Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: Wild Up continue their exploration of Julius Eastman's work with Julius Eastman Vol. 4: The Holy Presence, out June 21, 2024, via New Amsterdam Records. Opening with Our Father, a haunting duet performed by Davone Tines, the album delves deep into his spiritual side, blending choral elements with his signature avant-garde style. This release highlights Eastman's unique, mystically charged compositions, including The Holy Presence of Joan D'Arc, with cellist Seth Parker Woods' multi-tracked performance showcasing Wild Up's profound dedication to Eastman's powerful legacy.

Review: Long-time European techno innovator Joachim Spieth has hooked up with Agustin Mena aka Warmth for a debut collaborative album that blends their shared love for expansive soundscapes and atmospheric compositions. Warmth is the Spanish ambient producer who is also behind the SVLBRD alias so these two know a thing or two about how to get the most out of their machines and so they prove here across an album of seven immersive tracks. They are rife with organic textures and evoke a sense of space and timeless longing, all with a gently persuasive sense of movement.

Review: Kamasi Washington's latest effort is a little different from his previous releases, which delighted in taking spiritual and post-bop jazz in a myriad of thrilling new directions. Befitting its status as a soundtrack - the music on Becoming was written to feature on Nadia Hallgren's Netflix documentary of the same name on Michelle Obama - the compositions unveiled by Washington are breezy, accessible and seeped in musical positivity. There are lots of memorable melodic themes throughout the album, with bold and catchy, up-beat jazz numbers being joined by melancholic, contemplative compositions and even nods towards soul-jazz, Motown style soul and cheery jazz-funk.

Review: German guitarist and bandleader JJ Whitefield, known for his authentic, timeless sound, delves into 'spiritual jazz' on his latest album, The Infinity Of Nothingness. With a career spanning over three decades, Whitefield's journey began in the early 90s with Poets Of Rhythm, pioneers of the Deep Funk scene. Since then, he has explored various musical styles, including funk with Karl Hector and Ethiopian Jazz, West African highlife, Kraut-rock, and ambient music under his Rodinia moniker. The Infinity Of Nothingness is a set of mature, meditative orchestrations, drawing inspiration from Sun Ra and Pharoah Sanders without becoming mere tributes. The album weaves subtle elements of hip-hop, library music, and avant-garde into its sound, creating a unified, trance-like feel. From the sparse opener 'Nothingness' to the three-part 'Infinity Suite' - 'Time', 'Space' and 'Energy' - the album reflects Whitefield's exceptional ability to craft music that resonates deeply with its influences while standing the test of time. As with his early work, Whitefield's latest project continues to set a high standard in musical exploration.

Review: The most eminent British rock opera of all time, The Who's Quadrophenia, released in 1973, hears Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Roger Daltrey conceive and narrate the angst of a young postroom worker, Jimmy, living in post-war Britain amid the schismatics of the mods and rockers, as they warred in converse step. Exploring rebellion, let-off steam, and alienation through music, the record firmly set the stage for the 1979 film adaptation of the same name, which popularised the thoroughfare connecting London-Brighton as a vital identificatory artery for a certain angst-ridden generation. The album features standout tracks like '5:15' and 'Love, Reign O'er Me', and remains one of The Who's most celebrated works. It's now reissued through Bespoke Editions, with two CDs of Pete Townshend's demos, and a 5.1 DVD-A remix of eight tracks, plus handwritten lyrics in a book and a 13,000-word essay from Townshend.

Review: The Will Gregory Moog Ensemble's debut album, Heat Ray, is a riveting exploration inspired by the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes. Recorded on analogue synthesizers alongside the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the ensemble - led by Goldfrapp co-creator Will Gregory - brings together up to 14 talented players, including Portishead's Adrian Utley and Mute's Daniel Miller. Heat Ray fuses spirals of melody, circular structures, and intricate patterns, drawing inspiration from Archimedes' mathematical principles. The album's genesis during pandemic lockdowns reflects Gregory's deep dive into Archimedes' life, sparked by online lectures. With a lineup boasting instruments like the Minimoog and Prophet 6, the ensemble weaves a stunning superstructure of sounds, guided by Gregory's effervescent spirit of discovery. The result is a splendid blend of ancient history and modern innovation, where musical exploration converges with mathematical curiosity. Heat Ray not only pays homage to Archimedes' legacy but also propels listeners towards an endlessly fascinating future.

Review: Adam Wiltzie is an American-born, Belgium-based ambient composer, sound designer, film soundtracker and one half of A Winged Victory For The Sullen. His latest album-length suite was inspired by two things: a recurring dream in which people die after listening to his music, and a fascination with sodium pentathol, a barbiturate routinely used as a general anaesthetic. It's a kind of musical exploration of - to paraphrase his label's accompanying press release - tiptoeing between beauty and oblivion, or sleepiness and wakefulness. Mixed by Loop man Robert Hampson and featuring strings recorded in Budapest, the album ebbs and flows majestically, with billowing orchestral moments nestling side by side with creepy ambience, immersive and dream-like soundscapes, simmering melodic motifs and the kind of arty but enveloping fare that reminded us a little of the Orb and Robert Fripp's mid-90s FFWD project.