Leftism

Background music from a PS2 racing game

I’m exhausted by the relentless stream of crap records I’ve been assigned lately. I just want some good music, please. PLEASE. But then I get more 90s English electronic junk… *exasperated sigh*. After 20+ records exactly like this one you’re telling me we still haven’t plumbed the unlistenable depths of that genre yet? Jesus.Fucking.Christ. Enough already!

I definitely could have gone without hearing it before i die

Well this came out of left field

Still listen to this album to this day. So many good tracks, doesn’t get repetitive and one of the best paced albums of all time. Release The Pressure and Inspection are dub classics, Original & Open Up are perfectly cast vocal tracks, top notch. Amazing on the dance floor and through headphones. Leftfield could never have bettered this.

What a time to be alive, I imagine this was something like the rave generation's Revolver, except instead of the sitar it was ecstacy. Space Shanty is an absolute banger despite the tacky title track

On their debut album, Leftfield explore some intriguing sonic territory, but end up overstuffing and underwhelming in equal measure. Like all the electronic or house albums I've had so far on the list, it's a product of the 90's CD era and ends up interminably long at 69 minutes, with over half the tracks around the 7 minute mark. The best praise "Leftism" is deserving of is that it's immaculately engineered. Clean, tough and spacious, it sounds great and would surely be a good candidate for showing off a new hi-fi or club sound system. Some of the vocal tracks were intriguing at times: "Release the Pressure" is a solid start, with its fluttering synths and pads gently building into a shapeshifting, pulsing manifesto. Earl Sixteen is a great fit for vocals here, particularly when his ethereal falsetto kicks in at about the four-and-a-half minute mark. One must also admit that it's difficult to imagine something more "left-field" than John Lydon guesting on an EDM record for the very convincing "Open Up": another of the record's high points. And "Melt", mostly beatless, gets top points for crafting an immersive, dreamlike soundscape: perhaps my favourite on here and a side to Leftfield I would have liked to have seen more of. Beyond this, though, the songs I struggled with were hell-bent on degenerating into an endless, pulsing, four-to-the-floor beat, really leaning into house music. "Black Flute" plays all its tricks within about thirty seconds, and then "Space Shanty" is an extreme test of patience over seven minutes, as is "Storm 3000" with its very dated breakbeat. And as much as I liked Toni Halliday's vocals, "Original" just came across as a slightly poor, more dated Massive Attack track. I really did try to like this one, but ultimately it just faded into the background. I get the appreciation its length is much more a factor in its downfall than the skills of the group, as there is some promising material in here. But by the end, I found myself longing for some good old-fashioned songwriting rather than farting around with synths, drum machines and production wizardry.

Great electronic album. Leftfield was a pioneer in this area in my opinion. The songs stand alone just fine, yet also support listening as a full work together. This album you can focus and zone out on anywhere and still enjoy it.

Brand spanking new to me, no idea what this even is. While listening to the album, I read that Leftfield is a duo and they hated this album after they finished it. I agree with them. Probably just not my cup of tea. Hard pass.

That was wonderful, such goood music! Makes me nostalgic for a scene I am to young to have ever been part of. I would never have looked for or found this on my own (I’m more Buddy Holly or Prince Buster, and generally I need lyrics) But give me a glow stick I want to go raving !

Stone cold drugs classic. Brings back hazy memories of being off my face

I like a fair amount of electronic music from this era, particularly British electronic music, but I never listened to this one somehow. Although it is slightly more dancey than most of what I was listening to back then, this would've fit right in and been a treasured part of the musical landscape. As I think the best electronic music should be, it is a fun headphone ride. I also like all the different influences they incorporate. I gravitate more towards the slower tempo numbers.

This is so terrible. I wish I could give minus stars here...

Ahh. I cannot fully express how i felt when this appeared as my album of the day. I wasn't 100% sure it would be on the list, as it seems to go a bit under the radar for some reason. One of the most influential electronic albums ever. Here we have classics like "Release the Pressure", "Song of life", "Open Up", "Melt" and "Original". Done in a range of styles from dub to trance but mainly techno. Great vocals delivered from the guest vocalists, including - hold your breath - Johnny Rotten from Sex Pistols (on Open Up). This is a must listen for EVERYONE.

Good music to listen to while working. A bit repetitive to sit down and listen to

I don't listen to much house (or just electronic music for that matter), so I can appreciate something new like this. The beats are nice, but the ambient parts get a bit hollow and generally drag out for me. I think a large part of this album is that it's meant to be played in a club setting. Lights, dancing, drinks, and socializing would all enhance the music! But in a vacuum, the music has problems keeping me engaged as a I sit here at my computer. Some standout tracks on here (Space Shanty gets especially good with that phaser/flanger. Daft Punk, anyone?), can't say I was into the whole album though.

Not bad electronic dance type music. I really liked "Inspection (Check One)" it has a really nice beat. I had never heard of them before today. Overall not real memorable but I wouldn't be opposed to listening to it at work or as background music for other activities.

You can imagine my disappointment when I realized this wasn't 1980s pop rock group The Outfield (RIP John Spinks). Listening to this album made me want to take a bath with a toaster. Best track: N/A

Progressive house, Electronic, EDM, it all fits here. Excellent production, a wide variety of styles. Works in the background as well as listening intensely with headphones. Some tracks reminded me of Massive Attack, Faithless, and similar acts of that decade.

Great electronic album. This album you can focus and zone out on anywhere and still enjoy it.

Yes!! Loved this back in the day, love it now. So much going on. Best listened to very loud

Etched into my eardrums, Brixton 1996. No complaints.

right on

Very very good indeed. Still a classic, with an almost constant maintenance of groove, while not ever being repetitive or tired. It felt innovative in 1995, but still bears up to repeated listening; a true classic of dance/dub mash. Top tracks: Inspection, Original

I have massive affection for this album - one of the first electronic albums I properly got into after my nothing-but-metal phase. Love electronica that fuses world music into itself. Love an album that wanders over the genre map. Fave track - gotta be "Open Up", really, but love everything on here...

One of the strongest electronic albums I’ve heard. It pushes the boundaries of electronica even today. An essential album for any fan of the genre.

Now this is more like it! Great album. Loved the mix of trance/rave/D&B/melodic. Space Shanty right up my street. 5/5

this was a cool album. i think my dad likes these guys. you definitely need to be in the right headspace to receive copious amounts of 90s british electronica, but if you are this is some good shit. favorites: release the pressure, melt, original, space shanty, open up

I had this when it came out, but haven't listened to it in decades. It holds up better than I remembered.

To the left, to the left.

I think my music taste is broken because I actually really enjoyed this. Listened to this a few times. Reminds me of old school playstation 1 racing music which was weirdly nostalgic for me.

Happy to report that this is many times better than I remember it. By turns tribal, trancey, dubby, housey and ambient, ‘Leftism’ takes you on a journey, battering you into submission one minute, seducing you the next. It really hits the spot and doesn’t sound dated at all considering it’s almost 30 years old.

i was not expecting such a cool album. so rarely have we had an album full of this amount and this level of cool. it's full of creative, unique sounds and not repetitive at all. there's a variety of softer and bouncy, fun songs. with the minimal vocals (and i like how not every track has vocals), the electronic music is the focus! according to the wikipedia article, this album was a pioneer in house music and i can't say i'm surprised. barnes and daley put together such a fun album. looking forward to listening to this more and more.

The EDM conundrum. How do I consider music that is essentially written for the clubs and belongs in the clubs? Especially when I am many decades removed from clubs to begin with. I knew a lot of this work from singles that were released before the full length. But this doesn't play like a collection of disparate singles. It holds together as a cohesive statement and is one of the best EDM releases of the 90s.

Chemical Brothers, take note! Finally, someone that can do house/trance/EDM without just looping the same refrain over and over and over and over. I really appreciate seeing an album on this list that isn't vocal-centric. There are vocal tracks that come and go, but beats, instruments, sounds and samples are what takes center stage. Each track has a solid foundation that carries throughout, but there is a diverse cast of musical characters that roams into, out of and through each. Likewise there is a flow and continuity to the entire album that makes the whole thing feel like a complete work of art. On the whole the album is equally enjoyable playing in the background or occupying your entire attention span. I'm really glad to have been introduced!

An amazing melting pot of influences and genres. House, Trance, Dub, Tribal all blended together. Some gorgeous instrumental tracks combined with great vocal tracks, most notably the absolutely banging Open Up. Still sounds amazing today. Great album.

Finally after 39 long albums Dickie gets his Trance/Rave album! And not just any Rave album. Its the lads that defined the fucking genre at its peak. This was so important they now have an area of Glastonbury named after them and both the chemical brothers and the prodigy (although the latter clearly weren't listening very hard) were influenced by them. I've never listened to the whole thing before and have some new headphones coming this afternoon. So will strap myself in, take some pills (paracetamol or rennie) and get my rave on! Unlike most of this genre- this has love, heart, and a purpose. It holds my attention throughout and is actually fucking interesting which is a major feat for dance music which is usually... well.... boring. Also that is some Album cover. I might buy it just so I can put it up my wall! Actually having checked the price of one of the most rare vinyls in music, maybe I won't. Highlights: 21st Century Poem & Storm 3000 4/5

Je m'attendais à une compilation de discours de Bernie Sanders

I found this album to be enjoyable enough, but a lot of the songs drew on a bit longer than I think they needed to. The lengths allowed each track to become a bit repetitive and boring. That aside, the music itself is creative and still holds fairly well, all this time later! If this is really a birthplace for EDM and house music, they really got things right here. I loved the various eastern and new age influences throughout the tracks. Both styles have become prolifically woven into EDM and house music over the years, and if Leftfield is also responsible for that, then they deserve even more brownie points. I do think Release the Pressure and Open Up did a lot of the heavy lifting on the album. While everything was decent; these two tracks are the only real memorable "bangers".

It's hard to overestimate the significance of Leftism, roundly acknowledged upon its release in 1995 as the first truly complete album experience to be created by house musicians and the first quintessentially British one.

House noise: don't focus too much on it—an album for multi-tasking.

Like I said for my recent review of Blue Lines, I am Determined to stop liberally tossing 5s to albums I listened to extensively in my youth... Except, like I said for my recent review of Blue Lines..I can't start here - this still sounds so good... Finding the dub influences both more prominent and enjoyable than before, I think Renegade Soundwaves debut may have been an influence. Somehow brings back memories of post-club and Wipeout PS1 days (was this on the soundtrack?).

Genre defining progressive house. I was expecting something more chilled but I’d forgotten that it starts with some uptempo bangers. Consistent and varied throughout with intersting use of guest vocalists to add flavour. Anduperb album which I was glad to rehear after a good few years.

I always thought I preferred Underworld to Leftfield, but this album really is a banger. Especially when "Open Up" just comes out of nowhere and completely fucks you up.

Bangers

This is probably going to surprise nobody (local Leftfield/trance-in-general enjoyer, etc), but man, this is like if they got Mory Kanté to do the soundtrack for Tron and/or FreeSpace, and if you know me, you know how much of a compliment that is. Also, feels extremely on-brand for me to get jumpscared at the start of Inspection because The Orb used the same sample one time.

No notes, practically a perfect album. Always looking to listen to this again, it's a formative thing in my life and I make no apologies for this :)

this slaps so far 5/5

Probably a 4-star album, but I need to bring a small measure of balance to this site and its hatred of electronic music

5 - Period

Ahhhhhhh shit! Leftfield!! nice. To be honest I was confusing Leftfield with Underworld both on the Trainspotting soundtrack. I am thoroughly enjoying this album! Trance-endental. There are parts that remind me of psy trance, like 1200 Micrograms and other parts that remind me of Plastikman. Fuck yeah man this album is fire. 5 million stars. lol

Fun. Synthy.

Ace.

A classic in my collection, reminding me of college days.

My favorite so far by a mile. So many infectious songs, so entrancing

Yes 5 star electronic album from first half of 90s, Aphex Twin, the Black Dog, Chemical Brothers, Future Sound of London, the Orb, Orbital, Prodigy, Underworld.. Leftfield fits right in between lot of 5-star albums from that period. superflow, nice beats, all extremely wel

Electronic music from the nineties was the best. Not a weak track on this album, but Afro Left is probably my favourite.

90s EDM was amongst the most creative genre of music Everything else now is just a pale imitation

I love this album. I know that its dance music and not, like, the best album ever or anything, but it really speaks to me. 5/5

That was awesome! I downloaded the rest of their discography and spent the rest of the day listening to it.

I love this album. This reminds me of my brother at university because his flatmates played it constantly then I bought it and played it constantly

Perfection

Voice like Nina Simone at time. Like being in a Fifth Element scene, or in a nightclub DJ’d by Tricky. Tribal / African sound similar to Dead Can Dance. How refreshingly original!!!

This was fantastic background music for a long gaming session today. Checks the two most important boxes for me when it comes to EDM. High energy Not overly repetitive

Some of my favourite albums are albums that I (1) bought in the immediate period after I got my first CD player (1993) (I didn't buy very many CDs, they were too expensive – upwards of £10 a shot, which is a lot of money if you are an undergraduate and working at BHS weekends. I borrowed from the library and dubbed them to cassette) (does anyone use the word 'dub' in this sense any more?) (does anyone remember BHS any more?), and (2) were cheap enough (i.e., with the benefit of hindsight, had probably 'fallen off the back of a lorry') that I was willing to take a chance on them. REM's Automatic for the People was one; Mary J. Blige's What's the 411? was another. And so too this. I vaguely remembered Leftfield's collab with John Lyndon briefly residing in the singles charts a couple of winters earlier, and I did did like the song on the Shallow Grave OST. That was pretty much all I knew about them, but it was enough for me to hand over a fiver to the well dodgy bloke in the Enfield Town Street Market. Summer of 1995. Unusually warm. (We were still talking about aerosols and the ozone layer then; 'global warming' as a catchphrase was still a few years away. I didn't care. I wasn't used to summer sunshine and girls in shorts. England were doing battle against the Windies; on the days I was working, I'd call my sister during my lunch break and ask her to check the scores on Teletext p.341.) Best fiver I spent on anything between 1991 and 1999. It's great because Leftield did things no one else was doing at the time, sustained this over the length of an LP (although, I guess, Afro Left wouldn't be treated so kindly today. Pity that, imho), and did these things very well indeed. Bonus points: Listening to this thrust me back to one of the happier periods of my life. No money but no responsibilities = living fully in the moment. God, I miss that.

Clearly a seminal album of its time. Even more so now with hindsight although it felt pretty important even back then. I could listen to this all day long.

What a freaky coincidence, I’m going to see these guys in a couple of weeks. Which probably gives away my scoring intention. It’s just one of those defining albums from the development of 90s UK electronic music. This one for me kinda takes on the ambient dub style laid down by The Orb, and ramps up the pace with a lot more house and techno, but with the added twist of adding vocals and more traditional song writing structures. The number of different vocalists and styles just add to the albums amazing variety. It just makes it an album to be listened to anywhere, not just on the dance floor. Obvs kudos to Chemical Bros, Death in Vegas etc doing a similar job around the same time in their own styles. I miss those days… 5 stars all the way obvs. Burn Hollywood Burn…..

Man hört die 90er aber nichtsdestotrotz ein gelungenes Album…9/10

Wow, dansbaar, vernieuwend en nog steeds geweldig en fris!

What a fantastic electronic album from ‘95. This has tracks that will be immediately going on some special playlists. 10/10 perfect for listening as an album, perfect blends between tracks for DJing into a set. Love it!

Nearly 30 years old, this. Which means it's the same distance in time from now as The Beatles' Revolver was from it when it was released. I'm probably over-familiar with the singles but the album tracks stand up today. Melt in particular. Original I always liked, besides having quite the crush on Toni Holliday out of Curve. Space Shanty is excellent, what are you talking about? Sure, some of the production and style is showing its age (shout out to the ragamuffins), but it's still great to listen to. The soundtrack to my uni days for sure. Rhythm and Stealth is probably just as good.

Absolutely brilliant 90's dance album

cool dance dark

love this

All the cool kids listened to this. If you went to a party at someone's house in 95/96 this would be playing. I didn't listen to it, because I was insufferable, and convinced that if there weren't guitars, bass etc, then it wasn't PROPER music. Naturally I was wrong. Whilst this also led to a load of bang-average UK electronica around the same time, this undoubtedly changed the music scene. And John Lydon snarling his way through "Open Up" as well.

Omg what an album!

Great stuff, i get people dont like it, but its good

Though it definitely dips into some experiments that don't always work for me, overall the work solidly hits a vibe for me. It is the style of electronic that i really enjoy if they can get that vibe right and then decorate it to keep it interesting. This was a complete surprise and really really enjoyed it.

I didn't really consider myself a fan of house music, but if this is progressive house, I'm a fan. I loved the album and I've just bought it.

One of the best albums in this genre, revolutionary shit

Awesome. Pure 90s dance music.

Ovo je meni jedan od najboljih elektronskih albuma devedesetih. Svaka stvar je neki drugi žanr i svaka je prejebena

This is a top 25, maybe top 10 album for me. It’s so ahead of its time!

My favorite album, ever ever ever

Great album, one I own.

surprisingly good electronic

Miellyttävä 2010s kokemus on aina 5 star.... rima alhaalla mutteivät rakkaat lamppaat paljoa sitä hypi verrattain meikäpojan unilähtölaskentojen,,,, prkl laskee laskee ja laskee ja vieläkin lasketaan..... T Heh albumissa ei paljoa tartte laskeskella.. voi antaa musiikin soida kunnes ei soi..

There's really no album quite like this. There was a move in the 90s for dance music to get more serious. Artists like Underworld and Faithless were making albums that worked equally well in a club or in your bedroom with headphones on. A catchy beat wasn't enough, you needed more complex production, interesting lyrics and engaging art. Leftfield were definitely part of that corner of the music scene, but took it in a different direction. This is a very eclectic collection, covering all different styles of music. It's all over the place but fits together perfectly. Who ever would have thought that getting Johnny Rotten to sing on a techno song would work so well?

I remember a soccer mom in my Spinning class saying to me while we were climbing out of the saddle to Afro Left, “This is really weird – but I Love it!”. While there’s an infinite number of great electronic dance music singles out there, this is, in my books, the greatest dance music album. 1001 has thrown us the top LPs by Leftfield's peers, the Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, Daft Punk & Fat Boy Slim and while Leftism may not have a catchy chart-topping hit, the album is much more listenable. Of course, they cheat a bit by mixing in other musical styles, most notable reggae, but House Music is still at the core. And compared to their peers, Leftism still sounds fresh nearly 30 years later. This is the first time ever that my co-judge has asked me to turn up the music at dinner.

I didn't know what to expect as I crawled into bed, slipped the earbuds in and started the album as my bedtime lullaby. I was transported to a cool dance club for 70 minutes and I loved it!

Oh, hell yes! One of the best electronica albums we’ve had I think. A delicious and relaxing groove.

I’m a fan of electronic music and this is a great electronic music album! It’s chill, interesting, smooth, and a great addition to my music library. I love it!

EIIIIIIIII miten voi leftistit tehdä tälläistä musiikkia... 2 tuntnin elektroniikka trance pumputus jarremaista ripottelua möhkäle albumi konsanaan. niin vitun nannaa, ei haittaisi kuunnella tämä albumi vaikka 1001 päivää mutta huomenna herätään ja vastassa 1984 brittiläinen post-punk new wave klassikko jonka takia tapan itseni. kun luette tätä, olen jo kuollut. afro left

Epic! Took me to another time and place for sure!

Love it! I’m not familiar with electronic genres, so this was a revelation!

Damn, where the hell has this been all my life? I was semi-aware of the name Leftfield but I'd never really looked into their work or realised just how much of an influence on electronic they had. I love all things that ooze that mid-90s rave culture, honestly. Unfortunately I was born too late to experience that era first-hand, but the revival of 90s and 00s video game nostalgia as of late (such as those classic/retro "PS1" Jungle playlists suddenly all over YouTube) warms my heart in a great way. Sure enough, a Leftfield B-Side made it into the Wipeout soundtrack, and that happens to be one of my favourite racing game franchises. This is just an amazing journey into a soundscape of electronica, house, dub, trance and all the rest. This is probably wildly enhanced by the 90s British rave trend of being absolutely off your face, but to me it very much holds up without that. I know what I'll soon be seeking out on vinyl, CD or cassette. Favourite: Storm 3000

Album opens with some very sparse synth. A minute and a half in we get some vocals -- sounds like a Gorillaz song (wonder if the same guy). Eventually gives way to a dancey techno beat with some dub influenced samples. Reminds me a little of Shpongle with less DMT. Melt is a pleasant song with some jazzy trumpet warbling above some spacey drum / synth work. I'm enjoying this. Gives way to Song of Life that flips directly into a deep bass line + chant vocal that evokes a sci-fi movie montage. Oh man this song samples the same drumline that Beastie Boys ripped for Looking Down the Barrel Of A Gun (what a fucking jam that is). What a completely different usage here when paired against atmospheric elements rather than the heavy guitar riff that Beastie Boys used. Around the 5 minute mark this just rips into a relentless D&B song. This is peak study / work music; glad to have found it. Original has a whole trip-hop feel to it with the nature of the beat and embedded vocals that rest evenly with the instrumental. Inspection is a jam. Love the dub vocals. Feels like I am living in The Matrix. All around this is a pretty great electronic album. There are a lot of different textures and techniques at play. I found this to be an enjoyable listen end to end. 5/5 will come back.

One of the best albums of the 1990s. I bought this on CD from a record shop on Buxton high street some time in probably 1997, or maybe 1998, so I was a little late to the party, but I got there eventually. Everyone in the 90s knew about Leftfield from the Guinness advert, but their stuff was worth way more than mere popularity. This is an absolute pleasure to listen to again.

Dance album, highly inspired, not fully listened yet but good first few tracks, pretty psychedelic also

Never had heard of Leftfield prior to this. Sweet jams. I love 'ambient' electro.