungle tracks. It was released in 1991 as part of an EP from Reel 2 Reel Productions.

Green also released music under the aliases Body Snatcher, Madd-Ice, Lick Down Crew, and more, continuing to put out new tracks until the ‘00s when he eventually took a break from production.

"Just woke up to the news about Lennie," dBridge wrote in tribute earlier today. "The influence of We Are I.E. cannot be overstated on UK dance music. It’s foundational and will always hold a special place for me."

Read some tributes to the late Lennie De Ice below.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter