Artist Interviews

Q&A: Leftfield

By | Published on Thursday 18 November 2010

Leftfield

Hugely influential dance duo Leftfield began, briefly, as a solo project for producer Neil Barnes, before he was joined by Paul Daley after the release of just one single. The pair released a string of singles, including ‘Open Up’, which featured guest vocals from John Lydon, before releasing their debut album, ‘Leftism’, in 1995, which reached number three in the UK charts. The follow-up, 1999’s ‘Rhythm & Stealth’, topped that, going to number one. Having split in 2002, Barnes resurrected the project (with Daley’s blessing) to headline this year’s RockNess festival, and begins a three week UK tour tonight. We spoke to Neil to find out more.

Q1 How did you start out making music?
I got a bank loan and bought a sampler, a keyboard and a drum machine. I was inspired by the film ‘Mississippi Burning’. I wrote a simple track influenced by the film and it became the first Leftfield single, ‘Not Forgotten’.

Q2 What inspired ‘Rhythm & Stealth’?
The last Leftfield album was inspired by the need to do something different. Tough, electronic and brave.

Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
The first part of the process is to think of a basic theme for the track. This is important. The actual music can change but the initial idea has to remain solid throughout. Then months go by as the track changes and develops and lots of ideas are thrown at it. Eventually, if it is any good, it ends up much simpler and quite close to the basic theme.

Q4 Which artists influence your work?
PIL, Joy Division, Wire, David Bowie, Augustus Pablo, Giorgio Moroder, Kraftwerk, Neu, Afrika Bambaataa and the Soul Sonic Force, Cluster, Brian Eno, Phillip Glass, Arvo Part, and The Beatles.

Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Turn it up!

Q6 What are your ambitions for the future?
My ambitions for the future are to perform the best live show imaginable.

MORE>> www.leftfieldtour.co.uk



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