Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: When Cabaret Voltaire returned to the release schedule in 2020 as the one-man Richard H Kirk show, fans were relieved to find that mind-bending meld of 1970s Kosmische, techno, dub, house and space-age experimental electro was as pure as it ever has been - the results being a typically fresh and forward-thinking record the man in question summed up as "no nostalgia... normal rules do not apply. Something for the 21st Century. No old material."

Less than six months later and the big CV has more next level business to offer us, coming in the form of Shadow of Funk, a new EP that offers something of a counterpoint or extension to last year's full-length, Shadow of Fear. Based on 'Billion Dollar' alone - an acid-driven big, dark room banger that closes this EP -this release looks set to make an equally heavy impact, but as with anything this man touches, the joy is in discovery. So, let's leave it at that.

Review: Berlin Atonal returned two years ago from a long hiatus, 23 years to be exact. After three tremendous festivals this decade, they now present us with their first recordings since 1984. These particular ones from the 2014 edition. Cabaret Voltaire (in this incarnation featuring only Richard H Kirk) was a true highlight and contributes "Microscopic Flesh Fragment" and "Universal Energy". One half of Demdike Stare Miles Whitaker went solo, presenting his truly unique take on techno, and the slow burning attitude of "Vagabond No. 7" is evidence of this. New Zealand's Fis also appears; rather uncategorisable as always on "Dist CL (Atonal Version)." On the third disc we have Northern Electronics main man and modern auteur Abdulla Rashim presenting two commissions from his captivating atmospheric set that year. Limited to 700 copies.

Review: Call Super has always been something of an underground darling - one of those untouchable artists with next level skills in the club, and a unique studio sound that excites even the most hardened and passionate fan. 'Eulo Cramps' is the artist's fourth album and one from the centre of a multifaceted project they call 'Tell Me I Didn't Choose This' which includes poetry, auto-biographical writing, painting and music. It is full of personal reflections and his signature melding of jazz, electronica and the unique voices of Julia Holter and Eden Samara. Though adventurous and experimental, it is an album steeped in very real emotion which we can all connect to.

Review: Craven Faults follows up a trio of sold-out EPs starting in 2020 with a second full-length album. It is another record that moves the artist's story onwards with fantastic analogue electronic sounds that take us across the north of Britain, all viewed through 100 years of popular music. Standers again finds him honing his craft across meticulous tracks that paint vivid pictures of everything from Norse influences to piano drones. It is bleak but beautiful experimental music with a storytelling narrative and absorbing undercurrent.

Review: Craven Faults' 'Bounds' is the latest EP-length project to be outputted by the otherwise elusive Northern English artist. Once again building on his admirable, psycho-terrestrial approach - in which the artist embarks on long, restless trans-Anglican journeys as creative fuel for the alluvial fire - 'Bounds' hears the otherwise anonymous Faults trace the fault lines of the Black Country's pastoral-industrial contradiction, beginning said journey "less than 20 miles North-West of the city", and with no further elaboration than that. Side A traipses through three heat-hazed, ground-dwelling, humid humuses - the vague scrapes of heavy metallic industry looming over each mix, straddling both back and foreground - and only 'Lampses Mosse' permits much respite from the trek, via a tremblingly, relievingly spread synth bell. 'Waste & Demesne' is the B-side's epitaph for England's feudal legacy, its drawn-out basses and quavering pedal notes congregating to mourn the natural losses resulting from centuries' worth of exploitation.