Review Summary: Dear Diary: My journey on Leftism Island.
Before I went to Leftism Island, I had read and heard a lot about it. People would describe it as a heavenly place and use all kinds of superlatives to do it justice, so much that it quickly got my attention and my curiosity. I would picture summer vacation in the shape of a big outdoor rave that lasted for hours - all of the ingredients to please me. So, naturally, being myself inclined to electronic music, I wanted to go there and prepared for it. I bought my ticket, packed my things, and there I went. There was a flight path specifically dedicated to the island, of which numerous "Leftism Planes" were the shuttles. I had a very nice flight.
I arrived on the island early, a little after noon to be more precise. Was I closer to Europe or North America? I didn't even really know because its location was mysteriously kept secret. When I met one of the guides, he said to me with a soothing voice:
-Welcome! We have being expecting you.
I thought it was amusing and, as a matter of fact, all of the guides seemed to be hospitable, sweet and funny. After that, I finally set my foot on the warm sand of Leftism Island. It immediately struck me as peaceful yet energetic. I went to one of the hotels to get the keys of my room. The musical show - what everyone was waiting for - would only begin after sunset. And so, with all that time ahead of me, I waited and explored the island. I went swimming, bought and tried some peculiar drinks and foods, walked around, read a book, enjoyed the weather and visited the Souvenir Boutique. Soon enough it was 8 P.M. and the sun bowed out.
Leftism would begin shortly.
So the crowd and myself stood on the sand. It wasn't a stadium nor a park, really, it was just a wide-open dancefloor set onto a beach. Most individuals had their feet naked - so were mine. I saw people of all ages and of all nationalities. Teenage girls and boy scouts, young adults who attend universities, fathers and mothers, name it. Right next to me there was this nice Japanese man who smiled like he was a reborn child. We constantly high-fived during that night, even though he didn't speak fluent English - we just understood each other.
I took a paper in my pocket. It had been distributed to all of the newcomers after the Leftism Plane flight. The song titles were written on it and I had spent long minutes looking at them, intrigued and wondering what they would bring out of me: "Release the Pressure", "Song of Life", "Space Shanty", "21st Century Poem". They all kind of sounded promising. And the moment I gave another look at them, lights went out and all humans screamed with joy. Everything already went LOUD! And what's amazing is that even though everyone exhausted their lungs that night, the music was always
crystal-clear and profound.
The experience of Leftism Island started. And at that precise instant, we were suddenly just
homo sapiens brothers and sisters foot-naked on the sand of the Pacific Ocean, bound together in a dancing ceremony.
So first step was "Release the Pressure". The beautiful yet melancholic melody filled the island with wonder. The synths sang their lullaby. This was the Summer Night of all summer nights, it said. And then, someone, a shaman of the old tales maybe, appeared on stage in a role-play costume and invited us:
I've got to stand and fight / In this creation / Vanity, I know / Can't guide I alone...
The house hook finally emerged! [1:54] It built up and built up again and again, until the beats set themselves on the island. BANG! [2:46] I screamed too, maybe because everyone's screams were so infectious. The track raised itself in a split-second and the speakers delivered its music like tidal waves. I got lifted up the ground. We felt like proud sailors: the unstoppable bassline embodied our ship leaving the coast. It had the Caribbean flavours of a musketeer in a treasure hunt. Where could be the Great Fountain of Life? It was just ahead of us. Release the Pressure!
Levez l'ancre, moussaillons!
"Afro-Left" was next... You know when people throw beach balls in the crowd during shows? Only this time, instead of beach balls, the dancers and animators on the scene threw at us little plastic drums. There were
hundreds of them. As the singer began his gibberish chanting, we all reached for our own little drum. I caught one, happy like a child.
- Give us more percussions! they asked the crowd. Give us what you can! More percussions, more tam-tam!
With the help of the Leftism Island speakers, we all indeed contributed to the percussions and tam-tam of the track. It's like we were an infinite orchestra searching for the Perfect Rhythm or the Perfect Groove. How far could we possibly go? That's what "Afro-Left" was all about. It turned out to be a highway of addictive bleeps, frenetic drums and tribal vibe. We could have lit a fire only by the sounds we produced I am sure. At one point [5:17], the island trembled and the palm trees seemed to dance under invisible wind. Indeed we were the Leftism Tribe!
"Melt" invented a new season and thus was a very ambient track. On Earth there is summer, autumn, winter and spring, right? Well, when we heard "Melt", it made us enter a sort of parallel universe for a few minutes. It wasn't exactly
summer anymore. It had the warmness of it, the contemplative feel of autumn, the deepness of winter and the blossoms of spring altogether. It lent us a stellar horizon over subtle and catchy percussions.
Enter "Song of Life" and the basslines of Mother Nature. This was one of the biggest rituals of the
Leftism adventure. All of our religions merged together for a
Song of Life to the Creator. A choir of women sang on the stage for this dance prayer. The first half was occupied by liquid percussions that, as a Massive Attack junkie, reminded me of "Angel" on
Mezzanine. A cathartic melody [2:15] soon joined them in hopeful harmony. It was the first time in my life I was dancing with tears of joy on my cheeks. The "Song of Life" erased our worries and embraced us in its arms.
On the second half, the bassline increased our heartbeats with a restless house smash. It featured a mesmerizing electronic hook [5:18] which gave the wind to our sails. The women kept singing the melody and when the beats stopped for a moment, I thought the track was finished. Only it was not yet. A thicker bassline [6:11] vibrated in our bodies for a last minute of religious celebration. It looked like it drawn the skies nearer to us.
Then, "Original" slowed down the tempo, although it was as much danceable as the others. Its bassline, excessively penetrating and patient, broke our bones and melted our senses. I remembered the artwork I saw on the leaflet of Leftism Island and understood everything about its meaning: Bones & Speakers. A lady recited a poem to us almost like a spoken word:
You're original with your own path / You're original, got your own way... Regularly during the track, a kind of gorgeous acid hook sucked us even more in its rhythm.
After it, "Black Flute" achieved madness and exuberance. My Japanese folk and myself were sweating. Almost techno-like, the bassline resembled the sound of distant thunder wheeling on us:
Roooooowwwwwwhhhhh, Roooooowwwwwwhhhhh, Roooooowwwwwwhhhhh... Coupled with racing beats, "Black Flute" was a fiery chasm and a powerful engine, going straight to the point. Was it the rolling motor of our ship? After all, we were the greatest vessel since the Titanic and it needed a heck of a fuel to lead us in our quest.
It faded into "Space Shanty", which stayed true to its namesake. It embodied all of the shooting stars that were travelling over our heads in the luminous skies and with extreme speed. Electric and blazing textures supported its groove, constantly intensified until the jaw-breaking supernova [5:05]. "Space Shanty" had the
tum tssi tum tssi tum tssi rhythm elevated in such an uplifting pace. It was out of this world. Leftism Island was in levitation. The last moments of the track [6:33] added some new percussions that brought us back to the tribal energy of "Afro-Left".
Eighth step, "Inspection (Check One)" was more down-to-earth and perhaps the most urban of all. It had such a "cool vibe" surrounding it. The twitchy beats symbolized a daring attitude. There were a lot of animators on the stage and most of them made a choreography to this very marching track, quickly mimicked by the crowd. With its muscular soundscape, it contributed aspects of the city to Leftism Island.
The weather soon changed on "Storm 3000". Watch out! Hold tight! Muster your courage! Our ship got caught in a fascinating and prodigious climate. The breakbeats pictured the former trying to dodge and survive the incoming brutal waves of water, torn between left and right as well as shook up and down. I thought I saw lightning strikes crack the sky, but they were just the melodic acid thunderbolts and flashes of "Storm 3000". In its climax [3:58], a pale-water maelstrom tried to engulf our ship under the continuous raindrops and lightning strikes. I don't know why, but the track reminded me of some of the 18th-19th century romantic painters who often depicted storms and turbulence on wide surfaces of water - there was a long time in history when humans were rightly scared of sailing on the ocean and "Storm 3000" seemed to me like the perfect bridge between that ancient fear and our contemporary concerns, for instance, about interstellar travel. Through "Storm 3000", Leftism Island told us the eternal history of the natural challenges man has faced and will have to face: dangerous animals, extreme temperatures, storms, tornadoes, asteroids and so on.
As a conclusion to the dancing ceremony, "Open Up" unleashed an invisible beast upon us. It was the tiger, the shark, the dragon, name it! Everyone gave everything they had left in their bodies and in their minds. The motivational song shared its powerful will to live and its moving lyrics. The urgent and anxious voice of the singer activated a sort of alarm before the crowd, along with pounding house beats and sharp strings to which my heartbeats synchronized. The second half of spectacular and suffocating "Open Up" featured a dramatic and eye-opening breakbeat, and only then could the crowd start to breathe again.
Still,
Leftism had one more thing to say before leaving us. With "21st Century Poem", the music settled down in contemplation. We all stopped dancing, all wet and exhausted, and reflected on the questions it raised:
How many homes set alight, till we fight? / How many futures must we dream, till we scream? Compared to the other tracks, except perhaps "Melt", it was very relaxing and immobile. Lights went out once again and it seemed like the music emerged from the near calm water that touched the shore.
When I returned home, my ears were still full of the sounds of Leftism Island. They had accompanied me during the flight back to Canada. I cannot wait to visit the island another time. I still don't know where it is exactly on Earth. Why return? It's all simple, really: because I want to
suck the marrow out of its life.
