It might be a platitude, but it seems the wheel always comes full circle. The work of Neil Barnes, the remaining half of seminal 1990s dance duo Leftfield, is no exception. This year sees Barnes, continuing under the title of Leftfield, gearing up to release a newly remastered version of critically acclaimed album Leftism. Barnes has also begun to regularly revisit his roots through an increasing number of DJ sets.
It’s 22 years since the release of Leftism, Leftfield’s debut EP. The record represented the first of two Mercury Prize nominations for a group that would go on to typify nineties British dance music: a melting pot of techno, house, dub and trip-hop. This year sees the release of Leftism 22, a remastering and remixing of the aforementioned debut record. “It was an absolute pleasure to remaster it, a real interesting experience, I suppose. Going back and listening to the tracks in a more analytical frame of mind than just listening to them to play or comment on”, Barnes reminisces, speaking to The University Times. Aware of the risks of meddling with a work that has such resonance in British dance culture, he prudently enlisted renowned master engineer Matt Colton, who has collaborated with Aphex Twin, James Blake and Muse, to name but a few. “We discussed it, and tweaked certain elements of the tracks. Obviously we’re looking at the overall sound of them. It’s a sort of more modern approach I suppose, and he managed to make them sound a bit more present in the room without altering anything within them.”
The record was originally released in 1995, but sounds as fresh today as it did then. This is a factor that Barnes acknowledges, even implying a gravitas imbued in its sound and meaning: “It’s in now because the moods and the textures and the style of it still sound very relevant. I think some of the things we were interested in and played with still work on today’s dancefloors, that’s why it still fits in.”
Barnes then expands on its influence: “Because it has that word classic written about it, you can’t help even feel the album is bigger, there’s something else about it, it’s an entity that has its own personality, it’s not me, it’s Leftism. It’s become so familiar. It’s like this thing that exists in its own space and I’m just playing it now, I’m just one part of Leftism. It’s so much bigger than any one of us, one of those records that’s gone beyond anything we imagined it would do 22 years later. It still holds this very special space for a lot of people”.
It’s clear the album is a landmark in what was a very prominent time in Barnes’ life: “For me, I can’t explain it. We were almost possessed when we made it. We were on some sort of quest. Looking back now on those times in that studio, it was like we were just on fire. We had so much of this stuff we needed to get out, and we just didn’t know what we were making at all. We just went from one track to another and it just flowed with this amazing ease and just spewed out of us. We never dreamed in our furthest imaginations we’d be talking about it even two years after it was made.”
But the soon-to-be-released Leftism 22 is something more than a period piece. The original 11-track work is bolstered by an additional 11 remixes, retakes on tracks that exaggerate their nuances and pay tribute to the diversity of Leftfield’s sound: “Both me and Paul wanted to use a variety of people, just to reflect maybe our wide interest in music. But I mean there is a slightly techno, new-techno edge in there you’d have to say.” Although not yet released, Barnes shares a selection of the contributing artists, admitting: “I’m not sure I should be saying this. Basically it goes from people like Skream and Hodge to Ben Sims. A really, really out there Scandanavian reggae outfit called Maffi have gone and done a mix. There’s Adrian Sherwood too, Voiski a really musically techno artist, and Bodyjack – he’s really underground house, he’s done a mix too. That’s just a smattering of them. We’re trying to play to all the different elements of that record.”
“We’re just trying out a whole load of different people. Everyone’s been so respectful about doing it, it’s really good”, he continues.
One year after releasing Leftism, the acclaimed Leftfield were procured to take part in the Trainspotting soundtrack, contributing to part of the score with the atmospheric “A Final Hit”. Twenty-one years on though, this is one aspect of Barnes’s career that he has not been able to revisit. Having contacted the producers of sequel, T2 Trainspotting, offering to write music for the new soundtrack, Barnes was left without reply: “I thought it was really rude, and disrespectful, and unnecessary. I don’t know who it went to, but I just felt it was a real shame. To be quite honest I think the music was pretty average … terrible. There wasn’t very much thought put into it. I haven’t seen the film, and I’m not interested to be honest. I’m sure it’s great because Danny [Boyle] is a really good director and I’m sure it’s really well written. I just felt it was rude, and I was quite shocked to be honest.”
Nevertheless, Barnes still does the rounds as a DJ, taking his performances around the world with an eclectic, modern club set, and delivering a masterclass in an all-encompassing whirlwind of rich sound. Much like their sound on record, Barnes doesn’t ever take the easy road. “I don’t go for hands in the air music”, he chuckles. “I get bored when I’m playing, I can’t play techno all night, I’m just not interested and I don’t think people want to hear it from me. If I was to do a set at Berghain it would be expected of me, so I have to think of the variety of who’s coming etcetera.”
“I don’t play much old Leftfield”, Barnes interjects, before adding “Now I’ve got the remixes [on Leftism 22], so I’m thinking great, I’ve got this new album that I can reinject into it. I just listen to really interesting records and fit them into something that would make me wanna dance, that’s how I do it.”
This leads to a lamentation of current club and festival culture, something Barnes refers to as “commercialisation” and “gentrification”. “When you have 4,000 kids looking at you and all they’re asking for is the more modern, commercial house records then you do feel pressurised”, he bemoans. He continues: “For instance, I could do a really twisted disco set. I’ve got some great records that I’ve been collecting for years – mad chopped up records and acid lines, and I’d love to do that. Stuff below 120, chunky, dirty, exciting. I could do a whole night of that, but if I did it I’d have loads of blokes coming up to me saying ‘this is really disappointing mate, when are you going to pick it up?’ That’s what I get.”
But Barnes refers to the cyclical nature that prevails, predicting a renaissance of club culture: “We’ve had the super club kind of thing but now people are looking. I get invited and asked to do very scene like things popping up again.”
“Under situations like this you get people doing really special things. Things start to happen, nights start to pop up. I hear of things down in South London, really interesting things of hired spaces, clubs going really underground”, he continues. Barnes cites the plight and resurrection of London club Fabric as a turning point: “[Underground clubs] inject something new, yes it’s bad for some of the established clubs, and yes we will lose some, but music is never static. It’s never going to stay the same. Fabric has survived and rightfully so, which is great, it does a job because we need a really prestigious club in London like them. We’ve lost a lot of central London clubs, though, which does piss me off.” Barnes signs off by reiterating the prevalence of the club scene in spite of suppression: “You can’t keep it down though. It’ll come back. You can’t suppress a whole culture.”
Leftfield (Neil Barnes) play the Opium Rooms on St Patrick’s Day Eve.
