Leftfield | ||
| Allmusic Biography : The production team which brought house music back from the brink of commercial mediocrity, Leftfield made it safe for artistic producers to begin working in a new vein termed progressive house. Paul Daley (a former member of A Man Called Adam and the Brand New Heavies) and programmer Neil Barnes combined the classic soul of early Chicago and New York house with the growing Artificial Intelligence school of album-oriented techno to create classic, intelligent dance music. When legal hassles over ownership of the Leftfield name prevented the pair from recording their own music after the release of their debut "Not Forgotten," they turned to remixing, establishing their early reputation for reworking tracks by artists ranging from Stereo MCs and David Bowie to Yothu Yindhi and Renegade Soundwave. Finally, with their courtroom battles successfully behind them, they formed their own Hard Hands label in late 1992 and issued the single "Release the Pressure," featuring reggae vocalist Earl Sixteen; "Song of Life" followed, and in 1993 Leftfield scored their first major hit with "Open Up," recorded with John Lydon. Their debut LP, Leftism, was released in 1995; the long-awaited Rhythm and Stealth followed four years later. With only two albums under their belt, Leftfield decided to split in early 2002 to focus on solo projects. The band reunited in 2010 to play a series of festivals and headline dates around the U.K., and in 2013, Daley left the group and returned to his solo career. Barnes carried on and in 2015 released a third Leftfield album, Alternative Light Source. The LP was a mix of current and classic electronica styles with Tunde Adebimpe, the Sleaford Mods, and Channy Leaneagh of Poliça as guests. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 8 Title: Backlog Released: 1992 Tracks: 10 Duration: 1:06:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Not Forgotten (original mix) (06:41) 2 Not Forgotten (Fatehs on the Case mix) (06:12) 3 Not Forgotten (Dub mix) (04:46) 4 More Than I Know (12" mix) (06:43) 5 Not Forgotten (Hard Hands mix) (07:36) 6 More Than I Know (10k mix) (08:38) 7 More Than I Know (More mix) (07:29) 8 More Than I Know (Even More mix) (04:22) 9 Difference (Steng mix) (07:06) 10 Difference (Cake mix) (06:42) |
 | Album: 2 of 8 Title: Leftism Released: 1995-01-30 Tracks: 11 Duration: 1:09:45 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Release the Pressure (07:40) 2 Afro‐Left (07:34) 3 Melt (05:12) 4 Song of Life (07:03) 5 Original (06:22) 6 Black Flute (03:46) 7 Space Shanty (07:15) 8 Inspection (Check One) (06:29) 9 Storm 3000 (05:44) 10 Open Up (06:51) 11 21st Century Poem (05:45) |
| Leftism : Allmusic album Review : Leftism spans most of Paul Daley and Neil Barnes singles output from 1992 to 1995 (excepting only "Not Forgotten") and adds several new tracks. Far from being just a stale progressive house LP, it spans a wide range of influences (tribal, dub, trance) and includes a good mixture of vocal tracks (with Toni Halliday, John Lydon, and Earl Sixteen) and instrumental workouts. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 8 Title: The Afro‐Left EP Released: 1995-06-24 Tracks: 4 Duration: 30:36 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Afro‐Left (07:34) 2 Afro‐Left (Afro‐Ride) (09:11) 3 Afro Sol (06:04) 4 Afro Central (07:45) |
 | Album: 4 of 8 Title: Rhythm and Stealth Released: 1999-09-15 Tracks: 17 Duration: 1:35:30 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Dusted (04:41) 2 Phat Planet (05:23) 3 Chant of a Poor Man (05:55) 4 Double Flash (04:11) 5 El Cid (06:01) 6 Afrika Shox (05:36) 7 Dub Gussett (04:51) 8 Swords (05:06) 9 6/8 War (04:12) 10 Rino’s Prayer (06:57) 1 Phat Planet (Dave Clarke Remix) (05:55) 2 El Cid (Simple Mix) (05:56) 3 Rino’s Prayer (Nick Rapaccioli Remix) (05:40) 4 Chant of a Poor Man (Mighty Quark Remix) (05:25) 5 Dub Gussett (Maas remix) (06:34) 6 El Cid (Table Tennis Remix) (06:50) 7 Double Flash (Headstarter Remix) (06:10) |
| Rhythm and Stealth : Allmusic album Review : Perhaps wishing to move from progressive-house flagwavers to trip-hop super-producers on a par with Massive Attack, Leftfield returned after almost five years of silence with a set of blunted trip-hop jams, stoned to say the least -- though glimmers of their house background do show through. Aside from a few uptempo stormers ("Double Flash," "Swords") reminiscent of a slightly less frenetic Jeff Mills, house fans looking for anthems worthy of "Not Forgotten" might be disappointed. The grooves on Rhythm and Stealth are a bit too languid and the productions a bit too intricate for dancefloor consumption. The one track that might make fans yearn for the heady days of 1993, "El Cid," begins with the ephemeral synth for which Leftfield has been known, but soon moves into breakbeat territory. Hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa makes an appearance on the excellent "Afrika Shox," taking the mic on a brutal electro throwdown. As Rhythm and Stealth shows time and time again, its definitely not 1993 anymore, and Leftfield has moved on with a grace and mastery of production seldom seen in the dance world. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 8 Title: Stealth Remixes Released: 2000-05-29 Tracks: 7 Duration: 42:32 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Phat Planet (Dave Clarke remix) (05:55) 2 El Cid (I:Cube Simple mix) (05:56) 3 Rinos Prayer (Nick Rapaccioli remix) (05:40) 4 Chant of a Poor Man (Mighty Quark remix) (05:25) 5 Dub Gussett (Maas remix) (06:34) 6 El Cid (I:Cube Table Tennis remix) (06:50) 7 Double Flash (Headstarter remix) (06:10) |
 | Album: 6 of 8 Title: A Final Hit Released: 2005-10-03 Tracks: 15 Duration: 1:19:55 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Release the Pressure (03:58) 2 Afro‐Left (07:34) 3 Song of Life (07:03) 4 Original (04:08) 5 Storm 3000 (05:44) 6 Open Up (radio edit) (03:48) 7 Dusted (04:41) 8 Phat Planet (05:23) 9 Afrika Shox (05:36) 10 Not Forgotten (07:37) 11 A Final Hit (03:15) 12 Swords (05:06) 13 Shallow Grave (04:28) 14 Snakeblood (05:40) 15 More Than I Know (05:46) |
 | Album: 7 of 8 Title: Tourism Released: 2012-03-26 Tracks: 12 Duration: 1:43:04 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Intro (02:04) 2 Song of Life (09:09) 3 Black Flute (08:40) 4 Original (07:59) 5 Afro‐Left (10:21) 6 Storm 3000 (09:59) 7 Release the Pressure (09:14) 1 Inspection (Check One) (10:14) 2 Afrika Shox (08:01) 3 Space Shanty (10:24) 4 Melt (06:47) 5 Phat Planet (10:07) |
 | Album: 8 of 8 Title: Alternative Light Source Released: 2015-06-05 Tracks: 10 Duration: 52:23 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Bad Radio (05:22) 2 Universal Everything (07:06) 3 Bilocation (04:24) 4 Head and Shoulders (05:24) 5 Dark Matters (05:02) 6 Little Fish (06:08) 7 Storms End (05:00) 8 Alternative Light Source (03:16) 9 Shaker Obsession (05:22) 10 Levitate for You (05:14) |
| Alternative Light Source : Allmusic album Review : The Matrix and Fight Club were in theaters the last time Leftfield released an album, and in those 16 years, the former duo lost a member as Paul Daley has moved on to a solo career, leaving Neil Barnes the sole proprietor. In spite of this, 2015s Alternative Light Source picks up right where 1999s Rhythm and Stealth left off, and it does so without ignoring the modern sound. "Head and Shoulders," a wobbly highlight that recalls LFO or Mr. Oizo, brings in current group the Sleaford Mods to help bring the album up to time with an indie "dandruff warriors" rap, while Channy Leaneagh of Poliça is an asset to her two tracks, wailing like a progressive house siren should during "Bilocation" and expertly auditioning for Underworld on the robot dancefloor wonder dubbed "Little Fish." The winding "Bad Radio" with Tunde Adebimpe is heavenly, Gary Numan-esque, and a bit like being in a Blade Runner characters head, and yet the complicated number is a perfect example of how Barnes is true to the Leftfield aesthetic, as all these guests are surrounded by dark and spacy house music, sometimes epic and sometimes intricate. The lack of urgency is also welcome, with Alternative Light Source slowly unfurling as the most natural and comfortable Leftfield album to date, and one confident enough to exit on "Levitate for You," a bold and bare R&B; song somewhere between Prince and 4hero. | ||