#DogEarFeature – with Neil Barnes of Leftfield

As a fan of Leftfield ever since debut album Leftism lit up the skies like a bolt of lightning back in 1995 (it still sounds as fresh now – can it really be that long?!?), I’d been eagerly looking forward to the release of the new album This Is What We Do for some time when it landed at the tail end of 2022.

I was still taken by surprise by just how well it builds bridges with previous work, whilst still sounding totally ‘now’, and leapt at the chance to interview Neil Barnes to ask him exactly how he’d achieved this, and to try to get a sense of the man behind the music.

There couldn’t have been a better subject. As warm and welcoming as his music, though (perhaps surprisingly) considerably more laid back, chatting to Neil is like meeting a friend of a friend down the pub, and immediately hitting it off.

We chatted for twenty-odd minutes – a generous chunk of his time, given the innumerable press calls he no doubt had lined up. Suffice to say, it didn’t feel like an interview at all.

I’d have happily have talked for a lot longer, had there been the time; it felt like he would have too.

EB: What are your early musical memories?

NB: We didn’t have a record player when I was young, so home was more about classical music – my Father made pianos, my brother played violin.

The first record I remember having a big impact on me was Petula Clark’s Downtown, and the first one I bought was 20th Century Boy by T. Rex – there was something about it that struck me as significant.

My sister was into Motown, and school and Top of the Pops were big influences. There was a sort of Bowie / prog rock split at school, but I was into both. I also spent a lot of time in record shops.

The first gig I went to was Yes, at age 13, with Gary Kemp, whose school band went on to become Spandau Ballet.

EB: And your other early influences?

NB: There were the reggae gigs – such incredible sound-systems, more so than at rock gigs. That bass! So heavy.

Then there was [Tony Wilson-fronted] TV program, So It Goes, which showcased a lot of punk music.

I was also aware of the Rock against Racism movement, antifascism and the dangers of right-wing ideology. 

Then there was the New York influence – early hip-hop such as Afrika Baambaata, but also Chic and disco.

My group of friends weren’t allied to any particular musical genre or clique. We might be at a reggae gig – Misty In Roots, Black Uhuru, or Pablo Gad, say – one week, a Talking Heads gig the next. We’d go and see The Specials or Madness. We got to see Joy Division at the Moonlight Club, just before Ian Curtis died. 

As for recorded reggae, the bass on some of those records has never been matched. Still radical, brave, ahead of its time.

EB: What makes a good record?

NB: Sonic balance, and a unique approach, which can happen in any genre – pop can do it.

EB: Did you set out to do that consciously when you started to make your own music?

NB: I didn’t know what I was doing when I started out on Not Forgotten [which went on to become Leftfield’s first single, released in 1990 – to get an impression of it’s immense impact, check out the comments on YouTube]. I was listening to a lot of New York house, and suddenly got the idea I wanted to make a record.

I got a bank loan, bought a keyboard and a sampler, and sampled a snatch of dialogue from the film Mississippi Burning [namely ‘What’s wrong with these people?’]. That was the original idea – to make an alternative soundtrack for that film; though I actually liked the original Trevor Jones soundtrack.

The bassline just came to me, I suppose from a reggae influence. That and several other elements – the track’s repetitive nature, the ethnic elements, et cetera – have been in much of [Leftfield’s] music since. 

I just pulled together a lot of stuff I thought was good, made a piece of music, and thought nothing of it.

The [Akai] S950 sampler has inbuilt compression that makes things sound good. For some reason, I had the confidence to take it to Neil Cole – now [better known as recording artist] Djum Djum – and played it to him in the back of a car!

[Record label] Rhythm King decided to release the track – a surprise to me!

EB: How do you go about making music? Where do you start?

NB: I imagine what it will feel like for people to listen to a track when I’m working on it. I have since the beginning. I ask myself, if I heard it for the for the first time, or in a live environment, what would it do to me? Would I like it? Question it? Is it doing what it should do? 

Paul [Daley, Neil’s ex Leftfield bandmate] and I had a very visual approach to making music. We were both in touch with what the point of it was. I still work quite hard on what to put into a track to make it go somewhere, to go where it needs to go. I’ll change things, remove things.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t!

EB: Were you aware at the time how much of an impact [1995’s debut album] Leftism was having?

NB: It took a while to recognise, even though it sold a lot more than anyone expected. Then we did a load of gigs in ’96 and ’97 – though we didn’t do America, which was a big mistake! We did play big [U.S.] gigs later, in New York and at Coachella, for example.

EB: In terms of [new album] This Is what We Do – which I love, by the way –

NB: Ah, cheers.

EB: – I really think you’ve somehow both managed to make music that connects perfectly with the Leftfield back catalogue, but is simultaneously bang up to date. The first track I heard – even though it wasn’t the first released – was Full Way Round, which was instantly one of the tracks of the year for me. 

NB: Ah, I’m really glad you liked it. Some people don’t get it.

EB: Are you serious?

NB: Yeah. 

EB: In what way?

NB: [Neil references a radio segment where musicians rate recent releases by other artists, on which the track apparently got a bit of a rough ride. I’m genuinely shocked!]. They just said it had been done before. 

EB: Wow! They can’t really have listened to it!

That collaboration [with Fontaines D.C. frontman Grian Chatten] continues what has for me become a bit of a Leftfield trademark – choosing exactly the right people to work with. It’s a musical marriage made in heaven. 

How do those collaborations come about?

NB: They choose themselves – anyone who’s mad enough!

I love Fontaines D.C. 

EB: As do I.

NB: Grian’s a really nice bloke. I gave him two demo tracks, he chose this one, and went with it. He works really hard, but he’s absolutely also a poet.

EB: There’s a definite ‘stream of consciousness’ feel to it – for me, even hints of James Joyce. An incredible achievement.

NB: It’ll definitely be part of the live set. 

EB: If you’d asked me a week ago, I’d have said for sure it’s my favourite track on the album; but I think [final track] The Power of Listening might have recently overtaken it.

NB: Yeah, that’ll be another live track. Sort of prog rock techno. 

This track reflects Carl Roger’s approach to psychotherapy – the importance of listening and empathy. A real belief in people, and in being yourself. I’ll try to carry that into live shows.

Read my review of This is What We Do here. Check the band out on their forthcoming tour!