Leftfield versus Orbital.........FIGHT!!!!!

I listened to it recently and thought it was great! Maybe the setting helped - on the river beach in London on a summer night through crappy portable speakers with cheap lager and a small driftwood fire.

I listened to Leftism recently and it's showing its age in a way that albums like In Sides and Middle of Nowhere aren't.

Ha, I feel exactly the opposite way. Could listen to Leftfield anytime - haven't felt the urge to listen to Orbital in years.

Spectacular remaster! (Haven't dared listening to the remix cd though)

The remixes are v disappointing.

i only liked 2 of the remixes at most

The passage of time has been very kind to Leftism.
The Zomby remix is cool.

What a weird thread. They're not even remotely the same thing.

Leftfield v Orbital v Underworld

The only Leftfield thread that came up in search, really. Just thought I’d stir the pot a little bit. Underworld are probably more consistent, Orbital’s peak output reached the highest pinnacle, but Leftfield’s best stuff has aged pretty well.

This is the one I called “‘ardcore” which was admittedly a bit generous but I could work in a mix. Too heavy on the drum rolls. The bassline is really havin’ it tho.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc1wxrP-85Q

I.C.P. - Free & Equal (Leftfield Remix)

*it could work in a mix.

I could not.

orbital wins even against the orb!

That's alright, not what I was expecting from the juggalo / dub house disco intersection.

orbital wins even against the orb!

Orb are more irreplaceable to me, they're in this weird unique space where seriousness and humor aren't different

Orbital's best stuff is absolutely timeless but The Orb feel way more influential - so many artists I dig had a phase where they tried to imitate them - plus they've got way more music out and are cranking out quality records even today. By contrast Orbital have only done one good album in over 20 years (Wonky) and even that one leans heavily on nostalgia, whereas The Orb always push forward somehow

If this is a three way fight between orbital, the orb and leftfield, then, in the long run, the orb win out for me, I'm always surprised how much I enjoy 'the adventure beyond the underworld' stuff when it crops up on shuffle plays, truly timeless, a lush sample-delic palette that has some awesome grooves. Orbital and Leftfield were/are special for gigs and festival times but for pure 'home' listening fun, the orb can still conjour that a bit of that magic that isn't just nostalgia, unlike the other two

Orbital almost always feel like they’ve had one idea for the track, managed it in time for lunch, and then finished up. There’s not enough depth/complexity there.

that is.. just so wrong
starting with the assumption you can’t make a deep/complex track in time for lunch.

“out there somewhere” not deep/complex?

funny enough paul did say something about starting on chimes, then heading to a pub for a few, coming back and finishing the track

maybe on the first album though. I've always thought of that as one where you could cut the length by a third without losing any of the tracks

The first album is fine but they’d yet to really start going for it complexity-wise - you can hear them really stretch their wings on “Lush” on the second album and then the USA version of “Impact”, like they’re working out their defining aesthetic while you listen.

there is such a level up in confidence between the green and the brown album

yeah incredible that they were recorded a year apart. that is a hell of a leap

last two posts otm

Apart from "Belfast", I don't like the first album much. Brown through Middle of Nowhere is pure brilliance

Orbital's '94 Glastonbury set is on iPlayer at the moment (along with a huge amount of other Glastonbury sets). Not much to look at but they dance goofily and cool version of 'Sad But True' with extended intro making the Selecter sample sound extra dirty, transitioning smoothly from the slowed down end of 'Forever' right into it, at the expense of '...Duck Feet', but then right into 'Impact' and 'Remind' after that. No 'Lush' though surprisingly.

Leftism sounds less dated today than it did a decade ago.

they're both shite, textbook student house and techno. What you want is the real brain frying hard acid on labworks, dj.ungle fever/structure, and magnetic north, noisy and a low key criticism of the club that Orbital couldn't manage. Let the bad times roll.

The Power of love? You bet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EPkj2ROBUI

Did you write this review on discogs too?

Dj.ungle Fever WAS Cologne. Then the the overwhelming miasma of endless pretend genres of masturbatory boredom tightly grasping the throat of the Techno community today intruded their unwanted, fake faces and never let go.

nah, not me. Although I think what killed techno was endless splits, rather than detroit-inflected minimalism, which was initially refreshing amongst hardcore and acid gear, as a kind of heads down no nonsense back 2 basics jackin sound. See the Black Scorpian technotron ep and Ian Pooley Celtic Cross ep, as well as Robert Hood internal empire. All totally uncompromising.

it was good when trance sounded like this, like a coldly cosmic take on EBM. But then Sasha Digweed and people like Leftfield, Underworld had to come in and invent prog trance which was like soppy indie goldsmiths graduates of the 90s crying on the dancefloor to Be as One. And orbital was their chillout music of choice. Yuck. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bCVLHkh5p4

.. anyway, i need to correct myself, paul wrote chimes _before_ going to the pub.

that and other interesting bits here: https://www.soundonsound.com/people/orbital-recording-chime-london-studio
and here: https://www.soundonsound.com/people/classic-tracks-orbital-chime

this particular quote is interesting in the context of green album -> brown album -> snivilisation -> insides progression, it wasn't just growth in terms of confidence level but intent also. this is after the brown album:

"We're a lot more anxious about things now," admits Phil. "We've now got the responsibility of getting a track finished 'cos it's going to be on a record. You become more analytical of your stuff." Paul: "I still have to fight with that idea — the last month has been quite bizarre, with us trying to work out what the next record should sound like. For example, I've been trying to dodge using a constant 909 bass drum 'cos a lot of our records over the last four years have got that. But then I think, 'Hey, if we were at home making music then I wouldn't hesitate to use that if I wanted to.' You know what I mean? And I'm forever trying to draw the line somewhere and work out why, if we weren't making records would we have used it? Because we just felt like it! Now we think twice about it; you start to think 'Hey wait a minute, isn't that just getting pompous?" Phil: "Consequently you're in the studio, set to do your next recording, and you end up spending three weeks just talking about it!"

leftism feels like it's trying so hard to prove something while pretending it doesn't

new leftfield

SAD!