Faithless
Faithless have always been musical movers and shakers…
Faithless have always been musical movers and shakers. When this British collective first emerged in the mid-1990s, the idea that a dance music act could produce rich full-length albums rather than oneoff tracks, pack out live concerts, and bring together all kinds of genres and music fans, seemed quite revolutionary. Fourteen years, several albums and numerous global tours, festivals and hits later, those Faithless qualities have become benchmarks of the 21st-century music scene. Now their sixth studio album The Dance reunites the central trio of Buddhist MC/poet Maxi Jazz, indomitably cool club doyenne Sister Bliss and visionary producer Rollo, and extends that Faithless energy even further - always passionate, always progressive.
From their 1996 debut Reverence, Faithless albums have stood out for their vibrantly varied fusion of styles and viewpoints, and so it is with The Dance, which flows from the gorgeous romantic sentimentsof numbers like Sun To Me to the quirky political commentary of Crazy Bal'heads. More than ever, though, club culture is the elemental force here - and part of the inspiration stemmed from the live crowds that Faithless were encountering on tour, as Rollo explains: 'On the tour for our last album, To All New Arrivals (2006), there was a whole new generation of kids who were there for the big dancey beats like Insomnia and God Is A DJ. We wanted to really celebrate that side of our music, and go for the jugular with The Dance.'
'We definitely put an effort into returning to our dancefloor roots on this album,' agrees Bliss. 'To All New Arrivals, was a beautiful record, but its mood was more quiet and reflective. This record was a big thank you to our fans as well as a mark of the eclecticism of our band. It's a reconnection with where we've come from - we definitely wanted to feel that housey, anthemic energy again - but it's also about renewal. Dance music has experienced such a resurgence, we're still a little leftfield, and we've still got something to say.'
On The Dance, Faithless express themselves with inimitable style, with Maxi's evocative wordplay coursing through the rhythms. The beats keep moving, but Maxi points out that his lyrical message has remained constant: 'Essentially, I've always been trying to say the same thing: that all human beings have greatness inside of themselves,' he says. 'People tend to think that the spiritual and the material world are two separate things - I don't see it like that. Life is for living, and I'm trying to express something that's relevant to someone who works five days and parties hard at the weekend. Being in Faithless, I've seldom seen more loyal, loving, dedicated and sweet fans – they keep me devoted, and they're all over the world.'
There's a distinctly revitalised feel to tracks like Not Going Home and Feel Me, as well as a perfectly tuned blend of whole-hearted spirituality and cheekiness on Tweak Your Nipple: a feel-good groove in every way. 'Well, every now and then, you have to say something completely directly,' laughs Maxi. 'Like the lyric "I see genius in everybody..."'
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