Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: Candido aka. Luis Schiebeler lays down eight darkwave / Italo numbers for Spain's Oraculo Records as part of their extended EPs series - Megabreakz. The seventh addition to the sonic saga is a hearty, circuit-bent dancefloor haunter, marking the 'inaugural chapter of a two-part epic' by Candido, which promises a journey spanning everything from EBM to new beat to rave breaks. Wherever you place 'Mechanical Dances Part 1' on this vast stylistic continuum, the fact remains that Candido's approach to the post-industrial dance form is as psyche-imprinting as it is floor-denting, often nodding to the profound (sometimes dissociative) experiences common to frequenting such a scene. Peppered throughout - if you know where to find them - are repetitive lyrical mantras, alluding to everything from OOB experiences to controversial French psychoanalysts.

Review: This enigmatic recording, ahead of its time upon release, features Caroline K's pioneering approach to analog synth music and sample experimentation. Tracks like 'The Happening World' demonstrate her focus on dark ambient and drone music, while 'Animal Lattice' offers a haunting juxtaposition of high and low notes, reminiscent of early Dead Can Dance. 'Between The Spaces' explores a range of atmospheres, from new age to dungeon synth, with ethereal undertones. Caroline K's use of background noises and found sounds adds depth and texture to compositions like 'Leaving,' leaving a lasting impression on listeners. Now Wait For Last Year remains a lasting legacy to Caroline K's innovative spirit and her enduring influence on ambient, dark ambient, and electronic music. This brilliant trip into experimental ambience will impress everyone from soundtrack lovers to those who are into darker electronics.

Review: London Techno Collective's Steve Loss aka Catharsis returns to Berlin's Zhark Recordings for his third release and first long-player. Terrifying Shadows features eight tracks of 'hydraulic techno func (sic) .. and roaring drill mechanisms' that altogether make for some seriously difficult listening. Such disturbing titles as 'Into The warm Embrace Of Deviancy', 'It's So Easy To Corrupt A Soul', as well as 'The Tao Of The Scarred' or by far our favourite 'Tasting Hate From The Cup Of Gods' give you a fair warning of what to expect on this eight track opus: brutalist experimental techno delivered in uncompromising style. Not for the faint of heart!

Review: Swedish EBM icon Celldod returns to Electronic Emergencies with a new album pressed on striking transparent magenta vinyl. Pa Liv Och Dod is a superbly emotionally charged release that channels the raw energy of D.A.F. and Front 242 while blending dark electronic beats with intense lyrical themes. It has collaborations with Leroy Se Meurt and Michael Zodorozny, plus Anders Karlsson's haunting Swedish vocals exploring death and life's meaning also appear across tunes that are both urgent and dance floor directed. Pa Liv Och Dod will force you to confront fear and chaos head-on while offering a soundtrack that offers some catharsis from it all.

Review: CHBB was a project by Beate Bartel and Chris Haas that developed from a collaboration first embarked upon in 1981, while working on the self-titled album Liaisons Dangereuses. After initially releasing their music only on four limited cassettes, this compilation from Soulsheriff flaunts their complete works, including all recordings from the original tapes paired with several new and original tracks by each artist. One can hardly tell the difference between original and new here; from the surreally throat-sung contraltos of 'NBKE' to the jankily strange doubletimes of 'Bali', from the the warbly hypnotisms of 'Shapeshifter' to the womping-kicks-over-German-language-incantations of 'Ima Iki-Mashoo', there's an industrial, experimental treat here for everyone.

Review: Imagine a world where the pioneers of hip-hop and electro reign supreme, their sounds echoing through the neon-lit streets of a futuristic metropolis. This is the world that Clipping creates, their music a heady blend of gritty beats, razor-sharp rhymes and dystopian soundscapes. 'Dominator' and 'Change the Channel' set the tone with their raw energy and infectious hooks, while 'Run It' and 'Go' showcase the group's lyrical dexterity and knack for crafting intricate rhymes that weave tales of technology, alienation and social unrest. Collaborations with Aesop Rock, Nels Cline and Cartel Madras add further depth and dimension to the album's sonic tapestry, each artist bringing their unique flavour to the mix. Tracks like 'Simple Degradation' and 'Mood Organ' delve into the darker corners of this dystopian world, exploring the anxieties and uncertainties of a future dominated by technology. It's not for the faint of heart, but it is a thrilling ride through a world of futuristic sounds and thought-provoking lyrics.

Review: For its 30th release, Persephonic Sirens has this arresting new album from Codex Empire across four sides of vinyl. It explores a brave new techno world where dystopian nightmares collide with club-ready grooves and textural synth work defines each track. 'With Fire I Carve' is a blistering sound with nervy, edgy synth tension, 'Alsatia The Lower' is a hard techno monster with screwy synths and flat-footed drums and 'Transient Phantom' is a tunnelling sound with stark sound designs and an atmosphere that is pregnant with darkness and unease.

Review: Coil's comprehensive compilation Moon's Milk, based on the four annual seasons and the overpoweringly doomy moods they inspire, comes reissued 18 years after its initial 2002 release. With a strong Coil member base in tow - John Balance, Peter Christopherson, and Thighpaulsandra included - the Four Phases are once again called to mind, and seem to pierce the unconscious with their incisive quietude and unsettling (dis)inhibition, most often totally electronic and droning, but occasionally peppered with faintly hollering vocals and chromatic electric viola interspersals, the latter performed by the now notable occult cleric, William Breeze aka. Tau Silenus.

Review: RECOMMENDED
Definitely one for the collectors and historians, there's so much to talk about in terms of Rampton's significance you'll have to excuse sparse references to the actual music. Sorry not sorry and all that. First dropped in 1980, this was not only the first release on the cult and highly sought-after Come Organisation label, it was also one of the first pages in the story of William Bennet.

Leaving Essential Logic behind, the Come project stands as a stylistic bridge between the post punk that came before and the electronics that would follow with Whitehouse, and more latterly Cut Hands. It's weird, it's distorted, even today it's fresh and yet wholly retro. This is the sound of experimentation gone right, guitars, synthesisers and ideas colliding in a coherent mess.

Review: The cult favourite Dark Entries hits 15 in style here and celebrates in the only way it knows how - with more great music. This time it is the legendary synth-punk yahoos Crash Course in Science aka Dale Feliciello, Mallory Yago, and Michael Zodorozny who are in the spotlight. The group formed back in 1979 and set out to make music using toy instruments and kitchen appliances. Their punk-y, aggressive, angular sound soon found a hardcore fan base and gave rise to big tunes like 'Cardboard Lamb' and 'Flying Turns.' In 1981 they recorded Near Marineland, a full-length that never actually saw the light of day but does now and shows the band moving into more diverse and polished territory.

Review: English experimental group, Current 93, was founded in 1982 by David Tibet and set out to explore industrial music with abrasive tape loops, droning noises and distorted vocals. As Real As ScareCrows is a haunting new chapter in Tibet's arcane vision, and it was released alongside four other LPs to mark recent Channellings in London and Hastings. Ritualistic and esoteric, the album feels like a spectral transmission or "ScareCrow scaring crows away after Menstrual Night," as Tibet describes it. It's a deeply unsettling and bleakly poetic work that is unmistakably C93 in its mood and mystique. Each copy includes a signed risograph print of Tibet's painting, making it as much an art object as a musical release. A beautifully eerie offering from one of Britain's most enduring and enigmatic cult acts.

Review: Dawn Yawns is one of five new 12" records released at the same time, documenting one or two - if not more - furtive live sets performed by Current 93 (David Tibet) between London and Hastings in early 2025. On this quintet of new transmissions, dream and daylight are heard in grisly merger, on the back of an umbral awakening from a polar slumber, where the blood moon never sets, known to C93 fans only as the "Menstrual Night". Be warned, however, these eerie recordings have a sure capacity to mark the soul in unprecedented ways.

Review: Another of five LPs by Current 93 (David Tibet) through his own audio-esoterica label Cashen's Gap, this brilliant yellow and green hued LP nods to the universally recognised colour of earth-ground wire, and comes in the wake of a recent two part set of "channellings" (live performances) in both London and Hastings. As ever, Tibet steers the dream ship through surreal poetics and creaking soundscapes, and offers us a risograph print of his artwork, titled MayBe Skeletal RainBow, or perhaps Building The RainBow PainBow Preparing For Menstrual Night (we're not sure).

Review: The reissue of Current 93's Nature Unveiled brings back an iconic album that first captivated listeners with its avant-garde sound. This album features two striking tracks: 'Ach Golgotha (Maldoror Is Dead)' and 'The Mystical Body Of Christ In Chorazaim (The Great In The Small).' 'Ach Golgotha (Maldoror Is Dead)' stands out as an irreverent celebration of orthodox liturgical rites, inspired by the demon Maldoror, a creation of French poet Lautreamont. This track, with its dark and mystical aura, reflects the early influences on Tibet, including the magician Aleister Crowley. Fans appreciate the eerie and otherworldly appeal of this piece, which retains its power and impact decades later. 'The Mystical Body Of Christ In Chorazaim (The Great In The Small)' complements the first track with its own haunting soundscapes. The album's ability to transport listeners to a realm of fantastic nightmares underscores Current 93's lasting influence in the experimental music scene. Pressed on picture disc, this version is extra special for collectors who look for unique music and packaging.

Review: Embarking on a series of new Current 93 reissues via his own label Cashen's Gap, David Tibet here reminisces on the very second LP to be released under the moniker, Dogs Blood Rising. Said to have been "reeling in the weeks - which felt like years - after my first Current 93 album, I had started on the difficult second album" (Dogs Blood Rising) after "having been asked to appear on both Top Of The Pops and The Old Grey Whistle Test 93 times in the same week". Cult mythologising aside, this five-track sonic gorgonesquerie is a fantastic primer in early occult industrial music, leading on the iconoclastic canto 'Christus Christus' and ending on the chamber-effected monologue 'St. Peters Keys All Bloody'. The songs cast implicit scorn on the popular imaginaria that insist that heaven and hell are divided; Tibet is keen to collapse them into one, devising a new sonic eschatology all unto his own.