Leftfield

Leftfield, a British electronic music group, was founded in London in 1989 by Neil Barnes, born August 6, 1960. Barnes started his music career as a DJ at The Wag Club, also playing percussion. In 1986, he joined the London School of Samba, participating in the 1986 Notting Hill Carnival. Around 1989, inspired by Afrika Bambaataa, Barnes began producing electronic music, leading to tracks like “Not Forgotten” and “More Than I Know.” For remixes of these early works, Barnes collaborated with Paul Daley, a percussion player who had worked with A Man Called Adam, Brand New Heavies, and Primal Scream. Their collaboration on “Not Forgotten” was noted for defining the ‘Progressive House’ genre by Mixmag in 1991.

After resolving contractual issues with Rhythm King’s Outer Rhythm subsidiary, Barnes and Daley continued their collaboration, with Daley becoming involved in all of Leftfield’s work until the group’s initial split in 2002. During a period of legal dispute, they undertook remix work for various artists including React 2 Rhythm, Inner City, Sunscreem, Ultra Naté, and provided two remixes for David Bowie’s single “Jump They Say.” Their official debut with Daley was the single “Release the Pressure.”

Leftfield’s first significant release was the single “Open Up” (with John Lydon), followed by their debut album, “Leftism,” in 1995. This album, blending dub, breakbeat, and house, was shortlisted for the 1995 Mercury Music Prize. Their second album, “Rhythm and Stealth” (1999), featured collaborations with artists such as Roots Manuva and Afrika Bambaataa, reached No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart, and was also shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize in 2000. After a hiatus from 2002 to 2010, Neil Barnes reformed Leftfield, with Adam Wren on engineering and programming, and Sebastian ‘Bid’ Beresford on drums, while Paul Daley opted not to rejoin. They released “Alternative Light Source” in 2015 and “This Is What We Do” in 2022.