Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: Quinoa Cuts's fourth release combines some smart nostalgia with plenty of modern innovation. Side A opens with two analogue-driven tracks reminiscent of the 80s synth-wave era, so rich with electro-inspired nuances that evoke a bittersweet and rather romantic atmosphere. It transports you to a dreamlike, neon-lit past then Side B takes a darker, more introspective turn by exploring shadowy, progressive sounds. These haunting tracks come with deep, emotional layers and show Marvin to be quite the producer.

Review: Matthias closes out 2024 with 'Life Among Nightmares', a three-track EP that dives deep into the techno-synth wave spectrum. Kicking things off is Global Thunder, a mind-bending track that crescendos into an epic blend of nostalgic synths and cinematic tension. On the B-side, Living Nightmare delivers a moody fusion of eccentric analog sounds, acid sequences, and swinging percussion, creating a dark yet hypnotic atmosphere. Finally, Sunfall rounds out the EP, where sinister synths and shadowy pads pull listeners into a haunting, techno-wave journey.

Review: The Mesmerisers' debut 7" record is a Shaolin Morricone production that draws listeners into a world of exotic allure and sonic mystery. This enigmatic trio, shrouded in secrecy, deliver a musical experience that feels like it has been resurrected from the vaults of a long-forgotten studio, the record's sultry grooves transporting you to a golden age of music where boundaries dissolve and imagination reigns. The Mesmerisers craft lush melodies and seductive rhythms that evoke a timeless charm, their sound seemingly channeled from another era. The trio's mysterious identity only heightens the intrigue, as these compositions seem to have lingered in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to captivate discerning ears. With this vinyl treasure, The Mesmerisers invite you to explore a realm where the past and present merge, creating a soundscape that is both nostalgic and refreshingly unique.

Review: Say a big hello to the new Modez label here while getting lost in the hard hitting first release from Modelle. It's a bold barrage of bass, Baille funk and dubstep across six sizzling cuts. 'Pursuit' opens up with lithe broken beats wired up with electricity and percussive hits. 'Dum Dumb' is built on a distorted low end with hard-ass raps and brutal drum breaks, 'Razor Rex' arrests the attention with its pulsing bass and bleeping modular synth sequences while 'Petrie's Rage' is a hyper-speed cosmic banger. 'Jeff On God' (feat Parkinson White) shuts down with more low end energy and this time jungle breaks provide the power source.

Review: New York-based minimal electronica artist Brendon Moeller takes cues from drum & bass and lowercase on his latest record for ESP Institute. Like a sonic Hockney painting, just six generous tracks span a curtly two sides on 12", as classy deluges marry with designer percs, conspiring to make a large but radially controlled splash. Every experiential stylistic base Moeller has passed so far, such as IDM or ambient dub, is revisited and checked off, and combined to form a wet emulsion here. 'Vibrations', the highlight of ours, pays special attention to fricative, stimulant audio-exploits in the sound design, with its synthetic mid-claves and potent rubber basses sounding like the reflex responses it predicts and expects from us. No wonder ESP liken the entire record to one big tingling sensation.

Review: Keynote launches its debut with Keynote01 by the talented MOYA81, whose unique retro-synth style finds new life in a powerful industrial techno format. Known for his robotic vocals and experimental touches, MOYA81 brings a blend of gritty, machine-driven sounds and offbeat, playful elements to this 12" vinyl-only release. Rooted in a deep appreciation for both nostalgic and forward-thinking electronic music, this record showcases his unmistakable sound and is packed with character. It's a release as fitting for the dancefloor as it is for enthusiasts of industrial techno's distinct energy.

Review: This six-track release from the Musci archives offers up sounds that blend traditional instruments with synthesisers and electronics. It comes with remixes by Cut Hands and Nokuit and highlights the work of Roberto Musci, an Italian ethnomusicologist who has been active since the mid-80s. Musci's music gained renewed interest following the 2016 Tower of Silence compilation and got praise from legends like the late Ryuichi Sakamoto. It's dense, challenging, and unlike much else you will hear this year.

Review: Poet, librarian, Mancunian, father, husband, uncle, brother. Mike Garry is many things to many people, but tonight, Matthew, his voices guides our eyes upwards, inviting us to stargaze to one of Orbital's most emotionally resonant and timeless pieces of rave noise. Belfast Revisited would be one way to describe it, taking some of the classic and unmistakable elements of that anthem and turning it into something new. First and foremost freshness comes with the spoken word addition - a thoroughly positive, passionate and amorous declaration of unending love that could feel jarring depending on whether you always felt 'Belfast' was reflective and slightly melancholy, or not. Gone too are the breaks, replaced now by stadium-sized four-to-the-floor turning what was once the end of the night walking home at dawn into something that sounds way more 11PM at the concert.

Review: Recorded in Essaouira, Morocco, Pedro Vian and Maalem Nabob Soudani present an exercise in melding the traditional and unorthodox, the old and new, the abstract and the direct, the exotic and, well, something even more exotic. Rooted in the Gnawa sound, but leaning heavily into deep electronic worlds, EMS AKS Synthi and buchla meet the qrebeb and guimbiri, everything contrasting yet complementing. The result is this intoxicating brew that transports you to the North African coastline on which this collection was conceived and captured, and then onto somewhere that's almost beyond the terrestrial. Close your eyes, allow the hypnotic looped musical phrases and organic aesthetic of the recording itself to wash over you, through, and around your body. Something to truly get lost in and a fantastic example of cross-pollination done properly.

Review: The new Disney+ TV miniseries Agatha All Along sees Kathryn Hahn reprise her role as Agatha Harkness, a central superheroine and witch of the Marvel Comics universe. A sequel to the live-action miniseries WandaVision, Agatha All Along charts Harkness' travails of escape and persecution, in a contemporary magic realist narrative blending witch coven and superhero themes. Here the soundtrack to the new series appears in tasteful and fitting fashion and in LP format, featuring such well-chosen as 'Hava Nagila' by Traditional, 'Visions' by Plastic People, 'Season Of The Witch' by Donovan and 'Heads Will Roll' by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Review: GNOD, the ever-evolving psychedelic noise-rock collective, returns with Inner Fucking Peace, a transformative collaboration with Portuguese vocalist MC Sissi. Known for constantly reinventing their sound, GNOD delivers an album that pushes new boundaries. Comprised of eight tracks for voice and electronics, this release merges experimental textures with Sissi's stream-of-consciousness Portuguese lyrics. The album showcases a broad sonic palette, from the minimalist tuned percussion of 'Stop' to the ominous electronics and crashing industrial drums on 'Get Out', reminiscent of GNOD's touring partners Harrga. Tracks like 'Tea & Eggs' delve into reggaeton-infused minimal synth, while 'Flute Theme' centers around chopped and screwed woodwind arrangements. MC Sissi's contributions, often improvised, bring an emotional depth to the album. Her irate vocals, mournful crooning and playful autotune add a new dimension to GNOD's industrial beats and spaced-out synths. With tracks ranging from hypnotic hand drum workouts to the gloom-laden 'Cannela Crematoria', Inner Fucking Peace marks another bold, unpredictable chapter in GNOD's extensive discography, leaving fans eager for what's next.

Review: Edvard Graham Lewis and Mark Spybey's collaboration fuses electronic rhythms, layered field recordings and ambient soundscapes into an album with striking depth and cohesion. Both artists bring decades of experienceiLewis from Wire, Dome, He Said and Spybey from Zoviet France and Dead Voices on Air. This project, however, ventures into fresh territory, blending experimental sounds with surprising grooves and sly hooks. Crafted remotely, each track unfolds a textured sonic landscape, offering listeners a unique glimpse into the creative synergy between two pioneers of boundary-pushing music.

Review: First released more than two decades ago in 2004, Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone features the renowned cellist performing pieces from the legendary composer's very many iconic film scores. It was recorded with the Roma Sinfonietta Orchestra and pianist Gilda Butta and Morricone himself served as orchestrator, conductor and producer. The album remained on the Billboard Top Classical Albums chart for 105 weeks after its initial release and now this resisted and stunning collection again offers up music from Once Upon a Time in America, The Legend of 1900, The Untouchables, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and more. It is a masterful tribute done with sheer class and beautifully orchestrated collaboration.

Review: Kali Malone's The Sacrificial Code stands as a defining work of 21st Century minimalism, shaped by years of intensive study. Originally released in 2019, the album emerged from her time at Stockholm's Royal College of Music, where she explored sound, space, and alternate tuning systems under the guidance of organ tuner Jan Borjeson. Stripping composition down to its starkest form, she embraced canons and slow-moving harmonic shifts, slowly but surely stepping into a sound emphasising monumentality. Now, six years later, The Sacrificial Code is reissued via Ideologic Organ, featuring a new 2023 recording of the title track on a 16th-century organ. Malone's self-taught recording techniques bring out the instrument's spirant resonance, creating a time-dilating sound. Less mournful, more tranquil, the new version mirrors the concurrent transformations of music and listeners in step, over time.

Review: The somewhat surprising return and attempt at redemption from the industrial metal shock-rocker Marilyn Manson has been a bold pill to swallow, with the once iconic provocateur seeking to avoid the many allegations and numerous controversies he has garnered over the last decade. Attending rehab and becoming fully sober over the past few years has seen dramatic weight loss, a notably more lowkey public demeanour and a newly signed record deal with Nuclear Blast (having been dropped by Loma Vista not long after 2020's We Are Chaos) turn a few heads, simultaneously cautious and curious as to the authenticity of this humble arc. With lawsuits recently thrown out, the court of public opinion appears to be the only form of due process that shall occur, leaving it to individual listeners to make up their mind as to the merit of the artist as a person. As to the art itself, One Assassination Under God: Chapter 1 is the 12th album to adorn the name Marilyn Manson, and it's his best since 2000's Holy Wood. Tapping Chelsea Wolfe collaborator/producer Tyler Bates to oversee the entire project has helped to create a generational bridge between how out of sync Manson himself had become with his own artistic strengths and audience desire, and Bates' insider knowledge as a younger fan first, collaborator second. Together they rediscover the core industrialist menace, gothic romanticism and hedonistic nihilism that kept listeners hooked after the initial shock of aesthetic would cease, but for the first time in decades, it feels earnest and earned rather than forced. Boasting Antichrist Superstar style buzzsaw synths and chug-heavy breakdowns on cuts such as 'Nod If You Understand', while the self-deprecating admission of using drugs to hide behind monstrous flaws on the gloomy balladry of 'As Sick As The Secrets Within' harks back to the most fragile moments of Mechanical Albums. Be it a cynical cashgrab or attempt to regain fan adoration, or the genuine musings of a tortured artist finally learning to face his own demons head on, there's simply no denying that this is Manson at his most potent, intimate and focused, begging the question of how different of a career trajectory and latter day output might we have had if the man had learned to look inward long before hitting the bottom.

Review: Returning with his redemption attempt follow up to 2020's We Are Chaos, industrial metal shock-rock provocateur Marilyn Manson seeks to skirt the numerous controversies and accusations accrued in the last few years with his most potent musical statement in decades. Signing with Nuclear Blast and enlisting the likes of Chelsea Wolfe collaborator/producer Tyler Bates to helm the project, his 12th full-length One Assassination Under God: Chapter 1 (indicating that more is sure to follow), offers up some of the heaviest and introspective material of his career to date, with cuts such as 'Nod If You Understand' harking back to the unhinged angst of Antichrist Superstar, whereas 'As Sick As The Secrets Within' breathes with the same mercurial synth-gloom as the strongest moments on Mechanical Animals. A cynical attempt to regain fan adoration, or the sound of a tortured artist finally coming to terms with his own demons and attempting to rediscover former glory and prowess, the interpretation is entirely your own to consider.

Review: This is the first-ever reissue of Gianni Marchetti's 1978 LP Solstitium, which was originally released as part of RCA's "Original Cast" series in limited promo copies and has long been considered one of the most rare and enigmatic pieces of Italian library music. Library music was primarily created for television, radio and film but often yielded hidden gems that fused jazz, lounge and soul into storytelling vignettes of sounds. Marchetti's wonderful Solstitium is a prime example of innovation within this space which rightly remains a classic in the history of Italian music.

Review: Gianni Marchetti's 1977-78 LPs Equinox and Solstitium are truly rare gems from Italy's library music scene. Long thought lost, these tracks were unearthed from original DAT tapes and remastered for vinyl. They are loved for their ethereal, imaginative compositions as Marchetti's work blends driving rhythms, lush strings and intoxicating jazz sounds that offer a cinematic, dreamy feel. These albums, previously promotional-only and still highly coveted by collectors, now shine as part of Dialogo's initiative exploring RCA's "Original Cast" series. They lay bare the brilliance of Italian library music.

Review: Italian-born, German-based Marco Shuttle's first release on Astral Industries is built from field recordings taken in Colombia's Tupana Aru U nature reserve. Blending organic sounds with electronic manipulation, it captures the essence of the rainforest through both natural and synthetic elements. 'Part one' layers distant wildlife, dripping humidity and low-end pulses, while Part two shifts into abstract territory with reverberating echoes and shadowy percussive patterns. A final spoken passage from an indigenous guide provides context, grounding the work in real-world experience. The release offers a sonic study of a disappearing ecosystem, with proceeds supporting Amazon Watch. Shuttle shapes the sounds of the rainforest into something urgent and thought-provoking.