Leftfield

【演出公告】
12月31日跨年派對
22：00- 04：00
北京糖果 三樓
由Wigwam特別呈現(xiàn)
1995年度最佳樂隊：Leftfield
這幾乎是橫空出世的。Neil Barnes和Paul Daley這兩個前朋克樂手，在acid house時期相逢。他們的首支單曲“Not Forgatten”（永志不忘）是俱樂部里的傳奇。“Song Of Life”（生命之歌）也不差。１９９３年John Lydon演唱了一首Leftfield的“Open Up”（開竅），使這個朋克老小孩也喜歡上了舞廳里的４／４節(jié)奏。然后，他們就消失了。幾乎所有人都以為這又是曇花一現(xiàn)的樂隊。但《Leftism》（左派）最終在１９９５年年初出現(xiàn)了。事情馬上明了了，先前的眾說紛紜都是不負責任的臆測。這是張地地道道的舞曲唱片，它證明了舞曲音樂已經(jīng)從一種文化現(xiàn)象升格為羽翼已豐的藝術(shù)形式。Orbital在這方面也做了不少努力，打破了舞曲音樂的模式框框，并　表現(xiàn)了他們的延展性。
這張無時間概念的作品代表的不僅僅是俱樂部文化。它有曲調(diào)、旋律、情感和情緒，并且很好地傳遞了舞曲音樂的精髓并且在某方面與Britpop遙相呼應。銳舞者和另類小子之間的隔閡徹底取消，門戶觀念也消除了。Leftfield意味著什么？不是別的，它意味著純粹對音樂的熱愛，不是時尚，不是一時的心血來潮。它 橫跨了所有的流行文化：從感官刺激的朋克、實驗的reggae到出節(jié)奏的house音樂。這是一起新鮮且自命不凡的個案，吸引了全宇宙的喝彩與奉承。真誠、痙攣、情感的沖撞構(gòu)成了《Leftism》最基本的力量所在。
《Leftlism》的成功奠定了Underworld和The Chemical Brothers的成功。舞曲音樂已經(jīng)蔚然成風，沒什么會象Leftfield那樣改變歷史了。
by Jason Ankeny
The production team which brought house music back from the brink of commercial mediocrity, Leftfield made it safe for artistic producers to begin working in a new vein termed progressive house. Paul Daley (a former member of A Man Called Adam and the Brand New Heavies) and programmer Neil Barnes combined the classic soul of early Chicago and New York house with the growing Artificial Intelligence school of album-oriented techno to create classic, intelligent dance music. When legal hassles over ownership of the Leftfield name prevented the pair from recording their own music after the release of their debut Not Forgotten, they turned to remixing, establishing their early reputation for reworking tracks by artists ranging from Stereo MCs and David Bowie to Yothu Yindhi and Renegade Soundwave. Finally, with their courtroom battles successfully behind them, they formed their own Hard Hands label in late 1992 and issued the single Release the Pressure, featuring reggae vocalist Earl Sixteen; Song of Life followed, and in 1993 Leftfield scored their first major hit with Open Up, recorded with John Lydon. Their debut LP Leftism was released in 1995; the long-awaited Rhythm and Stealth followed four years later. With only two albums under their belt, Leftfield decided to split in early 2002 to focus on solo projects.