It’s midnight in London, and Neil Barnes is in the studio. Judging by the rapid-fire enthusiasm he projects down the phone, it’s fair to say times are good for the man at the helm of Leftfield.

After a triumphant run of festivals and headline shows in 2010, the iconic live act is coming our way for Future Music Festival. “Australia is a bit unexpected,” Barnes admits. “I didn’t realise when I agreed to do this tour on my own it was going to be so successful.”

When Barnes says “on my own”, he means without Paul Daley, Leftfield’s co-creator. Daley opted out of the reunion to focus on other recording projects, but gave his blessings. To make sure it was done right, Barnes recruited a band that includes original vocalists Djum Djum, Earl 16 and Cheshire Cat.

There may only be two Leftfield albums to draw from, but both Leftism and Rhythm and Stealth stand as dance music game-changers. Effortlessly traversing dub, techno, reggae and all-out ‘90s rave, the duo’s impact was resonant. When they parted ways in 2002, it was a rare case of bowing out at the peak of their powers.

So why was the time right to see Leftfield re-emerge? Barnes fills us in over a too-brief 15-minute conversation.

How different is a Leftfield headline show from what you’d do at a festival?
We keep it much the same, just make it longer. Because it’s for the real Leftfield fans, they get an extra 15 minutes! We’re doing an hour and 45 minutes. We do about nine tracks at about eight minutes each; I can’t really shorten them without turning them into something they’re not. It’s a very intricate and complicated thing to perform. There are a lot of things that can go wrong.

Because we don’t work on the same BPM all the way, I can’t just say “Oh, let’s do Afrika Shox next, instead of Black Flute.” I could probably technically do it, but that’s not how they music of Leftfield works. There’s a strict order to it: a beginning, middle and end. It’s not a DJ set.

It’s not like you’re just going to come and hear 140 or 130 BPM for an hour and a half. There’s a very strict order to it. Just like Leftfield albums, it’s a real journey. We’ve got live drums, lots of keyboards, effects, different vocals, percussion; it’s not just turn up and press a computer. It’s the way that Paul and I worked it out as an interesting way of playing electronic music.

I’m keen to know your thoughts on the evolution on dance music since you released Rhythm and Stealth in 1999…
It’s a global thing, dance music, isn’t it? I’m not so keen on the way things have become so DJ-dominated. That’s my only gripe. I love DJs, but what I don’t like is formulaic music. It does nothing for me. I can go and listen to a two-hour techno set by someone I like without a problem – Richie Hawtin or Jeff Mills. I love it! I’m there, up the front. Because they’re originators.

What I do find tedious is that a lot of DJs are frightened to do anything different – they’re frightened to change the beat. People say, “I only like house music” or “drum & bass is all I listen to”. I don’t like that. I refuse to tow the line when it comes to that type of thing. It’s something that’s becoming more prominent in dance music.