Full Way Round

Leftfield have a new album out next month. This Is What We Do will be their fourth since the early 90s and Leftfield now is only Neil Barnes, Paul Daley having departed some time ago. Barnes has had a rough few years not least recovering from cancer. The album continues the run of strong guest vocalists- John Lydon, Djum Djum, Toni Halliday, Afrika Bambaataa and Roots Manuva have all stepped up to the microphone previously. This time around vocal contributions come from poet Lemn Sissay and Fontaines D.C. singer Grian Chatten. Grian's voice and words on Full Way Round add much to the track, his Dublin street poetics playing off against and with Leftfield's distorted, hard hitting dub techno. 

Which reminds me that I still haven't caught up with Fontaines D.C. album from earlier this year, Skinty Fia. I do have though a pair of remixes from last year that get pulled out round the Bagging Area way fairly often, the giddy, joyous Balearic stylings brought to A Hero's Death by Soulwax (a song I find inexplicably moving) and the full on grungy bassline, needles- in- the- red, massive kick drum, bleep techno version of Televised Mind by Dave Clarke.

A Hero's Death (Soulwax Remix)

Televised Mind (Dave Clarke Remix)

Monday's Long Song

This is a perfect collision of acid- techno and post punk- Dublin's poetic young guitar slingers Fontaines DC remixed by Dave Clarke, a monstrous, takes no prisoners, seven minute white knuckle ride. When the distorted bass comes in on top for the final minute and a half it's likely to cause outbreaks of pogoing and body slamming.

Dave Clarke is a techno legend, nicknamed the baron of techno by John Peel back in the 90s. His 1994 releases Red 1 and Red 2 are monuments to hard, driving, percussive techno and his approach has always been to avoid the obvious route, shun the commercial aspects and keep your head down. I thought I had digital files of Red 1 and 2 but can't locate them at the moment. My vinyl copy purchased at the time came with a tear off cardboard strip, so you had to damage the sleeve to play the records.  This won't be everyone's cup of tea but there's a purism to this which is beautiful.