Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers..." So said Henry V before the battle of Agincourt in one of Shakespeare's many lauded histories. The quote went on to Christen Stephen Ambrose's 1993 novel and a subsequent American war drama miniseries of the same name, chronicling the journey of the "Easy Company," a group of American paratroopers during World War II. Training, combat tussles, and fraternal bonds are given a brutal portrayal in the film, and this mood of brutality and endurance was not unnoticeably underscored by Michael Kamen's soundtrack, now reissued on gatefold 2xLP. Kamen, known for his scores for Die Hard, X-Men and Memento, brought out a mood of orchestral fortuity, successfully mirroring the film's intent to portray themes of glory, tragedy and camaraderie, all of which ooze from its many orchestral swells and windfalls.

Review: Dubio makes no secret of its intention, from the word go. The opening, titular track give us the lay of the land. A record inspired by the soundtrack to a puzzle game of the same name, there's a cyclical, perpetual kind of motion to everything here. Obviously, we know where the start of each piece is, and the conclusion. But the vibe isn't forward motion, nor backwards. Instead, there's a gradual meandering tempo, a loose, open-ended kind of aesthetic that invokes the old cliche - the journey, not the destination. And with that, you can't help but sense a little mystery here, too. Kettel isn't always known for this type of free spirited exploration, and yet here we are, and how we got here is part of what we're trying to figure out. Musically, that means warm pads and string refrains, twinkling chimes, plodding, almost unsteady percussion and a sense of wonder and perpetuity throughout.

Review: A pioneering English drummer and composer, Basil Kurchin's career spanned from the 1940s through to the early 2000s. When he transitioned from big band drumming to scoring and composing films, he became newly credited for experimenting with tape and field recordings, baking the sounds of birds, animals, insects and children into his soundtracks. This retro-harking compilation of never-heard-before soundtrack cuts by the mad sonographer is not the first to reach its wanting hands into the plumbable depths of the Kirchin archives; not a composer for popular media, Kirchin's various scores include The Shuttered Room (1961), Assignment K (1968), and The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971). The obscurity of each film alone would render the task of assigning context to each track difficult, if not also for the fact that Kirchin has now left us. However, speculations abound: Trunk Records maintain that the the music for The Mutations dates from 1974, and was the score to a bizarre Jack Cardiff film starring Donald Pleasence and Tom Baker. As for Journey Into The Unknown, this is a tape from the archive with "Journey Into The Unknown" written on it, and very little else. Dating from 1968, it is alleged to originate from a series of spooky British TV dramas with supernatural twists; a forerunner of Tales Of The Unexpected.

Review: The 50th anniversary edition of Kraftwerk's Autobahn finally completes its decennial German interstate journey and lands in our drool-covered laps. With founding Kraftwerk member Ralf Hutter revisiting the record's original 16-track master tapes with engineer Fritz Hilpert, the group not only made a brand new Dolby Atmos mix for the CD edition, but have also reissued the original record in the never-seen-before picture disc form you see here. A cosmic pop overland journey, the vinyl remaster also lends the record an extra-dimensionality we didn't know possible; recumbent across it, and brought out to swelling prominence, are its tweezed, filter-cutoff sine chords, evoking the continual movement of rustic landscapes streaming past our eyes. Though at first received only to mixed acclaim, Kraftwerk's fourth LP was rightly hailed in hindsight for its simple automotive theme and change in sound, away from the Robots' emergent kosmische and into self-reflexive electropop. All this emboldened Kraftwerk as a band that could somehow cruise in the fast lane, accelerating with ease through the shifting stylistic sands of the mid 1970s.

Review: This release, which was recorded for Bremen Radio in 1971, features four extended tracks showcasing German pioneers Kraftwerk in a very different light from their later work. The short-lived lineup of Schneider, Rother and Dinger fused electric guitar with their then-signature electronic sounds and it gives rise to unusual, exciting and innovative music. Half of the tracks here, as hardcore fans will recognise, are drawn from their debut album, Kraftwerk 1, and the recording quality is excellent. This release also includes full recording details along with extensive sleeve notes that help offer a fascinating glimpse into Kraftwerk's early, experimental sound before their more iconic and pioneering electronic phase.

Review: Few albums have reshaped the landscape of electronic music quite like Autobahn. Originally released in 1974, Kraftwerk's groundbreaking fusion of synthesisers, sequencers and minimalist structure redefined what pop music could be. The title track, stretching over 22 minutes, was an ambitious journey through hypnotic rhythms, vocoder-treated vocals and shimmering electronic textures, concentrating on the feel of a never-ending highway ride. This anniversary edition brings a fresh dimension to the experience. Revisiting the original 16-track master tapes, Ralf Hutter and engineer Fritz Hilpert have crafted a Dolby Atmos Mix that expands the album's depth and spatiality like never before. This Blu-ray includes a 5.1 mix, a high-resolution stereo version and two newly edited 2024 single versions, plus a video of the 'Autobahn' edit featuring Kraftwerk's signature visual aesthetic. Packaged in a region-free Blu-ray with a 12-page booklet and an SDE-exclusive slipcase, this edition ensures that Autobahn can be experienced in a format worthy of its legacy.