Leftism (1995)
11 tracks, 70 minutes
Spotify ∙ iTunes
Leftism by Leftfield is one of the quintessential albums in house music, and one of the first to make a lasting impact as an album in its own right (as opposed to particular songs contained within).
A big reason for that is that it was one of the first to offer something that a single – up until then the standard currency in house music – couldn’t do, no matter how banging it was. Leftism took listeners on a voyage of discovery. Rather than just having a beginning-middle-end, fun dance around before moving onto the next track by the next artist, this album takes you to many places and headspaces, each flowing smoothly into the next like scenery outside a train window.
As well as refiguring the place of the long-playing album in electronic music, Leftism also helped to change ideas of what house music could actually be. Throughout the journey, the tracks roll through deep trance, ambient music, trip-hop and dubwise grooves along with a whole array of house styles, and samples and influences range from as far as Brazil, Bulgaria, India, Jamaica and West Africa.
It’s kind of amazing that when Leftfield first made this album, they weren’t happy with the results, feeling that it didn’t gel at all. I guess working on something for so long (some of the tracks had been in production for years) does give you a certain tunnel-vision, and it’s lucky that they decided to go ahead and release it anyway. Even though it was their very first album, it became their defining work. When I saw Leftfield live for the first time last year, it was Leftism that they played, beginning to end and much expanded, but it was a template that still drew the crowds in their thousands.
It’s rare that one album changes the course of music, but Leftism definitely did that, and electronic dance music of all styles has benefited from its legacy. Sounds just as fresh and just as get-up-and-danciful today, too.
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