Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: Basel-based experimental labels Amenthia Recordings and A Walking Contradiction join forces for their first collaborative release here in the form of the Flash Crash/Hack Crash EP. Both labels are known for pushing boundaries within their close-knit creative circles and this one features Agonis' heavy stepper and Konduku's whirlpool of low frequencies on the Amenthia side, while Lemont continues the low-end, tripped-out vibe. Varuna represents A Walking Contradiction and delivers swampy, slow-motion sounds in their signature style. This release embodies both labels' commitment to daring, unconventional electronic sounds.

Review: Selene by Akira Kosemura & Lawrence English is a beautiful exploration of atmosphere and gravity, seamlessly weaving together expansive soundscapes with a grounding sense of stability. At its core, Selene is a contemplative journey that delves into the human desire for transcendence and new perspectives. Through its meditative compositions, the record captures the essence of celestial zones and the boundless visions they evoke. Drawing inspiration from various sources, including radio telecopy, filmic dreams, and fictional renderings, the album transcends traditional boundaries to create a rich tapestry of sound and emotion. As a collaborative effort, Selene builds upon a lineage of musical exploration, bridging past and future with its innovative approach to composition and production. Through its ethereal melodies and evocative atmospheres, the album embraces the beauty of the unknown.

Review: Reissued over two decades since its original release, the second full-length from Liverpool's Ladytron still thrums with the same sharp-edged futurism that made it such a cult touchpoint. Tracks like 'Seventeen' and 'Evil' captured a tension between robotic detachment and raw emotional charge, anchored in the band's icy synth palette and minimal, deadpan vocals. While 'Blue Jeans' flirts with glammy melancholy, 'Turn It On' and 'Fire' dial up the menace, tapping into something more volatile. There's something surgical about the sequencing tooi'Cracked LCD', 'NuHorizons' and 'Cease2exist' stretch into more abstract terrain, before folding back into hook-laced electro-pop with the closing title track and 'The Reason'. With Daniel Hunt and Mickey Petralia co-producing, the album took shape in Los Angeles but never lost the European chill that defined their sound. It's a record that helped redraw the map for synth-pop in the early 2000sineither retro-futurist pastiche nor pure nostalgia, but something sleek, cinematic and entirely their own.

Review: Braulio Lam's latest record is a unique outing, spanning pensive ambient dub and trip-hop moods, and cherrying them with an added visual element in the form of a photography insert. Born on the border region of San Diego and Tijuana, Lam's repertoire works in an expressly brooding sound that threshes its inspirations from the close but separate apposition of these two cities. The sense of a polemic being is a central theme of Lam's work; this is not only evident in his practice, which drifts back and forth between music production and photography, but also in the sonic content of Close Up itself, which drifts between depth-scouring electronica and Pacific folk in quick step, revealing them to be dialectically adjoined. Our favourites here have to be 'Buena Vista Social Dub', a crystalline immersion in dub and vocal etherics, and 'Mirror', and 'Monika', which lends a seething tape hue to a slowly moving slice of Latin blues.

Review: An overview of Laraaji's earliest works, Glimpses of Infinity gathers selections from his 1978 debut Celestial Vibration, and six additional studio sessions from the era. This is a condensed version of the 2023's sold out 4xLP Boxset, perhaps among which the most notable track has been 'Segue To Infinity', the infamous 20-minute pan-piper (we intend the double meaning of the term 'pan', as its many wind instruments stretch out in a beautifully prostrated fashion, extending over both the entire stereo field and the entire length of the song). And though Laraaji's many multi-instrumental amusements are ambitious, the record never falls afoul of grandiosity or dilettantism, retaining that hard-to-achieve mix of humility and commitment to the sound, all throughout; our favourite 'glimpse' is the peek into his 'Koto' session, for which the infamous Japanese string instrument is put to work with total dexterity. Full of discovery and wonderment, Glimpses of Infinity is a miraculous chronicle of new age's most fabled artist.

Review: .Oh wow. Brussels-based Maloca label boss Le Motel has created something really beautiful here. Utilising musique concrete principles, and a renowned ear for pianos and contemporary classical, experimental electronica, ambient and the like, Odd Numbers / S? L? is an odyssey in all senses of the word. Made from time on roads less traveled and the people and places encountered en route, it also feels like an aural adventure in its own right. Catalysed by time spent in Vietnam, arriving into the sprawling colonial districts of Hanoi, then venturing out to Hmong communities in mountainous areas close to the Chinese border, those he met and engaged with have been directly involved in the final album here - making this a vast exercise in collaboration. Noisy kitchens, quiet fields, personal conversations, the laughter of a village square on a weekend morning, meet beats, bass, heavy future cuts, serenity, and bliss. 1000% yes.

Review: Robert Leiner returns with Analog Days, a celebration of electronic craftsmanship released on De:tuned Records. Known for his influential work in the early 90s on R&S and Apollo, Leiner brings a fresh yet nostalgic sound with this ten-track album. Recorded between 2005 and 2015, Analog Days blends rhythmic complexity with serene atmospheres, showcasing Leiner's skill at balancing intensity and calm. Tracks like 'Echobox' stand out for their gritty, processed beats, while 'Session 0510' captures a more melodic side, almost touching on IDM. Fans of Leiner's classic Visions of the Past album will appreciate 'My Dream,' which echoes the ambient depth of his earlier work. The album flows effortlessly between dancefloor energy and introspective moments. 'Chords' is particularly radiant, its soaring harmonies evoking the spirit of 1993's golden era. This release is a well-rounded journey through electronica, perfect for listeners who appreciate both the past and the present of techno and ambient music.

Review: Klara Lewis' latest release is a poignant tribute to her late friend, mentor, and former label head, Peter Rehberg. The EP opens with 'Thankful,' a track that directly acknowledges Rehberg's influential work under his PITA moniker, specifically the iconic 'Track 3'. This original piece has profoundly shaped the experimental electronic landscape, its influence still resonating across contemporary electronic music. Lewis' rendition offers a heartfelt homage with a cascading melody that transitions into an immersive digital landscape, evoking both reverence and a sense of finality. The track's abrupt ending mirrors the suddenness of Rehberg's passing, enhancing its emotional depth. Having first emerged with Ett on Editions Mego at 21, Lewis, now 31, presents Thankful as a mature and emotional milestone in her career. 'Ukulele 1' stands as another intimate tribute, featuring the titular instrument looping gently and capturing the essence of its recording environment. This track emphasises the human touch amidst an era increasingly dominated by mechanical precision. 'Top,' named after one of Rehberg's favourite expressions, offers a brief but intense burst of mutant acid techno, capturing the essence of Rehberg's eclectic taste. Following this is '4U,' a track that forgoes words for pure sonic expression, reflecting Rehberg's influence in its profound simplicity. The EP concludes with 'Ukulele 2,' which revisits the themes of 'Thankful,' reinterpreting the earlier melody with digital flourishes. Thankful stands as a meticulously crafted tribute, embodying the spirit and innovation of Peter Rehberg and the original MEGO label.

Review: For AI-38, Italian duo LF58 (Giuseppe Tillieci and Filippo Scorcucchi) present 'Radials', a live recording captured in Venice. The EP centres around a site-specific performance that translates the visual themes of the homonymous exhibition by Roman artist group Sbagliato for the 2023 Biennale Architettura. Sbagliato's installation, set within the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, explores the manipulation of architectural spaces, creating optical illusions that challenge perceptions of reality. The venue's loggia, with its five archways overlooking the Canal Grande, is a key focus, giving rise to a repeated, disorienting visual effect. LF58's sound design mirrors these concepts, using quadraphonic audio to create an immersive, spatial soundscape. Opening with the ambient noise of running water and city sounds, 'Radials' quickly shifts into more abstract territory, with shimmering frequencies and layered textures evoking the exhibition's interplay of space and perspective. The sound moves fluidly, capturing the sensation of shifting dimensions and altered realities.

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: The debut album by performer and researcher of traditional Galician music, Carme Lopez, is an experimental work for the Galician bagpipe. Drawing inspiration from composers like Eliane Radigue and Pauline Oliveros, Lopez explores the bagpipe's sonic boundaries here and creates slowly evolving soundscapes that mean you hear the instrument in all new ways. The album is structured in four movements with a prologue and epilogue and decouples the bagpipe from its traditional roots instead offering a fresh, personal approach. With sounds ranging from subtle air passages to complex drones, Quintela pays homage to Lopez's past while venturing into new, unknown musical territory. It's unusual but alluring.

Review: Loscil, the moniker of Canadian sound designer Scott Morgan, released his debut album Triple Point in 2001, now available on vinyl for the first time. An ambient dub concept album inspired by thermodynamics, Triple Point explores soundscapes that evoke the principles of heat and entropy. Tracks like 'Hydrogen' and 'Ampere' build from muted beats and looped synth melodies, creating an atmosphere that is clinical and stark. Morgan's talent for arranging sound is evident as he layers samples to produce a sense of intricate, microscopic processes. 'Pressure' and 'Vapour' show his ability to craft immersive environments, though the overall minimal approach. Fans of experimental electronic music will appreciate Loscil's meticulous sound design and the album's conceptual depth.