[ t e x t . o n l y . v e r s i o n ] [ b y . c y c l o n e . w e h n e r ]
One recent morning Leftfield's Neil Barnes spontaneously decided to haul
out all his beloved old punk records and give them a spin. 'My girlfriend
came in and she said, "What are you doing? What's wrong with you? Why are
you playing...?" And I said, "I just had to hear these records again!"'
What Barnes wanted to do was establish a connection between his punk roots
and Leftfield's new album, "Rhythm And Stealth", which the duo fervently
hope will rattle the music world. Neil likes his links.
It's been four years since the duo delivered "Leftism", which unequivocally
stands among dance music's most influential albums. There has been much
speculation about why the follow-up has taken so long. There was talk of
creative blocks. Cancelled releases. Endless remixing and editing. Some of
these rumours have even found their way into the duo's official label bio,
to Neil's chagrin. They have all been absorbed into Leftfield's mythology.
Or fed into the hype machinery. Take your pick. They are the same anyway.
Some years ago Leftfield's Barnes and Paul Daley met while working as musos
on the London circuit. They discovered that they shared a great deal in
common. The two had lived through British punk. Later they had both been
drawn into the eclectic club scene and swept up by the acid house
revolution. The two both played percussion. They both liked a wide variety
of music. Along the way Neil had worked in jazz record stores where he
acquired an aversion to purists of any kind. He was still teaching at
college when Leftfield started cutting original tracks and completing
remixes for the likes of Ultra Nate, Inner City, David Bowie, Renegade
Soundwave and even the Aussie outfit Yothu Yindi. Together Barnes and Daley
also set up their own Hard Hands imprint. When Leftfield's debut album,
"Leftism", finally materialised in 1995 the initial reviews were
surprisingly non-committal. No one could have predicted the success of the
album, let alone its enduring influence. Since then, Leftfield have
infiltrated the mainstream psyche. Barnes has even heard elements of their
work on the BBC's news broadcast. 'It's mad. The introduction to the 9
o'clock news sounds like "Original",' he says in bemusement. 'Everyone has
copied our sound. People have copied our sound so much over the last four
years that it means that we have had to look for another direction.'
Aha. This brings us to the powerfully entitled "Rhythm And Stealth". Yet
the truth is that while this latest effort is a convincing comeback, it is
unlikely to eclipse its predecessor. This album's influences are once again
bold and expansive: a mishmash of dub, electro, hip-hop, breakbeat, techno,
house and ambient. The Godfather of Electro, Afrika Bambaataa himself,
makes a welcome appearance on the first single, "Afrika Shox", which has
already received wide coverage due to its controversial video by enfant
terrible Chris Cunningham (Aphex Twin, Madonna). "Rhythm And Stealth" also
features "Phat Planet", which was first aired in a British Guinness
advertisement, and "Swords", from the "Go" soundtrack. Then there are seven
other tracks. Only time will reveal if they signal another upheaval in
dance music.
You can tell that Barnes must have been a good teacher by the way he
patiently clarifies what went down between the two albums. He downplays all
the dramatic rumour mongering, reminding us that Leftfield's releases have
always been long-term projects. (In fact the pair also spent three years
masterminding "Leftism".) 'It just took us quite a long time to make an
album that we felt was a valid follow-up to the last one, you see. You
know, it took us about two years to make, although it seems longer because
we didn't start until a year after we came off tour and we were doing a few
other things. So we didn't start until two years ago. But, I mean, you
can't just press a button and create an album at the other end. It takes
time to develop things and we didn't want to just make another "Leftism"
Part II. We wanted it to be a development to show how music has changed
over the last few years and how we've changed. People spend a lot of time
making films, writing books and doing things like that, and I think that
everyone is used to things happening really quickly and it doesn't really
happen like that.' After making such an impact on the wider pop culture,
Leftfield didn't want to lose touch with the underground, so they quietly
withdrew. These days Paul even moonlights as a DJ. 'There's some good music
being made by alternative people right around the world and if you wanna
keep up with that you've gotta spend a bit of time on things.' (Neil uses
this opportunity to rave about one of his favourite bands, Pole.)
Nevertheless, Barnes is profusely apologetic to all those who held out. 'I
suppose people did think, 'Are they ever gonna make another record?,'' he
muses. 'But we haven't lost it or anything. We're not Pink Floyd.'
Ahhhh. Pink Floyd. Those 70s British prog rockers famed for such tortured
epics as "The Dark Side Of The Moon" and "The Wall". It's not the first
time that this rather peculiar comparison has arisen. Neil laughs when he
is told that Sony's Leftfield bio also makes blithe reference to the old
rockers. The blurb dubs Leftfield 'a Pink Floyd for the 90s', while it
describes "Leftism" as exposing 'the dark side of the disco.' Barnes thinks
it's frightful. 'We're not the Pink Floyd of the 90s,' he protests. 'No one
is a Pink Floyd. We're not trying to be a Pink Floyd. We're just trying to
make a record that is pushing the barrier forward again. We can't go on
repeating ourselves.'
Still, Barnes concedes that "Leftism" has become something of an albatross
around their necks. There must have been times when the duo asked
themselves, 'Can we ever live up to it?' Neil relents. 'It is part of the
delay. It has to be, but it hasn't been an obsession with us at all. I
mean, it really hasn't. I don't want people to think that. But you can't
but help be influenced by your success ... If something is successful then
you do analyse it, 'Well, why was it successful?' Obviously we want to
continue that. We don't want to shock people beyond all notion of
understanding -- like, suddenly make something that has no connection
whatsoever and is very experimental, which we could have done.'
Leftfield do cut experimental tracks, which they usually shelve. Neil jokes
that their cool underground mates would love these to see the light of day
on a Leftfield album. Occasionally, though, something slips through. Neil
indicates that the new "Rhythm And Stealth" track "Double Flash" is a
tribute to the minimalist techno pioneer Jeff Mills. Someday Neil would
like to hear that sound on the BBC.
Leftfield accept that there will be some who simply want "Rhythm And
Stealth" to be another "Leftism". But the two producers realised that they
couldn't repeat themselves and still show their faces. And so they took a
risk and recorded a very different album for the nine-nine. Now they hope
the punters understand. A few will be disappointed and Leftfield know this.
Barnes rues: 'People like to have what they're familiar with. One of the
things I don't like about the music industry is that it makes people want
to have the same thing -- and record companies want that. It sells more
product.' At this juncture he would prefer to stress the continuity between
"Leftism" and "Rhythm And Stealth". 'It's not a million miles from
"Leftism". I can hear the link between the two records. It's just a
development.'
As it happens, Barnes can appreciate why Underworld feel similarly
ambivalent about their huge crossover hit, "Born Slippy". Underworld have
an albatross too. 'I haven't talked to Karl about that, but I'm sure that
it must have been a problem for them,' Neil reflects.
Indeed, Leftfield enjoy a more general sense of solidarity with other
poptronica acts like Underworld and The Chemical Brothers, both of whom
they have undoubtedly inspired in one way or another. Barnes points out
that they all share the same British heritage to varying degrees, with the
punk explosion exerting a longlasting cultural influence, followed by the
UK's Summer of Love. At the same time, Leftfield, as with the other
outfits, have a passion for the newly emergent club music.
Ultimately, this super triumvirate of electronica -- Leftfield, Underworld
and The Chemicals -- are all negotiating the dangerous divide that
separates club culture from rock music. They are introducing electronic
music to the masses in a more accessible form, but, somehow, all three have
managed to their retain credibility among the dance contingent. Neil
enlightens: 'We're making alternative music. That's the difference. I think
that's why it becomes so popular. There's a link between what we do to some
of the rock things that people can understand.'
"Rhythm And Stealth" is out through V2. |