Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: Cosmic vibes, disco roots and a touch of robot melancholy, created during a time of isolation and strange moments apparently, so channels feelings of longing and creativity into something playful and deeply human. We're told that what began as an open-ended studio session became a journey fuelled by synthesisers, with Luis adding guitar and Marabou handling gear and recording. The tracks balance nostalgia and futurism across remixes from I-f, Gerd Janson and Dan Tyler of the Idjut Boys.

Review: Eagles & Butterflies has had plenty of notable tunes over the years. No doubt that is why he gets the nod from Gerd Jansen's legendary Running back label to offer up Retropolis Vol 01. It is a four-track EP that shows off the producer's well-realised sounds. The title track is the real standout - 'Retropolis' brings electro-styled synth work with brilliantly future retro euro-disco energy. It's packed with hints of Italo and is sure to light up any club scene. Says the producer of the EP, "Retropolis is the past meets the future. I love influences and technology from the past and making music that sounds like it could be from a time yet to arrive." Mission accomplished.

Review: Dusseldorf-based trio Folie 2 return on Themes For Great Cities to follow up their debut long-player from earlier this year. Eingriffe features yet more genre bending experimental pop by Gregor Darman, Marlene Kollender and Sebastian Welicki. Local legend Tolouse Low Trax kicks things off with his Scissor Jazz Hat mix of 'Fullness Of My Heart' before they get stuck into some low-slung cosmic funk on 'Disco' (TBZ Weired Disco) and on side B there's the neon-lit night moves of deep cut 'Universal Sucker'.

Review: Stamp glides up to a 15th release with the ever-present Ben Gomori the man responsible. The former writer has done it all in his time from playful edits to big house to here, dazzling disco. 'DM Slide' is a classic-sounding cut with busy basslines and silky arps, nice tinny percussion and a glorious vocal that soars way up top. That takes up the a-side while the flip is a dub version that ups the disco energy and removes the vocals so that the cosmic fx are more front and centre. A useful 12" so far.

Review: Savage Garden's Darren Hayes returned from the wilderness in 2022 after a hiatus of almost ten years. During that time, he tried his hand at stand up comedy, kept a social media presence in the form of shared videos featuring him bursting into song, and evidently spent a fair amount of time recharging. After all, you don't make albums with the energy of Homosexual, the comeback piece, if you're running on empty.
Let's Try Being In Love was the first single taken from that, and in many ways the whole package is more about message than music - a guy publicly celebrating his sexuality and marriage after spending a very long time not feeling ready to do so, during a period in which he was a bonafide global pop star. Here said track appears in both 12" extended form and a Louis La Roche mix, both of which are made for chugging dancefloors, filtered tracking synths firing on all cylinders and an overall sense of self.

Review: Vincent Fries second album as Italo Brutalo, the throbbing, darkwave and EBM-influenced heaviness of Heartware, has been given the remix treatment. There's eight high-grade, club-focused reworks to choose from, with our picks of a very strong bunch including CYRK's dark, twisted and funk-fuelled electro re-imagining of 'Reach Horizon', the glossy, big studio Italo-disco brilliance of Mufti's rub of 'Dream Machine' (think Stephen Hague producing the Pet Shop Boys circa 1986) and Shubostar's thickset, melody-rich, Bobby Orlando-influenced rework of 'Heat of the Night'. We'd also recommend checking out the two takes of 'Into a Sampler'. There's a raw, intense and breathless dark Italo-disco tweak courtesy of Fabrizio Mammarella, and a more chugging, atmospheric rewire by Kris Menace.

Review: Antoni Maiovvi's latest synth EP 'Birds of Paradise' is a dark, brooding release that draws inspiration from classic horror soundtracks, avian themes and early synthwave. Like something between an 80s title theme for the mothman and a modernist fever dream for automobiles taking flight, each track here is named after a quirkily-named bird, whether that be the Quetzal or the Streamertail. In keeping with the thermal-riding and soaring feel of the music, every track contains subtle birdsong as its texture, not to mention beautifully danceable yet minimal melodies.

Review: Thus spake Zaratustra, who clambered down from his mountain lair after ten years of brooding and solitude to let the people of the meadows and grasslands know of the true nature of reality; the overman, aka. Stolt. Nietzsche references aside, this new release by French disco artist Zaratustra, in collaboration with singer Stolt, is a riveting take on electro-disco-Italo; 'Uprising' is a ricocheting heater of immeasurable proportions, channelling the spirit of hi-NRG and new wave in its vocal shrieks, eighth-note bass runs and gated splashy snares. A veritably worthy addition to Skylax's LAX series.

Review: XXX is back with a steamy 16th EP and it features two original tracks by Anastasia Zems & Radial Gaze on the A-side, with remixes from Chinaski & S.I.R.S. on the B-side. The originals are characterised by dark industrial vibes, sharp kicks, and throbbing yet playful basslines that will persuade any dance floor to get throwing shapes. On the flip side, Chinaski's remix takes an unexpected turn as a trance-like trip that climbs higher and faster with each beat. S.I.R.S. offers a contrasting disco remix with an irresistibly groovy bassline, and just as irresistible is the playful artwork by Gees Voorhees that perfectly captures the eclectic nature of this EP.

Review: Hyperdrama is the fourth full length album from the French Duo Justice. Two songs have preceded the album's May release. 'One Night/All Night (featuring Tame Impala)' is destined to be a club hit with its catchy EDM pop appeal. The bombastic electro pulser 'Generator' will also have a strong club appeal to it and you can expect the rest of the album to be just as strong with a production job that's clean and the tracks are powerful. This version comes in a beautifully designed gatefold 2xLP that also includes a sticker.

Review: In recent interviews, Justice explained that fourth album Hyperdrama - the wildly successful French duo's first for seven years - was born out of the idea of getting elements of disco, funk and electronic music to "fight with each other" (rather than smoother co-existence). Given the forthright and sometimes abrasive nature of their work, it's an idea in keeping with their career to date. Musically, what we get is a mixture of their usual electroclash and rave-inspired riffs and motifs, and basslines, strings and other instrumentation rooted in black dance music of the 1970s and '80s. When the fusion lands - as it does much of the time - it's a unique and thrilling fusion. For proof, check Tama Impala hook-up 'One Night/All Night', the Italo disco/jazz-funk/electro-house fusion of 'Incognito', and the wonderful slow-boogie mutation 'Saturine'.