"With house music greatly lacking commercial appeal and record execs doubting its recording value, Leftfield came out of, well, left field to act as a savior of sorts for the floundering genre in the mid-‘90s. Paul Daley and Neil Barnes, the duo that formed Leftfield in 1991, didn't really come from left field, but London, where they honed their craft by incorporating a variety of stateside electronic styles of music to create a danceable combination of soul and techno.The duo's recording aspirations got off to a sour start when legal battles prevented them from releasing their own material for a few years. Meanwhile, Leftfield earned a reputation for mixing tracks, establishing a fan base before ever releasing a full-length album. Their debut came in the form of 1995's Leftism. The album included a multitude of material already released in single form along with several new tracks. The disc, exhibiting a variety of influences, caused one magazine to declare that ""no sound system is safe"" upon its release. The record featured both vocal and instrumental tracks, but borrowed aspects of a number of different musical genres, making its sound a refreshing one for fans. The disc did incredibly well in the U.K., selling an unprecedented number of copies in what was largely considered to be a niche market.The dynamic duo returned after four years of studio silence with their follow up full-length, Rhythm and Stealth. Daley blamed the recording hiatus on the mounting pressure that accompanied the warm reception the tandem's debut received. Putting his fears aside, Daley, along with Barnes, crafted an array of tracks that pushed the boundaries once again. It incorporated many of the changes that house music had gone through during the gap between its recording and that of Leftism and remains Leftfield's most recent release."
