Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: Top Boy has been one of the hardest hitting and best TV series on UK screen in some time. It all comes to an end with a sixth and final series on Netflix right about now so why not keep the magic of it in your life by copping the official soundtrack to it, which was crafted by the one and only ambient pioneer and long time electronic genres, Brian Eno. Starting off with the iconic 'Top Boy Theme' the 19-track selection also includes two pieces that were never actually used in any episode of the show itself, and one of them is 'Cutting Room I' which is as darken moody as rest of these majestic scene-setters.

Review: Venice: Infinitely Avant-Garde is a documentary which celebrates the unique history, culture and qualities of one of the most iconic cities in the world. To match the high art which spills out of the subject matter, the film's producers turned to Polish pianist, composer and singer Hania Rani. Her playing style is minimal and delicate, and she drew upon extended visits and explorations of Venice and its museums to create a fitting accompaniment to the film. Whether you have seen the film or not, this is a compelling collection of piano pieces with subtle modern touches which speak to Rani's accomplished career to date.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Venice: Infinitely Avant-Garde is a documentary which celebrates the unique history, culture and qualities of one of the most iconic cities in the world. To match the high art which spills out of the subject matter, the film's producers turned to Polish pianist, composer and singer Hania Rani. Her playing style is minimal and delicate, and she drew upon extended visits and explorations of Venice and its museums to create a fitting accompaniment to the film. Whether you have seen the film or not, this is a compelling collection of piano pieces with subtle modern touches which speak to Rani's accomplished career to date.

Review: Within a few moments of a famous film score - or at least one that made an impact on you - scenes and even lines not heard in years come flooding back. And the recollections of the atmosphere in the cinema as the opening credits began. When James Cameron's blockbuster Titanic first hit big screens it was a very different time for movies, and theatres, one that seems remarkably simple compared with today's multi-platform, pre-release buy-in chaos. Simply put, the flick was seen by pretty much everyone, which is rarely the case now, and as such the typically emotive soundtrack, particularly the orchestral sections, will have made an impact on everyone of and over a certain age. First returning us to the glamour and wonder of that ill-fated ship, then the drama and desperation that defined its demise, and the death of an all-too-short love, listening now makes it clear how crucial the tunes and songs were. From the unbridled joy of 'An Irish Party in Third Class', to the somber reflection of 'Nearer My God To Thee', it's the stuff of epics.

Review: While he is still thought of as a God of a DJ to many, Welsh wizard Sasha is a dab hand in the studio too. Airdrawndagger, his second studio long player, is proof of that and a real masterpiece with co-productions by Charlie May, Junkie XL and James Holden. It is a hugely complex world of sound with progressive melodies, wavy electronic drums and immersive synths capes that all add up to one smooth and serene trip. This luxury reissue comes on limited, numbered trifold 180 gram audiophile silver & black marbled vinyl. A vital collector's piece.

Review: To truly understand what's happening here you first need to know the background. Snowflakes Are Dancing is the delightfully evocative and - let's face it - wonderfully endearing title of Isao Tomita's second studio album. But this isn't really the Japanese musician's own work. Instead, it takes the arrangements of Claude Debussy, particularly the French composer's so-called 'tone paintings', and splashes new colour across the palette by way of some modern toys.

So while the guy who wrote the notes did so in the midst of industrialisation in Europe, his interpreter from the Far East worked on those tunes at a point in time when modernism was in full swing, and marching forward so quickly the future was already in sight. Using a Moog synthesiser, still then very much an experimental toy, and Mellotron, the result is an electronic overture worthy of the best sci-fi scores.

Review: By 1996 Greek synth composer extraordinaire Vangelis - real name Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou - had become such an icon of electronic music not one but two retrospective anthologies arrived around the same time. Not bad considering this was only around halfway through his recording career, and in many ways his work was still in an evolutionary process. Gift was one of those compilations, and focuses attention on the first four records made by this Hellenic legend. Starting out with work from 1975's Heaven & Hell, from which an excerpt of the original (rather longwinded) 'Heaven & Hell Part II' has been lifted, we also get 'So Long Ago, So Clear', the artist's first collaboration with Jon Anderson (the musician-singer-songwriter whose name is credited on several other tracks here), and outstanding outings such as 'Pulstar' and 'Alpha'. A joy from start to finish.

Review: You don't have to be a film score obsessive to recognise the name of Hans Zimmer; the man who has practically created a monopoly out of the craft. While his work on the recent Denis Villeneuve adaptations of Dune has currently ended his creative partnership with auteur filmmaker Christopher Nolan (who has since enlisted the exceptional Ludwig Goransson in his stead), during their collaborative tenure, no particular score garnered the adoration and passionate praise that still continues to be heaped upon 2014's sci-fi spectacle Interstellar. Featuring some of Zimmer's most mercurial work to date, swaying from lilting hues of delicacy to bombastic, palpable, otherworldly dread, without ever veering into alienating sonics; the pieces still receives copious applause, instigate enthralling discussion and continue to be repressed to vinyl. In short, the Interstellar score is the outlier soundtrack for every collector.