Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: After a string of EPs on labels like Important Records and PAN, it was inevitable Japan's Kouhei Matsunaga and Toshio Munehiro would end up on the Powell's Diagonal imprint - now a nest of the coldest in experimental, industrio-techno. There's a bit of everything on here, from the broken, percolating percussion of "218"; the gorgeous bassline supporting "845", and the freaky pseudo-acid of "Whispering Gallery". To finish things off, both literally and not, "234" is a noisy, shattered and uber distorted cut, whereas "The Spiral Of Babel" is a rolling, fast-paced drum shuffle fitting of any sci-fi flick. An excellent EP and a fine addition to the Diagonal dynasty.

Review: While it has perhaps been slightly lost in the depths of time, and in the vastness of the ambient ocean, John Foxx's Metamatic label is a cornerstone of British leftfield and electronica. Since the late 1990s the label has released a steady and impressive selection of material that never truly fits into one genre or under one roof. This new collaborative EP is everything that UK electronic music is about, with five exploratory slices of machine noise that simply make perfect sense. Wrangler's "He's A Liquid", for instance, takes a mechanical industrial groove and spreads it over tight sci-fi sonics; Hannah Peel's "Tidal Wave" satisfies the pop fans with a slow and chimerical heart-stopper; "030" by LoneLady is a violin-led bundle of percussion and desolate vocal strips. The B-side flexes more muscle thanks to the head-banging pseudo trance of "No-One Driving" by The Soft Moon, followed by Xeno and Oaklander's nastier, more break-driven version of "He's A Liquid".

Review: German label Ecke Records returns with its fourth release, following up some great EPs by the likes of Squallfront and Data Room. This one comes courtesy of Xantrax, who first appeared on the label's inaugural various artists compilation - and he certainly ain't messing around here. The Marseille-based artist is clearly influenced by UK bass, as exemplified on the down and dirty off-kilter rumble of "Tekline". He doubles down on that one, inviting a true legend of the scene on board: Addison Groove gives us a real trippy electro-bass rendition, delivered in his idiosyncratic style as always. Followed flip by the steely, street-level stepper "Linetek" and the intricate hypnotising riddims of "0121" on the flip.

Review: Comic Sans' latest intriguing release is a debut EP from French post-IDM producer XL IKS (real name Jean-Baptise Arthus), an artist whose distinctively fuzzy, lo-fi and off-kilter sound is described by the label as "corrosive but sentimental". That's actually a rather shrewd and perceptive description. The five tracks on show are largely built around redlined drums of the kind regularly featured in early Autechre records. These come clothed in a variety of yearning, occasionally playful electronic melodies, saturated electronic textures and effects-laden sounds. It's an unusual but undeniably attractive mixture, with Arthus's occasional fractured ambient interludes only adding to the otherworldly, mind-altering fun.

Review: Aural Medium has handpicked six tracks for this special new release which spans the last decade. As such, Transitional Being shows off another side to the production palette of XVARR. These are tracks that are steeped in ritualistic dance heritage but also enslaved to technology. They are often built around taught drum patterns and sequenced basslines, with twinkling synths up top and more than a slight trace of comic energy in the mould of Weatherall or Baldelli. Tracks lure you into a state of trance and on the more club orientated tracks presented here there is nowhere you would rather be.

Review: After the expansive run of eXquisite CORpsE EPs on Platform 23 last year, Robbert Heijnen and Debbie Jones' project gets another fresh airing under the XqST guise. The seductive rhythmic incantations gathered on this release were largely recorded in 2003 in Vancouver, once the couple's children were in bed. Quite what the junior XqSTers would have made of the transcendental drum loops emanating from their parents' studio is anyone's guess, but the quality is remarkable. Dense and foggy in atmosphere, but with a sharply defined percussive angle at every cycle of every loop, this is another wonderful document of the often overlooked work of this singular pair of drum obsessives.

Review: XAO is back on his long-term label Canvas with another scintillating new album, Wirehead. It is his second following the head tuning 2019 debut Eternal Care Unit and it comes with liquid metal surfaces, chrome sheen and wispy sound design that is utterly futuristic. Though very much a clean digital album laden with video game FX and contemporary sound design, there is warmth and humanity in these tracks. Delayed percussion, guitar fuzz, celestial chords and rich, hearty bass all make it so as techno, IDM and electro are all fused together.

Review: Originally from the Black Country (the glottal rich manor of Walsall to be exact...), John Twells is now based up north in Manchester - from where he runs his Type imprint and casts out dark, yet never suffocating, compositions under the Xela pseudonym. Having recorded silicon-rinsed soundtracks alongside Gabriel Morley as Yasume, Twells is best known for his work released under the Xela appellation. Showing an astonishing evolution in sound from early releases such as 'For Frosty Mornings & Summer Nights' and 'Tangled Wool', through to the ink-blot atmospherics of 'The Dead Sea', what originated in the clinical environs of Digitalis was gradually eroded by thickly hued instrumentation and sublime arrangements - with Twells incorporating a vast palate of sounds and influences that retains sharp and piquant flavour despite the rich ingredients. Featuring a fantastically macabre set of illustrated cover art from Matthew Woodson (www.ghostco.org), 'The Dead Sea' is Xela's ode to all things maritime - with the album's thematic thread detailing a doomed ocean voyage that meets an abrupt end amongst a swarm of malignant zombies. Drawing on the work of 1970's horror directors (Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci and George Romero et al.) and their respective soundtracks, 'The Dead Sea' pays a considerable debt to the likes of Goblin or Fabio Frizzi - albeit frayed with a bloodied disposition that reveals a love of Earth, Circle and Wolf Eyes. Nowhere near as oppressive as this description could have you believe, Xela also exposes a deep seam of kaleidoscopic folk amongst his collection, with generous nods going to the freewheeling antics of labels such as Fonal and The Jewelled Antler Collective. Opening through the lace-curtained drone of 'The Gate', Xela manages to be both wilfully obtuse yet unremittingly focussed - as a cold-water batch of foggy soundscapes briefly parts to reveal some insistent percussion. Next up are the heat-haze melodies of 'Linseed' and its tender coalition of acoustic shards and mealy rhythms, before a Victorian music box is exposed to some virulently thrumming necromancy for the startling 'Drunk On Salt Water'. From here Xela continues to coax both light and dark from a palate of instruments he's accrued whilst travelling the globe, ranging in style from the throbbing Theramin-heavy electronics of 'Creeping Flesh' and the tarnished grandeur of 'Savage Ritual', through to the seething distortion of 'Humid At Dusk' and nervous shimmer of 'Briefly Seen'. Horrifically good!

Review: Originally from the Black Country (the glottal rich manor of Walsall to be exact...), John Twells is now based up north in Manchester - from where he runs his Type imprint and casts out dark, yet never suffocating, compositions under the Xela pseudonym. Having recorded silicon-rinsed soundtracks alongside Gabriel Morley as Yasume, Twells is best known for his work released under the Xela appellation. Showing an astonishing evolution in sound from early releases such as 'For Frosty Mornings & Summer Nights' and 'Tangled Wool', through to the ink-blot atmospherics of 'The Dead Sea', what originated in the clinical environs of Digitalis was gradually eroded by thickly hued instrumentation and sublime arrangements - with Twells incorporating a vast palate of sounds and influences that retains sharp and piquant flavour despite the rich ingredients. Featuring a fantastically macabre set of illustrated cover art from Matthew Woodson (www.ghostco.org), 'The Dead Sea' is Xela's ode to all things maritime - with the album's thematic thread detailing a doomed ocean voyage that meets an abrupt end amongst a swarm of malignant zombies. Drawing on the work of 1970's horror directors (Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci and George Romero et al.) and their respective soundtracks, 'The Dead Sea' pays a considerable debt to the likes of Goblin or Fabio Frizzi - albeit frayed with a bloodied disposition that reveals a love of Earth, Circle and Wolf Eyes. Nowhere near as oppressive as this description could have you believe, Xela also exposes a deep seam of kaleidoscopic folk amongst his collection, with generous nods going to the freewheeling antics of labels such as Fonal and The Jewelled Antler Collective. Opening through the lace-curtained drone of 'The Gate', Xela manages to be both wilfully obtuse yet unremittingly focussed - as a cold-water batch of foggy soundscapes briefly parts to reveal some insistent percussion. Next up are the heat-haze melodies of 'Linseed' and its tender coalition of acoustic shards and mealy rhythms, before a Victorian music box is exposed to some virulently thrumming necromancy for the startling 'Drunk On Salt Water'. From here Xela continues to coax both light and dark from a palate of instruments he's accrued whilst travelling the globe, ranging in style from the throbbing Theramin-heavy electronics of 'Creeping Flesh' and the tarnished grandeur of 'Savage Ritual', through to the seething distortion of 'Humid At Dusk' and nervous shimmer of 'Briefly Seen'. Horrifically good!