Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: 'We Are!' was the very first opening theme for the TV anime version of One Piece, which first aired in 1999. The first analogue version of the 8cm single CD was released in November of that year. Sung by the franchise's in-house singer Hiroshi Kitadani, and bringing along with her a bursting, emphatic, nearing-on-frenzied composition, the theme instantly captures the vibe of One Piece; that of following Monkey D. Luffy and crew on serial whimsical piracies and carefree adventures, set against a more sinister backdrop of tyrannical secret police forces controlled by a World Government, in constant conflict with a Revolutionary Army.

Review: Rachika Nayar's album 'Fragments' is a collection of sonic miniatures constructed from guitar loops and in the familiar comforts of her own bedroom. First released as a limited edition cassette by RVNG Intl's Commend THERE imprint, it now comes to the main label in full vinyl LP glory, thanks to its sublime working of cyclical, processed, meditative guitar loops into a distinct oeuvre. Nayar is no less than a sonic alchemist, transmuting tactile guitar loops into repeating textures, in a style that seems to continue in the tradition of The Field or Fennesz.

Review: The Necks' 20th studio album, Bleed, is an unbroken 42-minute composition that delves into the rich, unsettling beauty of stillness. Known for their minimalist jazz, the Australian trio takes their distinctive approach even further here, turning silence and decay into instruments as potent as any piano or drum. Each second feels like a meditation on space, where nothing is rushed, and every shift matters. It's a single composition, yet it feels like an endless expanse of possibilities, each sound lingering in the air before dissolving into the next. Pressed on Indie Exclusive Green Vinyl, Bleed is another masterclass from The Necks, a group that has never been content to rest on past achievements. They stretch the limits of jazz in a way that few other artists could, inviting the listener into a world where stillness isn't an absence but a presence. The sounds feel tactile, almost organic, as if they were born from the earth itself, then slowly decayed. Each listen offers something different, some new texture or note that was missed before, making Bleed a record that grows with you, becoming more complex and rewarding with time. It's minimalist, yes, but not in the cold, distant senseithis is music that pulls you in, demands your attention, and rewards it with an almost spiritual sense of calm.

Review: Australian minimalist-jazz trio The Necks return with a powerful exploration of stillness and decay in the for of their new album, Bleed. The record features one lone 42-minute composition in which the band masterfully delves into the beauty of space and subtle transformation. Through their unique blend of minimalist jazz, The Necks continue to craft a distinct sound that shows subtle evolution and makes for another striking chapter to their extensive body of work. Bleed is all about giving over to the meditative journey where every note and pause evokes the profound complexity of time and impermanence, all while showcasing the trio's remarkable ability to evoke plenty of very real emotion despite the minimal nature of their evocative sounds.

Review: Legendary kraut and prog rock duo NEU! aka Michael Rother and Klaus Dinger make the 50th anniversary of their self titled debut album with a special reissue all formats. This limited edition picture disc format is one for the collectors for sure. The music still sounds fresh with its mix of heady ambient and lazy grooves, driving motor kicks and psyched out sounds all making for perfectly immersive listening. Weird and wonderful and unbelievably avant garde for 1972, it remains one of the most impressive debut albums of the era.

Review: South Carolina singer and producer Niecy Blues describes her songwriting process like an undertow: "I feel a strange pull, and let it carry me, following swirling leaves/whole days roll by, forgetting about the body." Their full-length debut, Exit Simulation, captures this sense of deep-rooted divination, cycling between simmering ballads, ghosted r&b, downtempo gospel, and looped vocal improvisations - often within the same track. The title is taken from a science fiction novel she read during the purgatory of the pandemic, alluding to a dimensional ideation of departure - "the permission to imagine leaving." Recorded in her current home of Charleston, she characterizes the album's mood in terms both reflective and raw: an exploration of things suppressed, foundations beginning to crack, "talking myself off a ledge." The music of Niecy Blues transposes reverie and reckoning into emotive devotionals of keys, guitar, bass, synth, and bewitched voice, steeped in sacred atmospheres gleaned from a youth spent in a religious Oklahoma household: "My first experience with ambient music was church - slow songs of worship, with delay on the guitar - even if you don't believe, you feel something."

Review: Sonic Cathedral share the debut album of Not Me But Us, Two, facilitating the Neapolitan duo's astonishing talent for production and pitch-bent melancholy. Made up of Bruno Bavota and Fabrizio Somma (aka. K-Conjog), this new effort blends each of their influences with echoes of ambient, techno, 2000s club culture, postclassical music and hints of post-rock, making for a fascinating electronica cocktail. Lending well to Bavota's usual piano-based pieces, the new collaborative approach, which fed a new interest in analog gear, also resulted in an effective vehicle to process grief and gaze into new horizons for the artists.