Leftfield (GB)

About

Mixmag once called Leftfield "the single most influential production team working in British dance music", and it is hard to argue. The London duo of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley helped define the sound of 1990s British electronic music, and the term progressive house was literally coined to describe what they were doing: a dense, driving fusion of house, dub and reggae. Their 1995 debut Leftism, which featured John Lydon of the Sex Pistols on the storming single "Open Up", was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize and landed at number 34 in Q magazine's list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. "Phat Planet" from their number one follow up Rhythm and Stealth soundtracked one of the most famous TV ads of the era, the Guinness Surfer commercial. After splitting in 2002 and a long hiatus, Barnes brought Leftfield back without Daley, eventually releasing Alternative Light Source in 2015, with Sleaford Mods among the guest vocalists. A fourth album, This Is What We Do, followed in 2022, with Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten appearing on "Full Way Round". Guest vocalists have always been a Leftfield signature, and that tradition clearly has not faded.