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Courtesy of Choice ۲۵... asides and besides (25th anniversary)
ReleaseProduct
Courtesy of Choice ۲۵... asides and besides (25th anniversary)
Artist
Display Artist
Leila
Label
XL Recordings
Catalogue Number
XL1571
Release Date
November 14, 2025

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, XL Recordings today announce a special, expanded version of Leila’s acclaimed second album Courtesy Of Choice. Originally released on 11th September 2000, the album followed the success of her Rephlex Records debut Like Weather and felt like a broadcast from a futuristic radio station no one else could tune into. Twenty-five years on, alongside collaborations with the likes of Bjork, Aphex Twin and Terry Hall and iconic performances at the likes of the V&A and Venice Biennale, more and more listeners have found the frequency. While Courtesy of Choice's influence continues to transmit through contemporary culture. the Iranian-born, London-raised producer remains utterly singular:

"I realised very early on that people don't really belong anywhere. That's what gives me the freedom to do any kind of music...I don't feel any commitment or loyalty to anything. My commitment is to noise." - Leila

Richard Russell, who originally signed Leila to XL, wrote the following email to Leila's product manager who'd sent him the new masters to hear (which Leila heard about and asked to use): “Leila is so expressive in every moment of it. The stylistic breadth is incredible — funky, beautiful, cinematic, eerie, ravey. As nakedly human as any electronic music ever made. The album was always great but probably twenty-five years ahead of its time, so this is the right moment for people to catch up.”

This new version, Courtesy Of Choice… asides and besides, re-presents the original 14 track album — including the previously vinyl-only “Relax the Pleasuredome” — alongside a wealth of unreleased material. Leila chose to re-edit rather than remake the album (she has all the original data… midi and audio), choosing to set the parameters of only recovering buried details while preserving its spirit. “I wanted this reissue to be honest,” she explains. “Nothing added, just making sure the performances came through as they were meant to.” Among the twenty unheard tracks are Roya Arab’s striking collaboration on Cabaret classic “Mein Herr,” the surrealist collage “A Reasoning” with a sample of Max Ernst, the hypnotic “Acid Frog Fave,” the digi rave blowout “Birdie Rave,” and “techyarr”’s future forever funk from the realm of primetime Neptunes. Together they reveal both the breadth of Leila’s vision and the enduring power of an album that continues to sound ahead of its time.

Digital Tracklist

Disc 1

  1. 1 Brave 6:08 Buy

    Brave

  2. 2 Work 3:42 Buy

    Work

  3. 3 From Before... What? 3:58 Buy

    From Before... What?

  4. 4 Relax The Pleasuredome 3:06 Buy

    Relax The Pleasuredome

  5. 5 Sodastream 5:51 Buy

    Sodastream

  6. 6 Gush Goog 3:21 Buy

    Gush Goog

  7. 7 To Win Her Love 4:13 Buy

    To Win Her Love

  8. 8 Thanks mr jones 5:47 Buy

    Thanks mr jones

  9. 9 To Tell a Lie 3:14 Buy

    To Tell a Lie

  10. 10 I Won't Forget 5:12 Buy

    I Won't Forget

Disc 2

  1. 1 old dat biz 1#46 (wakey wakey) 1:02 Buy

    old dat biz 1#46 (wakey wakey)

  2. 2 acid frog fave 2:01 Buy

    acid frog fave

  3. 3 techyarr 2:43 Buy

    techyarr

  4. 4 a reasoning 3:00 Buy

    a reasoning

  5. 5 old tech 38 5:12 Buy

    old tech 38

  6. 6 sweets (bring u back) 6:12 Buy

    sweets (bring u back)

  7. 7 new guardmeter 4:37 Buy

    new guardmeter

  8. 8 to win her love s&g asides (Extended 2025) 5:35 Buy

    to win her love s&g asides (Extended 2025)

  9. 9 cowboy situation 2:36 Buy

    cowboy situation

  10. 10 what i offer 0:46 Buy

    what i offer

Show All Tracks 34

Leila

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