Music > Interviews

Leftfield

29/09/15

It’s been 16 years since the last album from dance outfit Leftfield. Neil and Paul split back in 2002 and now, finally, Neil has returned with a worth-the –wait classic in Alternative Light Source. Not only that, but for the very first time he’s bringing the whole Leftfield shebang up to Norwich. With tracks like Open Up or Afrika Shox through to Head and Shoulders, Leftfield continue to bring us dance music that challenges and delights. I spoke to Neil Barnes about how the scene’s changed since he was last around and where he thinks Leftfield fits in now. Welcome back mate. We’ve been waiting for you.

I’m really looking forward to your gig here in Norwich!

I don’t think we’ve played in Norwich before, but I don’t know why. There’re a lot of people looking forward to this tour because they haven’t seen us play live before.

You were originally in a band before you started making electronic music. What was it that turned you onto dance music?

Both Paul (ex member of Leftfield) and I were in bands when we started Leftfield. I know exactly the point when I knew I didn’t want to be in the band anymore; when I went to see Afrika Bambaaataa play. I was always listening to rock, punk and also disco and soul, and some of that early hip hop blew our minds; for example, Planet Rock by Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force. No one nowadays can really get what it was like back then. Grandmaster Flash…music like that was just so different. People like Kraftwerk were using drum machines but when it all happened right across the board, and people like The Human League started using synths, I found that what we were doing with guitars in the band was unsatisfying. But we couldn’t afford the equipment; the first drum machine that became available was £2,000 back in 1981, so can you imagine what that would be these days?! I just remember disbanding the band I was in and I didn’t make any more music until midi came along, and samplers in 1984.

Was it a process of learning to use these new pieces of equipment through making your own mistakes?

Exactly. A sampler is an extraordinary machine, although people don’t really use them now. I had an Akai S960…like a gray box with a screen and buttons. The main thing about it was that each individual sound could have its own output. That was revolutionary. Sampling is so easy; I could teach someone to use one in five minutes and then it’s just what you use it for. I had a really primitive set up; it included a sequencer which tells the midi which order to play the sounds in. I wasn’t particularly technical but I worked out enough to make it work for me.

And what do you use to make music now?

Things have gone really minimal again and everything is getting smaller. I work with a guy called Adam Wren who’s on the new record. Because the speed of chips and the fact that memory is so enormous, the quality of plug- in technology has just gone through the roof. A lot of purists complain that you lose warmth in the sound but that’s a load of baloney. I use old keyboards, old drum machines, but I plug them in one at a time. I don’t actually need a mixing desk any more. Really all you need is good monitors and a good room; big studios are dying off for that reason. On my iPad at the moment I’ve got three plug-in’s that I’m using to write with and they’re really incredible high quality. I love knobs and tweaking things and you don’t get that with a computer but you do have absolute control of what you’re doing. There’s still room for using analogue equipment though.

Didn’t Damon Albarn make a record from music he’d made on his laptop in an airport or something?

Yeah! It was dreadful though.  I think he’s a bloody genius but I have to say that was brave and it was a trailblazing idea but it didn’t really work.

What did you do between Leftfield splitting in 2002 and starting to play out again in 2010?

Actually, I spent most of that time trying to make music that didn’t sound like Leftfield and working with other people. When the name went I felt like I couldn’t make that type of music anymore which is a bit stupid really because in actual fact I should have carried on. I started to do other things thinking that that form of electronic music was over. I started to pick up guitars again..it was still electronic and some of it was quite ahead of its time, but didn’t really commit to anything. I had a young family was well so I spent a lot of time at home because I hadn’t been at home for ten years before that with Leftfield. As soon as I started doing Leftfield again I realised I wanted to fully re-commit to electronic music. 

Why is now the right time for a new Leftfield album and tour after a 12 years hiatus?

It’s not deliberate, it’s just the way things have worked out. Music at the moment is mad; no-one knows what’s going on at the moment. It’s a really strange period, with the live thing, recording music, selling music; no one knows if there’s a future for it. It’s an odd time to make a record. In terms of electronic music it’s become the wallpaper of everything; it’s now the main style in music whereas before now it’s always been secondary to rock music. I think they’re struggling to find new young bands to do main stages…they have to change the way they think about things. How many more old time acts can they dig up to headline festivals? It’s like something from the ‘80’s!  There’s still an underground scene though, a real subculture going on and I think Leftfield are part of that. I feel like we’re relevant and that’s why it’s been worth doing it again.

The new album is beautifully Leftfield still, but was there a temptation to be influenced by dance trends like dubstep or grime?

Well, I do listen to lot of music so absolutely, yes. There’s such a lot of great music being made. People like Hudson Mohawke I always namecheck for the quality of what he does and the ideas behind it. I listened to dubstep when it was really big. A lot of producers making records now, people like Boddika who are actually big but no one knows about them because it’s house/techno that’s really powerful and dark…Daniel Avery…all those guys, they’re doing their thing separately from the whole festival scene. They can DJ for 1,000 people but most people haven’t heard of them.

There’s been an amazing reception for your latest album. How has it felt, to feel the love that people have for Leftfield after all these years?

Wow, I’m never really one to notice reactions; I tend to pick out the negative reactions more! The NME weren’t very kind about it; they’ve always slagged off Leftfield which I’ve never really understood. They said they liked it and then gave it a really low star rating. Generally speaking the reaction’s been amazing, it’s been played to death on Radio 6. It feels really great. It’s doing what Leftfield records do; it sort of sits there and gradually gathers steam. It seems to be getting bigger and bigger and people are picking up on it. It’s different to the other records but then Rhythm and Stealth was different to Leftism and you know, it’s got a wide variety of elements in it.

Something I really like about Leftfield albums is how every song is totally different to the one before, like Gorillaz or Unkle. How did you go about ordering the tracks on the album?

Oh it’s really hard. I had lots and lots of different orders and you never quite get it all right on that front. The hardest thing is to make it sound like an album and not 10 individual songs. That’s where the mix is really important; you have to somehow, even though they’re different styles and tempos, make it all sit together. It really takes some time and the only thing I can base the decision on is knowing what makes a good record and what I like. I hate slagging things off but when, for instance, I listen to the Jamie XX album it doesn’t really hang together for me as an album although there are tracks on there I really like. At the moment there are a lot of albums like that…I like a few tracks on them but the rest of it doesn’t work for me because people haven’t thought about it as a listening experience. The Yo La Tengo album that came out earlier this year is excellent, a really stunning album. In terms of style it’s completely different to the music I make..it’s cover versions…the opposite of dance music! It’s just a really well put together record. I’ve been discovering a lot of older records as a lot of stuff at the moment just bores me.

Is “the album” still a valid concept in today’s fast moving and throwaway music culture?

People make playlists on Spotify, which is the new version of buying records and making cassettes from them; these days it’s so easy to grab 100 tracks and make a playlist without really committing to it. It’s more like a radio station or wallpaper. I don’t think young kids listen to albums; they might listen to compilations, but I think the only reason albums are made is because of record contracts; otherwise people would just put out singles or EP’s. Most contracts talk about having 10 pieces of work, so that’s why we make albums. I know vinyl’s come back so maybe that’s encouraging albums to be made. I know artists like to make albums because it allows you concentrate on one thing, get it out of your system and move onto something else. So as I said earlier, it’s a very odd period in the music industry.  For a start, no one can play a gig outside of a festival from the 1st of June til the end of September. It’s dead! That’s why clubs are dying..no one can afford to put a gig on. So then in the periods between October and April there’s a mad rush for venues and no one can get in anywhere. Everyone’s doing tours, but actually half of them aren’t selling.

I love how intense Little Fish is. How long did it take for that song to take shape?

That was done in about 6 months and is basically just a bassline, hardly any music and really hard drums. It’s like a New York talking heads type of track. Everyone picks a different tune they like best from the album which is good. Little Fish is my favourite..it’s fun and has an energy to it. I’m glad you like it!

Will any of the guest singers be joining you on stage at UEA?

Yeah we will; it’s a bit early yet, we have to see who’s available.  We have had Jason from Sleaford Mods come along sometimes for his track Head and Shoulders. It’s going to be a big show with a live band. There’s some talk of a 20th anniversary Leftism gig, playing the whole album the beginning of next year; I’d love to get John Lydon along to do Open Up.

Leftfield play The Nick Raynes LCR at UEA on 16th October. Tickets available from ueaticketbookings.co.uk.