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.
Progressive house is a subgenre of house music. The progressive house style emerged in the early 1990s. It initially developed in the United Kingdom as a natural progression of North American and European house music of the late 1980s.
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 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.
"Alright" is a song by American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson from her fourth studio album, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989). Written by Jackson and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, the song was released on March 4, 1990, by A&M Records as the fourth single from Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814. In the United Kingdom, it was issued as the album's fifth single in June 1990.
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.
Renaissance: The Mix Collection is the debut mix album by British DJ duo Sasha & John Digweed. It was released on 14 October 1994 and was the first in a series of mix albums released under the brand of the Renaissance nightclub. Containing music from the house, progressive house and trance genres, it was intended as a sampler of the kind of music played by the club.
"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.
"More Than I Know" is a song by English electronic duo Leftfield, released as their second single. Paul Daley was not involved in the song's creation; however, the B-side was a remix of "Not Forgotten" by Daley requested by Neil Barnes. The song was written by Barnes and released only on 12" on 21 January 1991 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.
"Chime" is the debut single from the British electronic group Orbital. It was originally recorded on cassette tape and allegedly cost less than £1 to produce. The track was originally released in December 1989 and was a big underground success. In 1990, it had a wider release on FFRR Records, and reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart.
"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".
"Free" is a song by American recording artist Ultra Naté, released on March 31, 1997, through record label Strictly Rhythm. It was co-written by Naté, Lem Springsteen and John Ciafone, while production was held by both Springsteen and Ciafone. "Free" was served as the lead single from her third studio album, Situation: Critical (1997). Musically, the song is a house-influenced song that incorporates strong 1990s soul, dance-pop, garage and disco. The accompanying music video was directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, depicting Naté in an abandoned hospital.
"Where Love Lives (Come On In)" is a song by British singer-songwriter and former dancer Alison Limerick, released first time in November 1990. It was her solo-debut and received favorable reviews from music critics, becoming a massive club hit in the early 1990s in both the United Kingdom and United States. In 1991, the single peaked at number 27 in the UK and number three on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the US. It was also voted Dance Track of 1991 by Billboard magazine. In 1992, it was included on Limerick's debut album, And Still I Rise. In 1996, it was released in a new remix by Dancing Divaz, peaking at number nine in the UK and number four on the dance chart in the US. The song is famous for the funked-up piano intro and remains the singer's most successful release. It is now widely regarded as one of the biggest club anthems of all time, and has been remixed and re-released several times.
"Generations of Love" is a song by British band Jesus Loves You, founded by singer Boy George, and was released as the second single from their only album, The Martyr Mantras (1990). The song also features raggamuffin toaster MC Kinky and received favorable reviews from most music critics; both Melody Maker and NME named it Single of the Week. It made the UK Singles Chart in two versions; the "Land of Oz Mix" which peaked at number 80 in 1990 and the "La La Gone Gaga Mix" which peaked at number 35 in 1991. The 1990 version also peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, while the 1991 version peaked within the top 20 in the Netherlands and the top 30 in Austria and Belgium. Its music video was directed by Baillie Walsh.
"Beautiful People" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Barbara Tucker, who co-wrote it with India, Lem Springsteen and "Little" Louie Vega, who along with partner Kenny "Dope" Gonzalez, co-produced the track. It was released on March 2, 1994, as her first single by Strictly Rhythm Records, and was also Tucker's first of seven number-one singles on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, reaching the top spot on April 16, 1994. On the UK Singles Chart, it peaked at number 23, while it topped both the UK Dance Singles Chart and the UK Club Chart.
"Such a Good Feeling" is a song by English electronic music trio Brothers in Rhythm, released as a single only. It samples Charvoni's "Always There" which itself is a cover of a Side Effect song from 1976. The original lyrics for "Always There", written by Paul B Allen III, were sampled, and different music was sampled by Brothers in Rhythm to play underneath those vocalized lyrics. Upon its first release, it reached No. 64 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. After a re-release the same year, it reached No. 14 in the UK. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Such a Good Feeling" reached number 43. Mixmag ranked the song number 49 in its '100 Greatest Dance Singles of All Time' list in 1996.
"Ultra Flava" is a house song by British duo Heller and Farley Project. After the wide renown with their remix of Ultra Naté's "How Long" in 1994 and M People's "Open Your Heart" in 1995, they released it as a single in 1996. It is a slightly re-worked version of their mix of "How Long", without Naté's vocals. They entitled it "Ultra Flava" as a nod to the track's origins. It was a huge club hit and peaked at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart, while reaching number-one on the UK Dance Singles Chart. In the US, it peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. A black-and-white music video was also produced to promote the single.
"Gotta Let You Go" is a song by American freestyle and house music singer Dominica. Written by Mohamed Moretta and produced by him with Mickey Garcia, it was released in 1994 by Ouland Music and became a hit in clubs. The song was also a top 40 hit in the Netherlands (34) and a top 90 hit in Germany (81). Several music videos has been produced for "Gotta Let You Go". In 2015, Northern Irish electronic music duo Bicep released a remix of the track.
"Passion" is a song by English electronic music group Gat Decor. It is their best-known work and was originally released in 1992 on Effective Records. The 12-inch single contained the original, instrumental version along with Darren Emerson's remix on the B-side. This was Emerson's first remix, and also his first record label. The 1992 release was an immediate success in underground dance clubs, and eventually became a hit on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 29. In 1996, a new version featuring vocals by Beverley Skeete reached number six in the UK.
