Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: K7's DJ Kicks compilation series is given a new makeover with their latest juggernaut from London-based electronic deviant, Actress, who gives one of his rare appearances out of the live format and onto the decks. As expected, the techno shape-shifter puts through a diverse mix, 29 tracks spanning from old-school Chicago house to more contemporary experimental techno and ambient-filtered dance music. The LP is limited to nine tracks in total, including vintage Detroit techno from Reel By Real, distorted outsider disco from the Shit & Shine crew, Gherkin Jerk's "Red Planet" and a new cut from the man himself, "Bird Matrix". The CD is naturally vaster and more comprehensive of the current state of affairs in the techno world with twenty cuts ranging from the distorted house of Breaker 1 2 aka Greg Beato, golden era electronica from Autechre, TTT's Zennor, Germany's STL and even PPU affiliate Moon B! An essential collection of music from 2015.

Review: What the deuce? !K7 return with yet another essential DJ Kicks mix. Hot on the heels of Matthew Dear and Michael Meyer comes ace-serving selector DJ Tennis. Famed for his deep drawing style and ability to whip up atmospheres like some type of DJ sorcerer, his debut mix album was always going to be special. Perhaps not this special, though. Two CDs ranging from the most startling and serene contemporary ambient (Bauri - "Twinkle Stars"), to fluid body-shifting machine funk techno (Robert Hood - "Escapes") via warm house laced with subtle layers of sleaze (Oval - "Textuell") and crackling theatrical breaks (Jon Hopkins - "Vessel"), Tennis has taken his club chops and presented them in a much more timeless and flexible context. Just as all the best DJ Kicks mixes do. Love.

Review: Since mood, atmosphere, emotion and a left-of-centre approach have always been the hallmarks of Forest Swords' own productions, you'd expect to find a similar emphasis on this DJ Kicks excursion. Predictably, he's done just that, conjuring up a heady, constantly surprisingly musical journey that somehow manages to draw together many different stylistic elements whilst still making perfect sonic sense. There's not enough room to go into all of the eyebrow-raising twists and turns, but expect a mix of field recordings, neo classical, 1970s electronic experiments, the dub-wise reggae of Rhythm & Sound, out-there jazz-funk, Cameroonian water rhythms (really), haunting Bulgarian choirs, post-punk pop fuzziness, contemporary leftfield techno, pastoral folk songs and a dash of mid-'90s Orbital.

Review: What's so striking about the tracklisting for Gold Panda's entry into the DJ Kicks canon is its diversity, erring towards a more stripped-down, experimental kind of techno but ranging across artists as diverse as Drexciya, Zomby and Bok Bok. Some of the highlights from the mix - including Drexciya's brilliant "Andraean Sand Dunes", Bok Bok's "Charisma Theme" and Melchior & Pronsato's "Puerto Rican Girls" - are collected on this 2xLP set via !K7 Records. A superb addendum to one of the most daring DJ Kicks compilations in a long time. Recommended.

Review: When they were asked to put together the latest volume in the "DJ Kicks" series, Mount Kimbie boys Dominic Maker and Kai Campos drew influence from their recent gigs DJing in support of Actress. As a result, their hugely enjoyable 9-track mix tends towards the experimental and off-kilter. The pair touches on a myriad of styles, including ambient, industrial-era experimentalism, South American influenced tropical drum jams, spacey modular techno, raw-edged peak-time jams, mind-altering acid weirdness and intergalactic electro. Highlights are plentiful, from the hypnotic intensity of Object Blue, to the skewed warmth of Severed Heads and the dream-like weirdness of their own exclusive contribution, "Southgate".

Review: When they were asked to put together the latest volume in the "DJ Kicks" series, Mount Kimbie boys Dominic Maker and Kai Campos drew influence from their recent gigs DJing in support of Actress. As a result, their hugely enjoyable 22-track mix tends towards the experimental and off-kilter. Over the course of 80 action-packed minutes, the pair touches on a myriad of styles, including ambient, industrial-era experimentalism, South American influenced tropical drum jams, spacey modular techno, raw-edged peak-time jams, mind-altering acid weirdness and intergalactic electro. Highlights are plentiful, from the hypnotic dancefloor intensity of Stanislav Tolkachev and bleeping body-jack of A Sagittariun, to the skewed warmth of Severed Heads and the dream-like weirdness of their own exclusive contribution, "Southgate".

Review: On his contribution to the long-running "DJ Kicks" series, Leon Vynehall has decided to take a widescreen approach, offering up a blend that showcases the depth and variety of his music collection rather than his club-rocking skills. The first half of the mix ebbs and flows with the laidback drowsiness of his selections, which flit between post trip-hop beats, ambient, IDM, electronica and crunchy post-punk pop. Midway through he begins to crank things up a notch or two via RAC's UK garage-influenced 1997 cut "Fushigi", the chunky peak-time warmth of Crinan's "Kilimanjaro" and the bass-heavy pump of Ploy's "Pressure", before unleashing some seriously intense experimental dancefloor workouts from the likes of Etch, Aphex Twin and Peach. It makes for a hugely enjoyable and at times breathtakingly brilliant musical journey.

Review: On his contribution to the long-running "DJ Kicks" series, Leon Vynehall has decided to take a widescreen approach, offering up a blend that showcases the depth and variety of his music collection rather than his club-rocking skills. The first half of the mix ebbs and flows with the laidback drowsiness of his selections, which flit between post trip-hop beats, ambient, IDM, electronica and crunchy post-punk pop. Midway through he begins to crank things up a notch or two via RAC's UK garage-influenced 1997 cut "Fushigi", the chunky peak-time warmth of Crinan's "Kilimanjaro" and the bass-heavy pump of Ploy's "Pressure", before unleashing some seriously intense experimental dancefloor workouts from the likes of Etch, Aphex Twin and Peach. It makes for a hugely enjoyable and at times breathtakingly brilliant musical journey.