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.
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.
"Poison" is a song by English electronic music group the Prodigy, released on 6 March 1995 by XL and Mute as the fourth and final single from their second studio album, Music for the Jilted Generation (1994). Maxim Reality performs the vocals on the track. It was a number one hit in Finland, while peaking inside the top five in Ireland and Norway. Additionally, it peaked within the top-30 in Sweden and Switzerland. The music video for the song was directed by Walter Stern.
"Firestarter" is a song by British electronic dance music band the Prodigy, released on 18 March 1996 by XL Recordings as the first single from their third album, The Fat of the Land (1997). It was co-written and produced by Liam Howlett and features vocals by Keith Flint. It also was the group's first number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, staying on top for three weeks, and their first big international hit, topping the charts in the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, and Norway. The music video was directed by Walter Stern and filmed in the London Underground, in black-and-white. Melody Maker ranked the song number two in their list of "Singles of the Year" in 1996. 24 years later, The Guardian ranked it number eight in their list of "The 100 Greatest UK No 1 Singles".
"Twilight Zone" is a song by Belgian/Dutch Eurodance act 2 Unlimited, released in January 1992 by Byte Records as the second single from the act's debut studio album, Get Ready! (1992). The UK release of the single was the first 2 Unlimited single to include the vocals of Anita Doth, as they had not been featured on their breakthrough hit "Get Ready for This". However, Ray Slijngaard's rap verses were once again removed. The instrumental "Rave" version of the song sounds different from the original "Not Enough" version, with a more hi-NRG style with more bass and added cowbells. The music video was directed by David Betteridge.
Second Light is the second album by the British band Dreadzone. It was released on Virgin Records in May 1995 as their first album on the label and their follow-up to 360° (1993). The record mixes the group's distinctive blend of dub music, electronic instrumentation and sampling with a wider array of styles, such as Celtic music, Indian music and poetry, a result of the group conceiving the album as a representation and celebration of modern multicultural Britain. They were inspired by the films of Michael Powell and the Festival of Britain era.
"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.
"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.
"It Only Takes a Minute" is a 1975 song by American soul/R&B group Tavares, released as the first single from their third album, In the City (1975). The song was the group's only top-10 pop hit in the United States, peaking at number 10, and their second number one song on the American soul charts. On the US Disco chart, "It Only Takes a Minute" spent five weeks at number two and was the first of four entries on the chart. The song was subsequently covered by Jonathan King performing as 100 Ton and a Feather in 1976 and by boy band Take That in 1992.
Sinking is the second studio album by British electronic music group the Aloof, released by East West Records in the United Kingdom on 27 May 1996. Following the rave-influenced style of the group's debut album Cover the Crime (1994), Sinking brought the band into a darker, more mellow direction, as the result of the group's desire to deliver a "band" feel, aided by the members' newfound disillusionment with club culture. The record fuses styles of techno, dub, trip hop and jungle music and incorporates string arrangements and sombre lyrics.
"Pale Movie" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne, released in February 1994 by Heavenly Records as the first single from the group's third album, Tiger Bay (1994). The song reached number 28 on the UK Singles Charts and also became a hit in Iceland, peaking at number 24. In common with the folk music theme of the album, the song combines a Eurodance beat with Spanish folk-style guitars. The lyrics use surreal imagery to describe a man's love for a mysterious woman. Although the title is not sung, some of the words refer to cinema: "In the bed where they make love / She's in a film on the sheets. / He shows dreams like a movie, / She's the softness of cinema seats." Other lines are stranger: "her skin as white as the milk, / Just like a Sherpa Tenzing / under a Manila silk."
"Avenue" is a song by British pop group Saint Etienne, released in October 1992 as the first single from their second album, So Tough (1992). It was originally titled "Lovely Heart" or "Young Heart". The album version is a 7-minute version with lengthy instrumental sequences; it was edited down to around 4 minutes for radio play, though the commercial single contained the full-length version, with the radio edit only released on promotional material. The edit wasn't released commercially until 2005's Travel Edition 1990-2005.
"Into the Blue" is a song by American electronica musician Moby, released on June 19, 1995 by Mute Records, as the fourth single from his third studio album, Everything Is Wrong (1995). American musician Mimi Goese co-wrote the lyrics with Moby and provided the vocals. The song is slow and melancholy, a stark contrast to the first four singles from the album.
"Next Is the E" is a song by American electronica musician Moby, released in October 1992 by Instinct and Equator as the third single from his self-titled debut album (1992).
Earl Sixteen is a Jamaican reggae singer whose career began in the mid-1970s.
"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.
"Too Blind to See It" is a song by American singer and songwriter Kym Sims, written and produced by Steve "Silk" Hurley. It was released in 1991 by ATCO and EastWest as the first single from her eponymous debut album (1992). It contains a sample of speaking by Rochelle Fleming from the group 1st Choice, from the song "Let No Man Put Asunder". "Too Blind to See It" peaked at number 38 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Internationally, it reached the top 10 in Denmark, Finland, and the United Kingdom. A music video was produced for the single's promotion.
"Inner City Life" is a song by British electronic musician Goldie featuring vocals by British singer Diane Charlemagne, released in November 1994 by FFRR as the first single from his acclaimed debut album, Timeless (1995). The song was written by Goldie with Rob Playford, and is widely considered one of the most iconic drum and bass works of its era. Accompanied by a music video directed by Mike Lipscombe, it peaked at No. 39 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 6 on the UK Dance Chart. NME ranked "Inner City Life" No. 11 in their list of the "50 Best Songs of 1994". In 2013, it was ranked No. 30 in Mixmag's list of "50 Greatest Dance Tracks of All Time".
"Feel the Sunshine" is a song by British drum and bass producer Alex Reece featuring vocals by singer Deborah Anderson, who also co-wrote the lyrics. It received critical acclaim and was included on Reece's debut album, So Far, which was released in September 1996. The song was released in December 1995 as a single by Blunted and Island Records, peaking at number 69 on the UK Singles Chart. A re-release in May 1996 containing remixes charted higher, peaking at number 26. On the UK Dance Singles Chart, "Feel the Sunshine" was more successful, peaking at number two (1995) and four (1996). It is now widely regarded as one of the most classic drum and bass songs.
"Happiness" is a song by British electronic music duo Pizzaman, which consisted of John Reid and Norman Cook, released in November 1995 by Loaded Records as the third single from the duo's only album, Pizzamania (1995). The song contains a sample of "Five Songs by Four Voices" performed by English poet, artist and musician Edward Barton, and uses a backbeat from "Break 4 Love" by Raze. "Happiness" peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart and number three on the UK Dance Chart. Its music video was directed by American filmmaker and photojournalist Michael Dominic. Del Monte Foods corporation used the song in a UK fruit juice ad.
