Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: "Hope is not passive. Hope is not blah blah blah. Hope is telling the truth." So said the world's most visible climate activist Greta Thunberg in her pre-COP26 speech in Milan, blasting world leaders for inadequate (or near-non-existent) responses to the environmental crisis. Given we're 12 months down the line and the vast majority of promises made at said 2021 climate summit have not been actioned, with emissions continuing to climb, it's unsurprising direct action has turned much more direct and disruptive this year, and people are now sampling the young orator to amplify her message through music.

If that sounds like it may lack subtlety, fear not. Renude19 have managed to achieve something pretty difficult - a protest dancefloor track that doesn't ram things down your throat and works very well without you knowing that context. Essentially a dystopian-vibed broken beat synth workout with electro-pop vocals and occasional "Blah blah blah" hook, it's timely and well executed.

Review: Indica Dubs and Kai Dub link up here for their second collaboration, which is the first release of the year for the label. It features the full flavour and futuristic stepper that is 'Elevation Dub', complete with wooden hits and Digital pads, warrior chords and a nice sleek aesthetic. 'Higher Dub' then flip sit into a more heady affair with plenty of mad studio effects and endless reverb, floating toms and sizzled pads. These triumphant tunes are primed and ready for big plays on huge sound systems.

Review: Roy Of The Ravers takes a break from his mischievious outings on Acid Waxa et al to lay down some of his braindance tackle on Emotional Response. White Line Sunrise II.I (Le Roy Soleil) can rightly be considered a follow-up to White Line Sunrise II and indeed it represents a similar kind of spectrum of electronica. Roy's sound is edging further into the kind of 'artist' territory where slower, softer tracks, odd vocal diversions and some pop sensibilities merge with the acid, electro, breakbeat and other well-established tropes of his sound. It's the kind of record which could easily broach this quirky fringe operator of UK electronics to a broader fan base, and there's no doubt he's got the melodic, emotional heft on tracks like 'Versace 101624' to get everyone on board.

Review: An EP packing plenty of quality, Amatori invite five talented faces in for four tracks all about pulling the ear and mind in deeper. Quite where you want to put it on the genre spectrum depends on how you listen, with most of what's here representing the sort of tracks for which volume makes all the differ-ence in terms of interpretation.

'Lagoon', for example, is a slow but solid tribal drum workout set against lush waves of synth, its heaviness only really apparent in a situation where the kicks can literally be felt. 'Rainforest' is ambi-ent set to something like160BPM percussive tops. 'Anasazi' brings a poised and patient, trance-tipped vibe that could just as easily put you into a meditative state as it could act as transition point in a late-night, floor-focused set. Incredibly useful stuff, all round.

Review: Romare's latest album Fantasy finds the widely admired artist take something of a new approach to his work. The man born Archie Fairhurst gets nice and abstract with his samples as he also layers in his own vocals and instrumentation. He has said the album was inspired by log walks and watching films doing lockdowns, and it shows. Hints of 70s fantasy cinema also features and his trademark off-kilter electronic rhythms and kinetic grooves also play a big part in making this one another winner.

Review: As much as we all love vinyl, it's refreshing to see an artist who still wants to put out their music on CD, which is what we get here from Romare. His latest album Fantasy finds the widely admired artist take something of a new approach to his work. The man born Archie Fairhurst gets nice and abstract with his samples as he also layers in his own vocals and instrumentation. He has said the album was inspired by log walks and watching films doing lockdowns, and it shows. Hints of 70s fantasy cinema also features and his trademark off-kilter electronic rhythms and kinetic grooves also play a big part in making this one another winner.