Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: Laibach and A/political present Alamut, a new, symphonic album inspired by Vladimir Bartol's 1938 novel of the same name. Recounting an 11th-century Persian tale - centered on the charismatic and enigmatic Hassan-i Sabbah, leader of the Nizari Ismailis and founder of the Order of Assassins - this is a shadowy, ninja-black-wax initiation into an esoteric order of spies. Laibach's work blends classical Persian poetry, minimalist orchestral textures, and industrial elements, reflecting both historical propaganda tactics and Bartol's critique of rising Fascism in 1930s Italy. Released on double vinyl and CD box set through Mute, the album was recorded in 2022 at a former Crusader castle in Ljubljana; it features the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, Tehran's Human-Voice Ensemble, the Gallina Women's Choir, and the women's accordion orchestra AccordiOna, conducted by Navid Goharib.

Review: New York artist Aaron Landsman and former Swans guitarist Norman Westberg kept vigilant watch with Night Keeper, a full nocturne named after Landsman's play of the same name. First performed in Spring 2023 at The Chocolate Factory Theater in Queens, with performer Jehan O. Young serving as narrative steward, the original piece filled the space with spoken word, projections, choreography, and music, moving between dim light and darkness. Now the recorded version posterises the performance, as Westberg's original texture-scapes come raggedly coiled around sombre loops and samples, as Young's laryngeal monologues course across the record's rough 44 minutes worth of gloaming. Inspired by sleepless nights and the wandering of the mind, Night Keeper lifts the lid on the wee small hours as would a well camouflaged nightjar, inviting listeners to embrace the subdued chaos of the dark.

Review: Dominique Baumard's 2025 detective comedy drama, Les Regles de l'art, is a chuckle-inducing exploration of art theft and scandal, reenacting a legendary pilfering of paintings from the Musee d'Art Moderne in Paris in 2010. The plot centres on the trio of thieves who stole €100 million worth of works of art by Picasso, Matisse and Modigliani; they were sentenced to prison, but the paintings were never found. Now the OST by soundtrack artists Lionel LimiNana (more known for his chanson-adjacent project The LimiNanas) and David Menke (more associated with experimental electronica) surfaces. An intermixing of suspenseful legato syntheses and humoured pizzicati help them nail an eternal artistic conundrum - the tradeoff between authenticity of artifice.

Review: Annea Lockwood is a pioneering New Zealand-born experimental composer who returns to Black Truffle with her third release for the label. Although she is now the handsome age of 85, Lockwood continues to explore new sound sources and collaborate with a range of performers and 'On Fractured Ground' features recordings made with Pedro Rebelo and Georgios Varoutsos while using Belfast's "peace lines" as resonant instruments that deeply evoke the dark history of the Troubles. 'Skin Resonance' is a collaboration with Vanessa Tomlinson that explores the bass drum's sonic properties while infusing them with elemental textures. Both pieces showcase Lockwood's reflective, meditative approach and make for another significant entry into her creative story.

Review: For over 20 years, Clay Emerson and Ian Pullman aka Loess have quietly built a reputation for crafting intricate, deeply atmospheric electronica and Battens, their fifth album on Califonrian label n5MD, sees them refining their signature aestheticistill grayscale and shadowy, but now imbued with a subtle warmth. The Opener 'Strake' features layered static hums and a slow, hypnotic beat that cycles like waves against a submerged structure. 'Halyard' introduces brittle textures and crisp rhythms, evoking wind-swept landscapes. 'Crowhurst' builds tension with submerged chords and fractured percussion. The haunting 'Koepcke' carries a sense of disorientation and search for stability, while 'Endoctamb' recalls Chain Reaction's most introspective moments, yet with a looser, more organic quality. Closing with 'Rime', Battens embraces silence, with glacial melodies fading into the ether. Throughout, the duo masterfully manipulates sound and space, allowing moments of stillness to breathe between pulsing rhythms and submerged harmonies. There's an undeniable human element in how these tracks moveilike the slow, inevitable shift of nature itself. More than just an exercise in sound design, Battens is a transportive experience, cold yet comforting, stark yet alive recording.

Review: What a gem this is to follow up the much-loved 2024 stop-motion animated Netflix classic directed by series creator Nick Park. Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl earned critical acclaim, winning two BAFTA awards and receiving an Academy Award nomination in the process. The story follows Gromit as he tries to save Wallace, whose new "smart" gnome invention seems to have a mind of its own and may be linked to a vengeful figure from the past. The film's score was crafted by Emmy-nominated Lorne Balfe and BAFTA-nominated Julian Nott and adds depth to the adventure with theme tunes, dramatic operatic moments, more tender interludes and plenty of great musical narratives. The release includes a four-page booklet with an exclusive Nick Park drawing.

Review: Originally conceived as a suite for electronics and ensemble but then abandoned, the latest from Vancouver-based ambient producer Scott Morgan aka Loscil sees him restructure, remix and transform the ashes of it into something newian album that feels like a smouldering landscape, its textures layered with both loss and rebirth. Loscil's Lake Fire is an album born from destruction and reinvention. Thematically, Lake Fire draws inspiration from a road trip into the mountains Morgan took to mark his personal half-century milestone. eventually surrounded by wildfires and thick smoke, and that experience seeps into the album's DNA, shaping its dense, hazy atmospheres. The title itself reflects a haunting ironyiforest fires often take their names from nearby lakes, a stark juxtaposition of destruction and serenity. The album unfolds like a shifting mist. 'Spark' is dynamic and drenched in deep chords that ripple through a cloudy haze. 'Arrhythmia' carries a heavy build, swelling with intensity before receding into silence. These pieces, along with the rest of the album, feel like echoes from another worldidistant yet deeply resonant. Released on Kranky, which has long been a home and supporter of his music, Lake Fire is another great example at Morgan's ability to craft ambient soundscapes that are both vast and intimate. It's a hypnotic listen and an exploration of impermanence and transformation wrapped in a thick sonic fog.