Review: Leftfield, Leftism

Leftism eschews mainstream categorization and manages to reside in the leftfield of almost all the electronic genres it propagates.

Leftfield, LeftismOne of the first techno crossover acts, Leftfield’s music has been a pop-culture staple since the English duo’s 1995 debut, the apocalyptic Leftism. (Most recently, the trance anthem “Song of Life” was used in the film Tomb Raider.) From the tribal dub of its opening track, “Release the Pressure,” to the ambient “Melt,” Leftism eschews mainstream categorization and manages to reside in the leftfield of almost all the electronic genres it propagates. Leftfield’s happy home, though, is the progressive House of tracks like the epic “Afro-Left,” “Black Flute,” and the tribal “Space Shanty.” The now-disbanded Leftfield’s biggest crossover success came with the punk-techno track “Open Up,” featuring ex-Sex Pistol John Lydon.

Score: 
 Label: Columbia  Release Date: January 30, 1995  Buy: Amazon

Sal Cinquemani

Sal Cinquemani is the co-founder and co-editor of Slant Magazine. His writing has appeared in Rolling Stone, Billboard, The Village Voice, and others. He is also an award-winning screenwriter/director and festival programmer.

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