Are Back

Surely one of the most surprising - and well-received - names on the 2011 Future Music Festival line-up is Leftfield who, after an eight-year hiatus, are back on stage. Hands in the air people.

British duo Neil Barnes and Paul Daley ruled the world throughout the 1990s on the back of Leftfield's pioneering productions showcased on their debut LP ‘Leftism’ and 1999's UK chart-topping follow up ‘Rhythm And Stealth’. Singles including ‘Not Forgotten’ and ‘Phat Plane’ blended progressive elements with tribal, breaks, dub, house and even trance influences, making Leftfield one of the 1990’s most successful electronic acts alongside the likes of Underworld and The Chemical Brothers.

In 2002 it ended. Barnes and Daley went their separate ways and nothing else was heard from them, apart from a 2005 Greatest Hits release, which, while brilliant, only served to reinforce the void left by their absence on the scene.

Bowing to persistent requests Barnes resurrected the Leftfield live show earlier this year with appearances at Creamfields and Scotland's Rockness festivals. Such was the response that Leftfield will next month embark on a huge UK tour, while their appearance at Future Music Festival is sure to lure some slightly more mature 90s fans out of their easy chairs. As Barnes explains, the Australian tour will be Leftfield's first.

“We've never played Australia before,” he explains. “It was the biggest mistake; I'm buzzing about it; I've wanted to go to Australia and play for a long time so this is a dream for us really. I've got goose pimples running down my back at the thought of coming over to Brisbane to play for you lot!”

While Daley is not contributing to the Leftfield revival, and Barnes admits there is no new Leftfield material in the pipeline, he confirms the live show has been completely reworked.

“I've taken the original tracks and re-done them in a way that keeps the idea of what Leftfield was,” he says. “The original Leftfield shows were very remixed; at the time, they were an opportunity to get away from the albums whereas what I've done is go back to the albums.

“I decided I wanted to do it as a live band, as much as possible. Being electronic music you obviously have to use computers, which is part of what Leftfield's music is really. It's a very, very technical show [but] it's not pressing a computer and standing behind a mixing desk; it's evolved through intensive rehearsals to get it to this level; I can't wait.”

Leftfield play Future Music Festival, at Doomben Racecourse, Saturday March 5.