"Song of Life" is the fourth single released by English electronic group

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 ...

and the first on a

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

release. The song was released on 12" and CD on 30 November 1992 by label Hard Hands. The sleeve of the single had the footnote "dedicated to the memory of Steve Walters whose support, friendship and encouragement will never be forgotten". It reached #59 in the UK charts. The song was also used as the backing track for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's '' Dispatches'' programme. The Remix 12" featured two remixes by British electronic music then-trio

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

: "The Lemon Interrupt Mix", as well as the "Steppin' Razor Mix", which both feature on

Sasha & John Digweed Sasha & John Digweed are a British DJ duo comprising Sasha and John Digweed. Digweed had been DJing for ten years before getting a gig at Renaissance where he met Sasha, who had been working the past few years in various acid house music club ...

's mix album '' Renaissance: The Mix Collection''. The track appears in the movie '' Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' and its soundtrack.

Critical reception

Iestyn George Iestyn George is a Welsh journalist, who previously worked as an editor at both ''NME'' and '' GQ'' and is now a lecturer at University of Brighton. Journalism career During the 1990s, George was a writer for ''NME'' magazine, and became news ed ...

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 ...

'' wrote, "Leftfield's nine-minute opus is the pick of the bunch, magnificently constructed with a distinctly Eastern feel."

Impact and legacy

British DJ and record producer

John Digweed Thomas John Digweed (born April 1967) is a British DJ and record producer. As well as achieving success as a solo act, he has collaborated with Sasha as Sasha & John Digweed, and with Nick Muir as Bedrock. Digweed was voted as No. 1 DJ in DJ ...

named the song one of his favourites in 1996, saying, "Another classic record from ''Reneissance''. I've got lots of good memories of the track. I still play it today and it still goes down really well." In 2020, ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was printe ...

'' featured it in their list of "The Best Basslines in Dance Music", writing, "'THEY DON'T MAKE 'EM LIKE THE '90S ANYMORE'. The amount of times I've seen that written, rolled my eyes and thought just search hard enough. Here I am playing Leftfield's 'Song Of Life', though, and I'm close to typing that out myself. It builds up, uP, UP with haunting vocals and floaty pads, before a wobbly synth bassline teases it's way in, accompanied by monstrous kicks and pacy hi-hats. Before you know it, the bassline's free of all shackles, left to fly around and do as it pleases. Relentless."

Track listing

* 12" # "Song of Life" - 9:13 # "Dub of Life" - 5:08 # "Fanfare of Life" - 6:08 * CD # "Song of Life" (Radio Edit) - 4:18 # "Song of Life" (Extended Version) - 8:44 # "Fanfare of Life" - 6:05 # "Release the Dub" - 5:45 * Remix 12" # "Song of Life" (Steppin' Razor Mix) - 8:24 # "Release the Horns" - 6:08 # "Song of Life" (The Lemon Interrupt Mix) - 10:21

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Song Of Life 1992 singles Leftfield songs 1992 songs Music Week number-one dance singles