Crack

A fact that seems to elude many music fans is that bowing out on a high will leave you in high-esteem among peers, credible music lovers and fans. It will also double up as a personalised engraving in the ‘I did not sell the fuck out’ hall of fame.

We are in an era where novelty-value reunion tours are ten-a-penny, bands wheel out their unimaginative new material, while punters are obviously waiting for the classics to inevitably materialise towards the end of the set. The difference between Leftfield going back on tour and other acts is that Leftfield never had any bad material to play live.

Their moment in the spotlight was so brief and glorious, for many it was like an incredibly loud whirlwind. A dance act of the highest regard, their five years in existence saw them cement their place in British music folklore. With two albums of seemingly boundless ideas and futuristic sounds, it is arguable a dance act has never before or since pushed the boundaries so quickly and with such vigour.

While many sounds are repeated and sound dusty and dated, the production qualities of both of Leftfield’s records have stood the test of time with ease. They sound fresh, relevant and, to a beat-obsessed generation, contemporary beyond solidified generic definition.

Neil Barnes’ decision to reform Leftfield in full band regalia is important, as it isn’t on the back of any new Leftfield productions. Despite the other founding member, Paul Daley, not being involved, touring their two records again means that the established quality control is already in place. These gigs represent all that made Leftfield special in the first instance. This generation, whose exposure to music is mixed to say the least, deserves to have a chance to catch an act with such an untarnished history.

Leftism, their 1995 debut, showed such a voracious cross-pollination of pace, style and genre that it left an indelible mark. Killer production values showcased a combination of world music, techno, guitars and killer, killer hooks. The record also showcased a superb underlying ambience that rooted Leftfield in a sense of cool that was removed from some of the headier underground dance music of the time. A gig at Brixton where the sound levels started disintegrating the venue, rubber-stamped their place.

Their second album, Rhythm and Stealth, was released with much anticipation in 1999 and showcased Leftfield in a much harder-edged, darker frame of mind. Standout collaborations with Roots Manuva and Afrika Bambaataa and a well-publicised Guinness advert sent them into supernova territory.

Then it ended. Not combusting in some tabloid, Gallagher-style drama, but slipping off into the ether. Quietly perfect.

In a rare and exciting interview, Neil Barnes took time out to explain how a well-received selection of summer gigs has seen them resurrect their much-lauded live show, why Leftfield are still important and how their sound nearly killed people.



What was the catalyst for you getting Leftfield back together?

“The catalyst was probably the guys at Cream, who badgered me to do it, because I was umming and ahhing about it. They were very supportive and helpful. But the main catalyst was the music and the opportunity to play it again was a massive temptation.”

Well had it not been a temptation for many years before that?

“It was. People have been asking for over the last five or six years. In fact every autumn people have asked questions about doing summer gigs. They say, ‘any chance of getting back together? Any chance of doing it?’.”

How was this offer to get back together different?

“This was a very serious offer. The guys at Cream really wanted it and I have to thank them, because without them I couldn’t really have financed it because it cost loads of money to put together. The three big festival gigs that Cream put on made the whole thing a possibility. Once we’d agreed to do Creamfields and L.E.D., other offers came in, so we ended up on a few other bills very late. My agent did a brilliant job organising things and then some other gigs came in like Benicassim, which was amazing.”

We read some very positive reviews of that gig.

“I have to say we were pretty amazing at that gig. We came on the Main Stage at three-thirty in the morning as the last act on at the festival and completely blew the Main Stage apart. Hardly any press saw what we did. Gorillaz had gone and a few people had started walking away, but by the time we started we had a full audience, maybe about 20 to 25 thousand people who were still there with us at five in the morning. It was a great buzz and it confirmed to me that we could push this on.”

What have you been doing in the intervening period between Leftfield disbanding and the current reincarnation?

“I’ve been doing quite a lot of music for adverts and films, but for about three years I just took a break really and ended writing demos, looking for a direction in which to go post-Leftfield.”

It’s certainly true that critically your place in dance music history is secure, as there are definitely other acts that release album after album and maybe the quality slips. Were there very high standards in Leftfield and how do you see Leftfield’s place in history?

“Both Paul and myself had very high standards and high standards about the music we listened to. People think I’m very bitter because I spend a lot of time slagging music off. That’s what I do. It’s not because I’m a mean bastard, I just don’t like average music. I’m very opinionated about all the music I listen to and I’m quite merciless in my opinions and that ranges from dance music to rock, I don’t give a fuck who I offend really. I felt this towards my own music and Paul did as well. We couldn’t bear the thought of doing a sub-standard track. Paul and I put 100 percent in and we pushed tracks as far we could go with them before we went mad. That’s why the records have maybe stood up.”

So when Leftfield split up, was it a case of you both being tired and exhausted after the release of Rhythm and Stealth?

“It just happened really. It happened after the millennium and we felt both exhausted and coming off the treadmill.”

So when you reopened both Leftism and Rhythm and Stealth, did they sound as relevant to you as they still do to many people out there and did you get a buzz from listening back to the records?

“It’s an interesting question, mate. I would say yes and that’s what made it feel it was worth doing. I properly listened to the music off both albums for the first time in ages in January and in my head it felt so relevant. I would say some of the ideas in the tracks are definitely not up together with current popular tastes and how things have moved on, but, and I don’t want to be a bighead, I don’t think anyone has necessarily bettered them. It’s not that I don’t think people are doing great music. Things have moved on and I listened to a lot of music all the time and it’s obvious there is some brilliant electronic records being made. I love a lot of minimal techno and I like some dubstep and I can hear how things have moved on and there are different production styles now, but in terms of the production values of the sound in Leftism and Rhythm and Stealth have not been bettered.”

Where do you see it going in the coming weeks and years? Do you plan to record again?

“There are no plans to record again. All I want to do for the time being is do as good a job as I can for this tour. I have introduced a couple of new tracks for it. The whole set is longer than it was for the summer, but there are no plans for a Leftfield album at the moment.”

Who in the dance music world would you take your hat off to at the moment?

“I still think Robert Hood is making interesting techno records, 15 years after he first made them. I really like the Perc Trax label. There is also this guy called Jimmy Edgar whose style I really struggle to describe who is great. I’m also really into Mount Kimbie. I think they are awesome and what they are doing is fresh. I love the fact they create an atmosphere that’s different to anyone else. People like Mike Sloth, Scuba and James Blake are all also doing great work in the slightly dubby, down-tempo style.”

It sounds like you are keeping your ear to the ground quite well!

“That’s just one of the areas of music I’m into, mate. I keep my ear to the ground in terms of rock music as well. I’m obsessed with music and fit my life in around my music, which is pretty bad really.”

So the tour culminates in a couple of huge gigs at Brixton Academy now you aren’t banned from there any more?

“We brought a lot of publicity to Brixton really, largely down to the damage we did to the building.”

That story that ‘Leftfield literally destroyed Brixton Academy’ has really become very iconic.

“Well we did do that. We didn’t destroy it, but the plaster certainly started falling off the ceiling. I saw it on the stage falling off and sending clouds of dust across the whole auditorium, but on the same tour we were playing Leeds in a big auditorium and we were doing a sound check and it was really pumping. We were just testing the system. From the ceiling an enormous iron grate about five foot by three foot fell 50 foot onto the dance floor. Luckily it didn’t hit anyone and it was only the crew and the band in the room. We were terrified about it happening again during the gig. I remember asking the guys in charge of the venue whether everything was screwed down. That shouldn’t have happened. I think certain frequencies will loosen things. I remember right through the gig being petrified.”

Your sound has become quite the hazard then?

“You’ve got a responsibility when you have something as powerful as that. We were louder than a jumbo jet. We were 130db and what happens with dbs is they double when you get past 100. The limit now is 90.”

Noise regulations must be a bit tighter these days?

“They are shit. It’s annoying and I get blamed. People come on my Facebook and say, ‘how come you were quiet?’. I’ve told them a million times there is nothing I can do about it. But we won’t be quiet, we will be pumping I can promise you. Within the laws we will be pumping and I can’t say any more than that.”



Tune: Swords

http://www.myspace.com/leftfieldtour

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