British dance giants Leftfield have spoken about their legacy and influence exclusively to ClashMusic.
Hard as it is to believe, Leftfield only recorded two albums. However by merging dub, techno and rock into one intimidating package the band cut a swathe through the dance scene, propelling it into becoming an album form.
Splitting in 2000, Leftfield confirmed earlier this year that they are to reconvene for a series of live shows. Performing at RockNess and L.E.D. the group will bring their exacting live sound to the outdoor arena.
With time passing them by, producer Neil Barnes has spoken to ClashMusic about the band’s influence. With bass music nestling on the outskirts of the mainstream, Leftfield can be regarded as forerunners of modern developments in dubstep and drum ‘n’ bass.
Asked if he can hear his influence on new acts, Neil Barnes confirmed: “Without a doubt, yeah. Some of the better produced stuff, definitely. I can hear the elements of our sound. All music, including dance music, is influenced by previous styles of music. That’s how it works.”
“I listen to people like Breakage who have got a track called ‘Open Up’ and hear a Leftfield influence in there. The other thing is that a lot of the time you’re just not aware of the influence.”
Continuing, the producer revealed that Leftfield were tempted to get their material remixed by the new breed of bass heads. “There is a big temptation to do that. We started doing remixes, that’s where we started. There are some fantastic people out there, without a doubt.”
“Someone did a bootleg of my very first single, it’s just really mental” he continued. “It’s just happening at the moment. Timo Garcia. He’s done a remix of ‘Not Forgotten’ it’s out there at the moment and it’s really good. It’s a bootleg now I think. It’s very good and it shows you that you could very easily remix our material. We’ve always had remixes in the past, I mean Dave Clarke did an amazing remix of ‘Phat Planet’ but it would be amazing to get something new done.”
Watch out for the full interview soon!
