Back catalogue: Leftfield

Review: With a title inspired by the utterances of The Oracle of Delphi, a cult of female priestesses who reportedly "changed the course of civilisation" by inhaling volcanic vapours, it's clear that Lee Burtucci and Olivia Block's first collaborative album is rooted in paganistic visions and experimental mysticism. It's comprised of two lengthy tracks, each accompanied by edited 'excerpts', and combines Burtucci's experimental synth sounds and tape loops with Block's processed vocalisations and hazy field recordings. Dark and suspenseful, with each extended composition delivering a mixture of mind-mangling electronics, creepy ambience and musical elements doused in trippy effects, it sits somewhere between the charred "illbient" of DJ Spooky and the deep space soundscapes of the late Pete Namlook.

Review: Last year, regular collaborators Ian Boddy (a Sunderland-based electronics wizard who founded the ambient-focused DiN imprint years ago) and Erik Wallo (a long-serving Norwegian guitarist primiarly known for his experimental and ambient releases) performed their first joint concert for a decade. It's that performance, where they jammed out extended and much-changed versions of tracks featured on some of their prior studio sets, which forms the basis of their latest full-length, Transmissions. As you'd expect, it's a wonderfully atmospheric and evocative affair that gets the most out of both artists, with highlights including the wonderfully creepy 'Uncharted', the krautrock-style hypnotism of 'Aboena', the icy and ethereal 'Ice Station' and the slow-burn bliss of 'Salvage'.

Review: The then recently reformed Throbbing Gristle's 2005 New Year's Eve performance at Berlin's Volksbuhne pulses with the band's trademark intensity, presenting a vivid snapshot of their uncompromising live ethos, immortalising a key moment in their ongoing evolution, where they intertwine iconic tracks like 'Convincing People', 'Slug Bait', and 'Hamburger Lady' with newer materialigiving a taste of what was to come in their first album in 27 years. The show also marked their first encore in over two decades, a rare treat for fans. As one of the originators of industrial music, their influence looms large, with this performance underscoring their continued commitment to pushing boundaries, both musically and culturally. The shock value of Throbbing Gristle has worn off, but the questions they raised about the nature of art, performance and audience remain compelling, and the music remains as instantly visceral and comfrontational as ever. Their legacy is woven through the dark industrial fabric of countless acts that followed, but the message has always been clear: creativity without compromise is the truest form of rebellion.