"Afro-Left" is a song by the English electronic duo
Leftfield
Leftfield are a British electronic music group formed in London in 1989, a duo of Neil Barnes and Paul Daley (the latter formerly of The Rivals and A Man Called Adam). The duo was influential in the evolution of electronic music in the 1990s ...
, released as their seventh single. The song was released on 12", CD and cassette on 24 July 1995 by Hard Hands/
Chrysalis
A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages the ...
. It featured Neil Cole (as Djum Djum) on vocals, and it was rumoured that the lyrics were in an unspecified African language; it was later revealed that they were simply
gibberish
Gibberish, also known as jibber-jabber or gobbledygook, is speech that is (or appears to be) nonsense: ranging across speech sounds that are not actual words, pseudowords, language games and specialized jargon that seems nonsensical to outsid ...
, or "Djum Djum talk".
The song reached #22 in the UK charts.
The B-side "Afro Ride", a remix of "Afro-Left", was used in the 1995 game ''
wipE'out"''.
Critical reception
David Bennun from ''
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' found that "Afro-Left" "turns a spoken African vocal into music, takes words without meaning, and infuses them with virtual melody. It's so original, so brilliantly conceived and mellifluously executed that it's almost shocking when you first hear it." Pan-European magazine ''
Music & Media
''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...
'' wrote, "Centrefielder Djum Djum adds the Afro flavour to the "intellectual dance" with his typically African diction. All four mixes will hit clubs and specialist radio shows like a homerun."
Roger Morton from ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' stated that the track "adds Brazilian percussion and African scatting to a
Moroder-esque throb and still hits home on the dancefloor." Another ''NME'' editor,
David Quantick, commented, "Alas, 'Afro Left' substitutes — no doubt intentionally — thrilling thumping electronics for a kind of idle stop about, neatly accompanying the sampled vocal of a bloke talking to himself in an African language. It thrills not, neither does it entertain." The magazine's Andy Crysell was more positive, naming it one of the "highlights" of the album.
Track listing
* 12" #1
# "Afro Ride" — 9:10
# "Afro Sol" — 6:02
# "Afro Central" — 7:43
* 12" #2
# "Afro Left" — 7:32
# "Afro Ride" — 9:10
# "Afro Sol" — 6:02
* 12" EP
# "Afro Sol" — 6:02
# "Afro Ride" — 9:10
# "Afro Central" — 7:43
# "Afro Left" — 7:32
* CD
# "Afro Left" — 7:32
# "Afro Ride" — 9:10
# "Afro Sol" — 6:02
# "Afro Central" — 7:43
* Australian CD
# "Afro Left" (Edit) — 4:43
# "Afro Left" — 7:32
# "Afro Ride" — 9:10
# "Afro Sol" — 6:02
# "Afro Central" — 7:43
Charts
References
{{Leftfield
1995 singles
Leftfield songs
Chrysalis Records singles