Lost Albums: Leftism by Leftfield

Every now and again an album comes along that totally changes the game. Something so different it doesn’t neatly fit into any know genre of that time, fresh, sonically different and without any peers. Leftism by Leftfield did exactly that when it was first released and paved the way almost entirely for its own genre of music, which ironically became known as…well…leftfield.

A duo formed of Paul Daley and Neil Barnes in 1989, the latter a part time DJ and percussion player. The former, Daley, was a session musician for Primal Scream and percussion player in the band A Man Called Adam. Barnes decided he wanted to get involved in the growing electronic music scene, and decided to produce two records, ‘Not Forgotten’ and More Than I Know’, he then approached Daley to work on some remixes for the tracks (they both had become acquainted with one another from working together as percussionist), afterwards the two deciding they would continue on as a music outfit. Neil Barnes, who originally released his first 2 singles under the Leftfield name, had to ensue a long drawn out process of getting released from his contract with Rhythm King and the ongoing legal dispute. As a result, the 2 couldn’t release new music under this name, and instead worked on remix work for the likes of Ultra Nate, Inner City, Sunscreem and David Bowie to name a few. Eventually in 1995, almost 14 months and after much hype after they released the lead single ‘Open Up (feat. John Lydon)’ from the album, Leftism was released, and the rest is history.

The album itself, is a masterpiece, but probably unlike anything you will hear again, not now, not then, probably not ever. It’s worth bearing this in mind as well when listening to this album (which is 25 years old) and thinking of the context of when it was released. The music charts in this year where dominated by Michael Jackson’s ‘Earth Song’ and ‘You Are Not Alone’, Simply Red’s ‘Fairground’, Coolio’s ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’, ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ by Rednex, as well as songs by Blur Oasis and Take That. Therefore, an interesting time for chart music, and easy to see how at the time an album like this could be lost in the crashing wave of pop music.

The album was produced from older, earlier tracks the duo had created such as ‘Release the Pressure, ‘Song of Life’ and ‘Open Up’ as well as several others, and unfinished pieces of music. The first few cuts weren’t particularly well received by the duo, and months of re-recording and rethinking of the music resulted in the album taking longer than planned to reach a point in which they where happy to release it. Paul Daley talking to Mixmag just before the imminent release of the album said “We did all these tracks, listened to them and decided it sounded a fucking mess…. we went back, messed around with the running order and chopped a lot of things out. Hopefully now it sounds complete, something that can be listened to in one go”.

Winning both critical and commercial success when it was released in January 1995, it was nominated for a Mercury Prize which it lost to Portishead. Hailed as being the saviour of British house music, and dance music from the impending takeover of American R&B, Trip-Hop and Jungle which was taking over the dance scene at the time. Described as being Progressive house when it was released, retrospective reviews, and broader appeal has left this now as an oversimplification of the album and its music. Even of all the genre’s it puts on display even these are of the most niche and left of field, within themselves. Leftism is the first truly dance album of it’s time by any DJ or Dance music duo, and for many is the best representation of Dance music as a whole, so varied and broad is the musical sounds on show on the album.

Breaking down the album itself is a difficult thing to do, and in some regards takes away from what it is about. In some regards its comparable to a painting. You might really enjoy the brushstrokes and details of how the painter has painted the eye’s, or how they have perfectly captured the focal point of a mountain, but to really appreciate it you have to stand back and look at the thing as a whole. Same can also be said for the songs present on the album. Each song in turn holds its own genre or is influenced by several genres and displays a music mash-up of them, to create something unique. Within songs there is individual drumbeats, tribal chants, trance heavy notes, electro, bass, rock, drum loops, echo’s, scratching, cascading effects, vocals you name it, it will probably be here somewhere. How they are layered and stacked against and top of one another is what makes this album soar. There are tracks here to suit every mood you are in, and for every time of the day.

Containing 11 tracks, we kick off at ‘Release the Pressure’ a London sounding industrial of music, with reggae influences all over it with distinct vocals by Earl Sixteen. Listening out for the echo-y drop of bass, down what sounds like a lift shaft and a huge pool of water, spine-tingling! Next we have ‘Afro-Left’ is a driving tribal chanting piece of music, with what sounds like an electronic crow cawing in the background which will get the pulses going, and the heat (perfect for getting the house work down, if on a tight time schedule). Moving onto one of the standout tracks on the album, ‘Melt’ is a beautiful trance inducing meditative piece, that is almost an oasis on the album, before we really get into the nitty gritty of it. If you are having a stressful day, stick this song on, with big heads phones, sit down somewhere comfy, and close your eyes. At a blissful 5 mins 12 seconds long, you’ll open your eyes reenergised (sorry for the unintentional rhyming), the high pitched shrill of the treble and the deep gentle throbbing of the bass, giving an almost whale-song like vibe will bring great calm. ‘Song of Life’, lull’s you in with its calm sound, carrying on from ‘Melt’. It slowly trundles along, with almost tribal/operatic/ethereal whaling vocal hanging in the background. It then halts and gives way pulse pounding dance anthem that wouldn’t stand out of place in dance clubs trance night. Track #5 ‘Original’ is a moody melancholic sombre stripped back vocal piece, sung by Toni Halliday from Curve. Again an industrial ambient drum looped track, with vocals overlayered, this song really gets under the skin and stays, you’ll find yourself still singing along days later to this in your head, a real stand out! The tempo now rapidly climbs for the next couple of tracks. ‘Black Flute’ is straight up tribal drums on a stomping loop, with an almost backwards sound recording playing underneath it all with trance vibes mixed in for good measure. This track can be a bit of a grower but if you’re a dance fan then it’s right up your street. ‘Space Shanty’ is real melting pot of a track, which to some degree almost uses a bit of everything from every other song on the album. Deep house tones, bassy tribal marching drum loops, with a sprinkling of high pitch and tempo mandolin samples throughout. ‘Inspection’ is an aggressive and menacing reggae heavy sounding industrial track, laced with strong electro tones and dub step notes. The album then gives us a taste of some dark house dub, with splashes of jungle thrown in, and some old school acid vibes, almost Aphex Twin-ish in style, ‘Storm 3000’ is a bit of a marmite track, completely unlike anything else on the album. ‘Open Up’ features the only and only John Lydon (of Sex Pistols and Public Images Limited), singing almost punk-isly over a middle eastern influenced slice of rock/electro house, snarling and pounding along this tracks gives darky tribal vibes processed through a synthesiser until they create an almost nightmarish dance track that haunts you. Definitely worth a listen and is another stand out track on the album, and as previously stated it was also the lead single releases from the album 14 months prior. The album then finishes on ‘21st Century Poem’, a song beginning in a gentle slow pace, with vocals more spoken than sung in an almost Massive Attack style, distorted glockenspiel notes ring out as the song appears to play backwards, giving a gentle comedown style to the track that then abruptly and sharply stops the album. However if you wait around another 40 seconds this final track then seems to beat back into life, with drum loop used to imitate a heartbeat, or even that sound you get of the nightclub, will you wait to enter, is this really the end or the beginning of the album??

Sorry if I have gone on a little bit too much, but this is really an album worth listening to (as if I haven’t already said so). The soundscapes that it takes you on, the noises you hear, the sounds created really are unlike anything, and they have gone on to influence dance music in such a profound way. This electric duo are almost renaissance men of their time, sampling a little of all dance music culture on display at the time, and crafting something new and exciting, that even after 25 years still sounds magic. Cosmopolitan in sound is the best way to describe it properly, and there is something on this album for everyone. The album alone cemented Leftfields status as peers that could be stood against all the other greats of the time, the godfathers of house and dance music like The Orb, Chemical Brothers, Orbital, Moby and William Orbit (sorry I know that was a lot of Orbs, what can I say they where probably all influenced by the coloured orbs of nightclubs and the drugs they were full of). They did go on and make a 2nd album called Rhythm and Stealth before breaking up, it is a harder listen and arguably not as accessible as Leftism, but purely for bonus seek out ‘Phat Planet’ from it and you might recall a certain Guinness ad from 1998. If you do only check out certain tracks off the album, go for ‘Release the Pressure’ ‘Melt or ‘Original’ the irony being you’ll be surprised but I bet you’ll have heard all of them or at least one of them at some point in your life! And If you haven’t heard of them, then you’re all the better for it, after all there is a reason this album made its way onto 1001 albums to listen to before you die….

If you enjoyed this article, then please feel free to check my profile out, and some of my other articles/stories. I appreciate your support and time !