Leftism | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 30 January 1995 | |||
Recorded | 1992–1995 | |||
Studio | Rollover Studios, London | |||
Genre | Progressive house | |||
Length | 69:37 | |||
Label | Columbia | |||
Producer | Leftfield | |||
Leftfield chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Leftfield | ||||
|
Leftism is the debut studio album by English electronic music duo Leftfield, released in 1995 on Columbia Records. It contained a mixture of new tracks along with reworked versions of previous Leftfield singles. The album contains guest spots from musicians not associated with dance music at the time such as John Lydon from Public Image Ltd. (and formerly of Sex Pistols) and Toni Halliday from Curve. The album was described as progressive house, although some journalists found that label too limiting, suggesting the album incorporated many genres. After completing the album, the duo initially were not pleased with it.
On its release, the album was well received from the British press with positive reviews from the NME and Q . The album was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 1995 but lost to Portishead's Dummy . Leftism sold well and was released months later in the United States. Critics have praised the album as one of the major album-length works of dance music, with Q referring to it as "the first truly complete album experience to be created by house musicians and the first quintessentially British one".
Leftism is an album that consists of singles recorded previously by members Paul Daley and Neil Barnes between 1992 and 1995, with the exception of the single "Not Forgotten" which is not included, and other new tracks. [1] These earlier singles included "Release the Pressure", "Song of Life", and "Open Up". [2] Some of these singles were remade and changed drastically from their original versions for Leftism. [3] Barnes stated that "rethinking and re-recording a few of our older tracks put us on the right road." [4]
Barnes chose the guest vocalists who were not associated with dance music, as he "love[s] taking people with nothing to do with dance music, like Toni, or Danny Red, and putting them in a different environment, It's getting back to the original ethic of remixing, taking anything and turning it into dance music." [3] Barnes was a fan of the group Curve, and had lead singer Toni Halliday come in and work on the song "Original". [5] "Open Up" features John Lydon on vocals. [3] Neil Barnes stated he had known Lydon since he was 19 years old through a mutual friend. Leftfield wanted to do a track with Lydon for about two years but were held up as "it took all that time to get him to commit to doing it and to get the track good enough." [3] Two reggae vocalists are featured on the album; Danny Red on "Inspection" and Earl Sixteen on "Release the Pressure". [2] [3] Lemn Sissay guests on "21st Century Poem". [6]
After completing the production on Leftism, Rob Daley was unhappy with how the album turned out stating that "It sounded shit [...] It seemed to have no cohesion, the tracks just didn't seem to hang well together. But having lived with it for a while it sounds much better." [5] Paul Daley echoed these statements saying "We did all the 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." [3]
John Bush of the online music database AllMusic stated the album is not simply a progressive house album and that it "spans a wide range of influences (tribal, dub, trance)". [1] Clash expanded on this, describing "Release the Pressure" and "Inspection (Check One)" as dub-influenced tracks, while "Storm 3000" is a bass-heavy track that includes jungle rhythms. [6] Q described "Original" as a "sultry rock / electro fusion" [7] A review in Slant Magazine commented that "Leftism eschews mainstream categorization and manages to reside in the leftfield of almost all the electronic genres it propagates". [8]
Leftism was released on 30 January 1995 in the United Kingdom by Columbia Records. [4] In the United States, it was released on 15 August. [9] The single "Open Up" peaked at number 13 on the UK singles charts. [6] "Afro-Left" peaked at number 20 on the US Club Play Singles chart in 1995. [10] Leftism sold over 220,000 copies. [11]
On 5 May 2017, the band released Leftism 22, with a remastered album as well a bonus disc of remixes by current artists, including Adrian Sherwood. [12]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
The Guardian | [13] |
Mixmag | 10/10 [14] |
Mojo | [15] |
NME | 9/10 [16] |
Q | [7] |
Record Collector | [12] |
Select | 5/5 [17] |
Uncut | 8/10 [18] |
Vox | 9/10 [19] |
Leftism was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 1995, but lost to Portishead's Dummy . [20] [21] Mixmag praised the singles for Leftism, stating that "classics like 'Release The Pressure' and 'Song of Life' were the cement that welded a whole new British house scene together. London proudly joined the league of house capitals. British dance music has never looked back." [2] The NME praised the album as helping keep British house music alive "when the boffins were getting complacent, the junglists were lining their pockets and the trip-hoppers were muscling in, Leftfield have returned to save the night." [16] The NME gave the album a nine out of ten, declaring that "there's a scope and spirit, an energy and a madness to 'Leftism' which'll make it one of the few dance derived that'll stay up there, bouncing around in the great echo chamber of futurity for years." [16] Q awarded the album four stars out of five, stating that "Leftfield unleash some of the most thumping techno to be housed under a major label" and "On this evidence, Leftfield join Underworld, The Prodigy and Orbital as dance acts to prove themselves across an album." [7]
Pitchfork 's Paul Cooper, however, was dismissive of Leftism. In his 1999 review of the duo's follow-up Rhythm and Stealth , he stated that when Leftism was released "few could honestly say it was worth the wait" and "Had 'Open Up' and 'Release the Pressure' not been included in its track listing, it seems unlikely that anyone would be talking about Leftfield nowadays." [22]
Later reviews of the album were generally positive. In 2000, Q gave a re-issue of the album four stars out of five, opining that "It's hard to overestimate the significance of Leftism, roundly acknowledged upon its release in 1995 as the first truly complete album experience to be created by house musicians and the first quintessentially British one." [23] Q specifically praised the song "Open Up", describing it as having a "revolutionary fervour that once gripped dance, and that's missing from pretty much all pop music at the moment." [23] In 2010, Clash praised the album, finding that it "remains a landmark in dance music. Perhaps the first successful, fully formed album from the genre, which remains a classic of the era and inspiration for many who followed." [6] Exclaim! referred to the album positively in 1999, stating that Leftism is "regarded as a classic and highly influential dance album, its gleeful risk-taking and lovingly honed production certainly setting a standard for electronic music producers to aim for". [24] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . [25] In 2000 it was voted number 59 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums . [26] In 2007, The Guardian included the album in their list of "1000 Albums to Hear Before You Die". [27]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Release the Pressure" | Neil Barnes, Paul Daley, Earl Daley | 7:39 |
2. | "Afro-Left" | Barnes, Daley, Djum Djum | 7:33 |
3. | "Melt" | Barnes, Daley | 5:21 |
4. | "Song of Life" | Barnes, Daley, Yanka Rupkina | 6:55 |
5. | "Original" | Barnes, Daley, Toni Halliday | 6:22 |
6. | "Black Flute" | Barnes, Daley | 3:46 |
7. | "Space Shanty" | Barnes, Daley, | 7:15 |
8. | "Inspection (Check One)" | Barnes, Daley, Daniel Clarke | 6:30 |
9. | "Storm 3000" | Barnes, Daley, | 5:44 |
10. | "Open Up" | Barnes, Daley, John Lydon | 6:52 |
11. | "21st Century Poem" | Barnes, Daley | 5:42 |
Total length: | 69:37 [28] |
Released in 1995 on CD, cassette and double vinyl. A limited edition triple vinyl version was also released at the same time, containing "Cut for Life" (7:09) (replacing "Song of Life"), "Half Past Dub" (3:38) and a longer version of "Open Up" (8:44). [29] It was re-released in 2017. [30]
The second CD contains B-sides and remixes from the original singles, as well as "Cut for Life".
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Afro-Ride" | Barnes, Daley, Cole | 9:12 |
2. | "Release the Pressure (Release One)" | Barnes, Paul Daley, Earl Daley | 7:21 |
3. | "Original (Live Dub)" | Barnes, Daley, Halliday | 7:31 |
4. | "Filter Fish" | Barnes, Daley | 7:41 |
5. | "Afro-Central" | Barnes, Daley, Cole | 7:44 |
6. | "Release the Pressure (Release Four)" | Barnes, Paul Daley | 5:02 |
7. | "Cut for Life" | Barnes, Daley, Rupkina | 7:07 |
CD and digital contains eleven "brand new" remixes.
No. | Title | Remixer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
12. | "Release the Pressure" | Adrian Sherwood | 4:57 |
13. | "Afro-Left" | Hodge & Peverelist | 6:21 |
14. | "Melt" | Quiet Village | 7:49 |
15. | "Song of Life" | Bodyjack | 8:51 |
16. | "Original" | Adesse Versions | 7:03 |
17. | "Black Flute" | Ben Sims | 8:19 |
18. | "Space Shanty" | Voiski | 7:12 |
19. | "Inspection (Check One)" | Maafi | 4:34 |
20. | "Storm 3000" | Dungeon Meat | 5:33 |
21. | "Open Up" | Skream | 7:35 |
22. | "21st Century Poem" | Zomby | 4:52 |
Chart (1995–2023) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [31] | 119 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [32] | 160 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [33] | 126 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [34] | 27 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [35] | 32 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [36] | 6 |
UK Albums (OCC) [37] | 3 |
The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands in Manchester in 1992. They were pioneers in bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.
Leftfield are a British electronic music group formed in 1989, a duo of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley. The duo was influential in the evolution of electronic music in the 1990s, with Mixmag describing them as "the single most influential production team working in British dance music". As with many of their contemporaries, such as The Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim, Leftfield are notable for their use of guest vocalists in their works. Among them are Toni Halliday on "Original", Johnny Rotten on "Open Up", Djum Djum on "Afro-Left", Earl 16 and Cheshire Cat on "Release the Pressure", and Grian Chatten of Fontaines D.C. on "Full Way Round". The term progressive house was coined to define their style, a fusion of house with dub and reggae.
Exit Planet Dust is the debut studio album by English electronic music duo the Chemical Brothers. It was first released on 26 June 1995 in the United Kingdom by Junior Boy's Own, Freestyle Dust, and Virgin Records, and on 15 August 1995 in the United States by Astralwerks. The album was recorded between August and November 1994, with "Song to the Siren" performed live. Its title is a reference to their departure from their earlier name the Dust Brothers.
Behaviour is the fourth studio album by the English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 22 October 1990 by Parlophone. A Japanese special edition included a bonus mini CD, exclusive artwork and printed lyrics in a white velvet-like box.
Homework is the debut studio album by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released on 20 January 1997 by Virgin Records and Soma Quality Recordings. It was released in the US on 25 March 1997.
Rhythm King Records Ltd was a British independent record label, founded in the mid-1980s by Martin Heath, Adele Nozedar, DJ Jay Strongman and James Horrocks. It was based in Chiswick, London.
"Not Over Yet" is a song by British dance act Grace. Originally released in 1993 under the band name State of Grace, it was re-released in March 1995 as the first single from their only album, If I Could Fly (1996). It received critical acclaim from music critics, peaking at number six on the UK Singles Chart and number-one on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. Lead vocals and backing vocals were performed by singer Patti Low. In 1995, the lead vocals were replaced by new frontwoman and singer, Dominique Atkins for the album release, although Low's backing vocals remained in place. This Atkins/Low combination appeared on all subsequent re-releases and remixes of the track. The woman who appears in the accompanying music video is Low.
Psycho's Path is a studio album by John Lydon, released by Virgin Records in 1997. It is his only solo album. Lydon sang on all the songs and played most of the instruments, with additional guitars and keyboards supplied by Martin Lydon and Mark Saunders.
"Open Up" is a song by British electronic duo Leftfield featuring John Lydon. It was released as a single on 1 November 1993 by Hard Hands label. The single reached number 13 on the UK Singles Chart, number one on the Music Week Dance Singles chart and number 39 in both Australia and New Zealand. NME reported in their 18 September 1993 issue, "This is the record that people have always wanted Lydon to do." In 2014, the same publication ranked "Open Up" at number 444 on their list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". A black-and-white music video was produced to promote the single, directed by British director Lindy Heymann.
Rhythm and Stealth is the second studio album by the English electronic group Leftfield, released on 20 September 1999. It reached number 1 on the UK Albums Chart. It was nominated for the 2000 Mercury Music Prize.
"Not Forgotten" is the first single released by the electronic group Leftfield; however, Paul Daley was not involved in the song's creation. The song was written by Neil Barnes and released only on 12" in 1990 on the Outer Rhythm record label, published by Rhythm King Music.
"Release the Pressure" is the third single by the English electronic duo Leftfield and the first to involve Paul Daley with writing duties after he joined the group. The song was released exclusively on 12" in 1992. Unlike previous releases that had been released on the Outer Rhythm record label, Leftfield had now officially split from Outer Rhythm. Major labels had offered them deals but neither member wanted to give up creative control to any major company. They formed the Hard Hands record label with "Release the Pressure" being the label's first official release. The song featured reggae singer Earl Sixteen on vocals, with a lyric taken from his 1981 single "Trial and Crosses". "Release the Pressure" made the top 20 in the UK charts and featured at number one in the Melody Maker "Stone Free Chart of the Year". It was used in Telefónica O2 and O2 (UK) commercials during its first year.
"Song of Life" is the fourth single released by English electronic group Leftfield and the first on a CD single release. The song was released on 12" and CD on 30 November 1992 by label Hard Hands. The sleeve of the single had the footnote "dedicated to the memory of Steve Walters whose support, friendship and encouragement will never be forgotten". It reached #59 in the UK charts. The song was also used as the backing track for Channel 4's Dispatches programme. The Remix 12" featured two remixes by British electronic music then-trio Underworld: "The Lemon Interrupt Mix", as well as the "Steppin' Razor Mix", which both feature on Sasha & John Digweed's mix album Renaissance: The Mix Collection. The track appears in the movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and its soundtrack.
"Original" is a song by English electronic duo Leftfield, released on 12" and CD on 13 March 1995 by Hard Hands/PolyGram as the third single from their debut album, Leftism (1995). It features singer Toni Halliday on vocals and gave the group their first appearance on Top of the Pops, reaching number 18 on the UK Singles Chart. Halliday wrote the lyrics with Neil Barnes and Paul Daley. The beginning of the song is used often on the UK version of Big Brother.
"Afro-Left" is a song by the English electronic duo Leftfield, released as their seventh single. The song was released on 12", CD and cassette on 24 July 1995 by Hard Hands/Chrysalis. It featured Neil Cole on vocals, and it was rumoured that the lyrics were in an unspecified African language; it was later revealed that they were simply gibberish, or "Djum Djum talk". The song reached #22 in the UK charts.
"Fly Life" is a song by English electronic dance music duo Basement Jaxx from their fourth extended play, EP3, released in 1996. The track was largely based on the 1996 single "Live Your Life with Me", which they produced for vocalist Corrina Joseph, their collaborator since 1995 in order to make "proper songs".
"Higher State of Consciousness" is a song by American electronic dance music DJ, label owner, producer, and remixer Josh Wink. It was both written an produced by Wink and first released in March 1995 by Strictly Rhythm, and then included on his debut album, Left Above the Clouds (1996). The song peaked at number eight on the UK Singles Chart and was a top-10 hit also in Ireland and Spain. In 2022, Rolling Stone ranked the track number 128 in their list of the "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".
"Hideaway" is a song by American house music group De'Lacy, featuring vocals by Rainie Lassiter. It is the group's most successful single and is written by Kevin Hedge and Josh Milan, produced by Blaze and released by labels Easy Street, deConstruction and BMG. The 1995 Deep Dish remix peaked at number-one in Italy. It also reached number nine in the UK and number 38 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the US. A music video was made for the Deep Dish remix, featuring Lassiter performing at several sites in New York City. The song has been remixed and re-released several times. A remixed version, called "Hideaway 1998", which featured a mix by Nu‑Birth, peaked at number 21 in 1998. The song was released a third time in 2006 and reached number 82 in the Netherlands.
This Is What We Do is the fourth studio album by English electronic group Leftfield. It was released on 2 December 2022 by Virgin Records. It is the band's first album in seven years, following the 2015 album Alternative Light Source. The album features appearances by Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten and poet Lemn Sissay.
Fuse is the eleventh studio album by British duo Everything but the Girl, released on 21 April 2023 through Buzzin' Fly and Virgin Records. It is their first studio album in almost 24 years following Temperamental (1999). The album was preceded by the single "Nothing Left to Lose" on 10 January 2023, followed by "Caution to the Wind", "Run a Red Light", and "No One Knows We're Dancing", in February, March, and April respectively.