Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: The collaboration between Chihei Hatakeyama and Shun Ishiwaka on their latest ambient release represents a convergence of diverse musical backgrounds. With over 70 albums under his belt since his debut in 2006, Hatakeyama brings a wealth of experience in ambient and experimental music, while Ishiwaka, known for his prolificacy in modern jazz, adds a dynamic rhythmic dimension. Their encounter, sparked by a radio appearance and cemented through live gigs, led to the creation of this two-volume epic recorded in March 2023. Drawing inspiration from a spectrum of genres including ambient, experimental, jazz and metal, the duo's sonic exploration is enriched by references ranging from My Bloody Valentine to Alice Coltrane. The album reflects their shared love for free jazz and spiritual jazz, evoking the improvisational spirit of Sun Ra and Coltrane's later works. Guided by psycho-acoustic considerations and embracing spontaneity, the musicians engage in a dialogue of sound where responses unfold in the heat of the moment. The result is a remarkable project brimming with creativity and mutual understanding.

Review: You had us at Sakamoto. Or rather you had us at "excerpts from Ryuichi Sakamoto's time working under Nippon Colombia's label, Better Days. First released in 1992, this 12-track compilation runs from tracks that appeared on the Japanese synth legend's debut album, Thousand Knives, first released in 1978, through to songs written with the iconic session group KYLYN, featuring celebrated guitar great Kazumi Watanabe. Ever the auteur, even if you didn't know this was Sakamoto in proper landmark mode, there's no chance the sounds here could really be confused for anyone or anything else. It's mature and intelligent, yet strangely - and typically - fun, childlike and a little cartoonish, sharing as much in common with experimental electronica that was emerging during the 1970s and 1980s as video game scores from the 1990s.

Review: Originally released in 2017, async was the 19th studio album from Japanese heavyweight Ryuichi Sakamoto, breaking a near-decade-long hiatus during which he was treated for throat cancer. And it's incredibly dense stuff to dive into, with genius on display both in terms of theoretical approach to recording, and avant-garde thinking behind what a record could and should be. Of course, that's hardly surprising for Sakamoto, whose legacy as one of Japan's foremost sonic adventurers may still not be stated enough, even after all the post-humous repressings and tributes. On this outing, then, we have strange, otherworldly interpretations of everyday instruments, a heavy focus on playing with textures of sound, bits of artists such as David Sylvian and Paul Bowles reading texts, found noises from city streets and themes of mortality, and our difficulty in accepting that truth.

Review: Founded in 1979, Severed Heads - originally Mr and Mrs No Smoking Sign - never liked to do things by numbers. Spanning industrial, synthwave, coldwave, post-punk, electronic dance, synth pop and more, while wildly varied they might also be considered auteurs. Simply put, you can usually guess, or know, that you're listening to Severed Heads long before you actually find out you're listening to Severed Heads. Noisy arrangements overflowing with ideas, while at times things may border on overwhelming, for the most part the genius comes in how finely balanced the tracks are. Bad Mood Guy, first released in 1987, was their seventh studio album, described by some at the time as "punishing pop with crunching rhythms", and reflects them at their finest. Moody, at times angry, alway forward thinking and hard to compare.

Review: Seminal; containing or contributing to the seeds of later development: creative, original. Or at least that's one definition of a word that rarely feels more appropriate than when used in conjunction with Sex Pistols. Quite where we're supposed to begin writing about The Filth & The Fury is anyone's guess. A retrospective compilation encapsulating some of the punk pioneers' most cherished moments, alongside a slew of material that many less-informed fans may have previously been unaware of, let's start by simply saying 'it bangs'. Understatement of the century, despite their back catalogue of just one LP, Sex Pistols actually had an extraordinary output in terms of volume in the run up to debut (and sole) album, Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. This is a chance to get more closely acquainted, and we compel you to seize it and hold on tight.

Review: Claims have been made that Smog was among the first pieces of work written for four channel tape. It's almost impossible to back that up given the nature of music at the time this was made (1974) and indeed today. What's clear is that Kyriakos Sfetsas was and is a legendary pioneer of Greek electronic output, and this is one of his most acclaimed efforts.

Divided into five distinct parts, this score for the ballet of the same name is a patchwork of analogue synth noises, a sonic narrative told through what now sound like rudimentary modular tones and refrains akin to the legendary BBC Radiophonic Workshop's experiments in tune and structure. Yet, despite those retro references, Smog still has an air of something that has travelled back in time to show us where experimental tracks might get to in some distant future, providing we don't destroy ourselves first.

Review: This limited-edition Lord of the Rings vinyl is thee version to have for fans nostalgic for the amazing movie series. Featuring 19 newly recorded tracks by the renowned City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, it captures the magic of the legendary trilogy. From sweeping battle scores to the gentle melodies of the Shire, this exclusive release brings Howard Shore's iconic soundtrack to life with stunning clarity. The orchestral arrangements perfectly encapsulate the emotional depth and grandeur of the films, making it an immersive experience for both casual listeners and dedicated fans. Housed in a beautifully designed package, this vinyl is more than just a collector's itemiit's a journey back into Tolkien's enchanting world.

Review: Juan Mendez took his Silent Servant project to another level when he released Negative Fascination on Hospital Productions in 2012. His EBM-informed, brooding slant on techno had already made its mark on Sandwell District and other such influential labels, but his debut album afforded the space to really shape out his seductive sonic dystopia. More than ten years on, it stands tall as a masterpiece in the space it occupies, seething with hard-boiled urban malaise but equally adept at using subtlety alongside intensity. This expanded edition incorporates the Extended Mixes 12" as well as additional demo versions for those who like the tracks a little rawer.

Review: Soft Cell's seminal debut album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret tells a vivid tale of early 80s Britain as a seedy night world of peep shows, prostitutes and sex dwarves. It's such wonderful poetry that such a subversive act were also able to score the biggest selling single of the year and throw so many unsuspecting listeners into their lascivious world and now this landmark slice of synth pop is getting a heavyweight reissue treatment with a monster six-CD set which goes in deep on extended versions, lost demos, live renditions and instrumentals. If you want an exhaustive document of this eternal classic, then look no further.

Review: Since it first appeared in 1980, computer music pioneer Laurie Spiegel's debut album, "The Expanding Universe", has become something of a cult classic; an acclaimed, avant-garde masterpiece loved by ambient heads, experimental electronic freaks and neo-classical enthusiasts alike. Listening to this expanded reissue, which also includes 15 other rare or previously unreleased Spiegel tracks recorded around the same time, it's easy to see why. Sitting midway between the synthesizer works of Terry Riley, a computerized take on "Berlin School" ambient and electronica records produced years later, the music is becalmed, inspired, mesmerizing and otherworldly in equal measure. The title track, a near 30-minute epic of slowly shifting ambient electronics, is particularly memorable.

Review: US producer SSPS is a ram outsider who is well known to fans of the weird and the wonderful. His adventurous experiments have landed on labels like L.I.E.S. and Kode run by Traxx and collide punk, noise, wave, hardcore, slow beat and jakbeat. This is a retrospective release that brings together some of his many highlights and proves why he is so well-loved by a community of fans on the fringes of the underground mainstream. As well as this genre references there are plenty of odd vocals and smeared synths unifying the sounds which here included four tunes recorded live For Unlimited Nation Summer Of 2020.

Review: Pauline Anna Strom was a revelation to followers of Rvng Intl, when the label gathered together some of the Bay Area enigma's finest moments from an obscure thread of tape releases for Trans-Millenia Music. They also helped facilitate an album of new music, Angel Tears In Sunlight, which was released in 2021 mere weeks after Strom passed away. Her legacy as a profoundly visionary ambient artist continues with this expansive box set, which gathers together her first three albums from the early 80s, remastered from the original tapes, plus a fourth previously unreleased album discovered after her passing. Glorious synthesis and a mysterious approach to composition make Strom's music so much more than her new age contemporaries and Rvng have done a fine job paying tribute to her half-hidden talent.

Notes: One of the most important artists of our era, Ryuichi Sakamoto has had a prolific career spanning over four decades, from techno-pop stardom to Oscar-winning film composer. The evolution of his music has coincided with his life journeys. Following Fukushima, Sakamoto became an iconic figure in Japan's social movement against nuclear power. As Sakamoto returns to music following cancer, his haunting awareness of life crisis leads to a resounding new masterpiece. Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda is an intimate portrait of both the artist and the man.