Faithless
Encyclopedia
Faithless were a British electronica
band
consisting of Maxi Jazz
, Sister Bliss
and Rollo
. The group is best known for their dance
songs ("Insomnia
", "God Is a DJ
" and "We Come 1
"). Faithless recorded six album
s. During their career they sold over 15 million records worldwide. The band have now officially split up after the climax of their Passing The Baton dates at Brixton Academy which were on the 7th and 8th April 2011.
"Salva Mea (Save Me)" was released in July that year. Jazz acted as a vocalist, whilst Bliss constructed most of the music herself electronically, but also played the piano, violin, saxophone and bass guitar. Rollo heads and produces
the band. Lead female vocals for many of their songs are performed by Pauline Taylor
, who also performed lead vocals for singles by Rollo released under his monikers Rollo Goes Mystic and Rollo Goes Spiritual.
The albums are Reverence (which reached number 26), Sunday 8PM (reaching number 10), Outrospective (at number 4) and No Roots (which debuted at number 1); they were released between 1996 and 2004, with a greatest hits
compilation album
out in 2005. In light of their dance roots, each of the four studio albums has been followed with a subsequent bonus disc of remix
es. Their fifth album, To All New Arrivals, was released in 2006. Album number six, The Dance, was released on 16 May 2010, after a four year recording break for the band.
The band also collectively indulge in mixtapes of other musicians' work, either mixed by the group or merely selected by them. This includes the long running Back to Mine
sessions as well as The Bedroom Sessions and more recently the Renaissance 3D music project, in conjunction with the Renaissance
nightclub.
On 29 September 2006, the first single
"Bombs" from their album To All New Arrivals
made its debut on BBC Radio 1
's Pete Tong
show. The album was released on 27 November 2006. "Bombs" generated moderate controversy with its music video
, as demonstrated by MTV
's refusal to air it. The video featured interchanged clips of war scenes and daily life. As said by the director of the music video Howard Greenhalgh, "War infects all our lives; recently it feels that this has increasingly become 'our way of life'".
, made its debut on BBC Radio 1
's Pete Tong
show. "Sun to Me" has been given as a free download to all users that have registered on the new Faithless site, or subscribed to their newsletter. The track has been released on the band's Myspace
page as well. On 12 February 2010, the first official single from the next Faithless album was played on Pete Tong's show. The single, "Not Going Home", was released on 4 May 2010, whilst the latest album The Dance
, was issued on 16 May 2010. The album is available only in Tesco
(3 month exclusive contract) and via iTunes
in the UK. Since 2009, their track "Drifting Away" has been the theme tune for the BBC Television
's RHS Chelsea Flower Show website
In 2010, they returned to the Glastonbury Festival
after eight years, playing on the Pyramid Stage. They performed many of their most popular songs including "Insomnia", "God is a DJ", and "We Come 1".
On 16 March 2011, Maxi Jazz announced on his website that Faithless would cease to be, commenting "But, like when writing a song, you always just know when it’s finished… this is and was the Thank YOU And Goodbye tour."
They played two nights at Brixton Academy on 7 and 8 April 2011. The latter date would be the last ever Faithless show and was transmitted live via satellite to cinemas across Europe. However, the Faithless Sound System (a stripped down version of Faithless consisting of Maxi Jazz, Sister Bliss and Sudha Kheterpal
) gave final shows on 22 July 2011 at the Tomorrowland festival in Belgium, at the Waterford Music Fest in Ireland on 30 July and in Split at the Riva Discotheque on 12 August.
s, such as Paul Oakenfold
's "Weekend". Maxi Jazz brought out an album before the formation of Faithless and also worked on pirate radio. He also collaborated with Faithless founding member Jamie Catto
on his new project 1 Giant Leap
guesting on a song with Robbie Williams
. Finally, Rollo founded the label Cheeky Records
and has produced the music of other artists, most notably his sister Dido's
albums, as well as using various monikers to create popular dance music under the names Rollo Goes … (Camping, Mystic and Spiritual), Felix, Our Tribe (with Rob Dougan
), and Dusted
.
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
consisting of Maxi Jazz
Maxi Jazz
Maxwell Alexander Fraser , better known as Maxi Jazz, is an English rapper. He is best known as the lead vocalist of British band Faithless.- Biography :...
, Sister Bliss
Sister Bliss
Sister Bliss is a British keyboardist, record producer, DJ, composer and songwriter. In the studio she is best known for her work with Rollo Armstrong, particularly as part of the now disbanded dance group Faithless.She started music at the age of five, when she learned how to play the piano...
and Rollo
Rollo Armstrong
Rollo Armstrong is one half of the music producers/remixers team Rollo and Sister Bliss and is a founding member of the electronic music group Faithless.-Early life:...
. The group is best known for their dance
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
songs ("Insomnia
Insomnia (Faithless song)
"Insomnia" is a song recorded by British dance group Faithless. Released as the band's second single, it became one of their most successful. It was released in 1995 and became a hit in Dance Charts while peaking at #27 in the UK in 1995 and #3 in 1996 . The song also reached #48 in the UK chart...
", "God Is a DJ
God Is a DJ (Faithless song)
"God Is a DJ" is a progressive trance and dance song by Faithless, released as a single on 24 August 1998. The single reached number six in the United Kingdom and also reached number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart for one week in September 1998....
" and "We Come 1
We Come 1
"We Come 1" is a song recorded by British dance band Faithless. It was released as a single internationally on 28 May 2001 and in the UK on 4 June 2001, before the release of the group's third studio album Outrospective. The remixes by Wookie and Dave Clarke were featured on the bonus disc of the...
"). Faithless recorded six album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s. During their career they sold over 15 million records worldwide. The band have now officially split up after the climax of their Passing The Baton dates at Brixton Academy which were on the 7th and 8th April 2011.
Career
The band was formed in early 1995, and their debut singleSingle (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Salva Mea (Save Me)" was released in July that year. Jazz acted as a vocalist, whilst Bliss constructed most of the music herself electronically, but also played the piano, violin, saxophone and bass guitar. Rollo heads and produces
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
the band. Lead female vocals for many of their songs are performed by Pauline Taylor
Pauline Taylor
Pauline Taylor is a British female recording artist, who came to recognition as the lead vocalist on the singles "Love Love Love, Here I Come" by Rollo Goes Mystic, and "Let This Be A Prayer" by Rollo Goes Spiritual. Both groups are pseudonyms for producer Rollo Armstrong, a member of the band...
, who also performed lead vocals for singles by Rollo released under his monikers Rollo Goes Mystic and Rollo Goes Spiritual.
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
out in 2005. In light of their dance roots, each of the four studio albums has been followed with a subsequent bonus disc of remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
es. Their fifth album, To All New Arrivals, was released in 2006. Album number six, The Dance, was released on 16 May 2010, after a four year recording break for the band.
The band also collectively indulge in mixtapes of other musicians' work, either mixed by the group or merely selected by them. This includes the long running Back to Mine
Back to Mine
Back to Mine is a series of mix albums, usually mixed by renowned DJs or composers of electronic music. The compilations usually feature artists other than the artist compiling the album, and are based on what the artist would play at home after a night out, rather than as part of a nightclub...
sessions as well as The Bedroom Sessions and more recently the Renaissance 3D music project, in conjunction with the Renaissance
Renaissance (club)
Renaissance is a British electronic dance music club brand and record label. Renaissance was started by Geoff Oakes at Venue 44 in Mansfield, England in 1992. Renaissance was Geoff Oakes' antidote to the sci-fi imagery and dressed down clubbers of the 'rave' scene .In 1993 Renaissance moved to a...
nightclub.
On 29 September 2006, the first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Bombs" from their album To All New Arrivals
To All New Arrivals
To All New Arrivals is the 5th studio album by dance music act Faithless. The album was created after the positive response to the Faithless Greatest Hits tour, originally described as their "final tour". The album was released on 27 November 2006, a week after the single Bombs...
made its debut on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
's Pete Tong
Pete Tong
Peter "Pete" Tong is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is known worldwide by fans of electronic music for hosting programmes such as Essential Mix and Essential Selection on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for his record label FFRR Records, and for...
show. The album was released on 27 November 2006. "Bombs" generated moderate controversy with its music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
, as demonstrated by MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's refusal to air it. The video featured interchanged clips of war scenes and daily life. As said by the director of the music video Howard Greenhalgh, "War infects all our lives; recently it feels that this has increasingly become 'our way of life'".
Final album and retirement
On 7 August 2009, a dub mix of the track "Sun to Me" from their latest studio album, The DanceThe Dance (Faithless album)
The Dance is the sixth and last studio album by dance music act Faithless on their own record label, Nates Tunes, and first for PIAS Recordings. Dido is featured on the songs "North Star" and "Feelin' Good"...
, made its debut on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
's Pete Tong
Pete Tong
Peter "Pete" Tong is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is known worldwide by fans of electronic music for hosting programmes such as Essential Mix and Essential Selection on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for his record label FFRR Records, and for...
show. "Sun to Me" has been given as a free download to all users that have registered on the new Faithless site, or subscribed to their newsletter. The track has been released on the band's Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page as well. On 12 February 2010, the first official single from the next Faithless album was played on Pete Tong's show. The single, "Not Going Home", was released on 4 May 2010, whilst the latest album The Dance
The Dance (Faithless album)
The Dance is the sixth and last studio album by dance music act Faithless on their own record label, Nates Tunes, and first for PIAS Recordings. Dido is featured on the songs "North Star" and "Feelin' Good"...
, was issued on 16 May 2010. The album is available only in Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
(3 month exclusive contract) and via iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
in the UK. Since 2009, their track "Drifting Away" has been the theme tune for the BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
's RHS Chelsea Flower Show website
In 2010, they returned to the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
after eight years, playing on the Pyramid Stage. They performed many of their most popular songs including "Insomnia", "God is a DJ", and "We Come 1".
On 16 March 2011, Maxi Jazz announced on his website that Faithless would cease to be, commenting "But, like when writing a song, you always just know when it’s finished… this is and was the Thank YOU And Goodbye tour."
They played two nights at Brixton Academy on 7 and 8 April 2011. The latter date would be the last ever Faithless show and was transmitted live via satellite to cinemas across Europe. However, the Faithless Sound System (a stripped down version of Faithless consisting of Maxi Jazz, Sister Bliss and Sudha Kheterpal
Sudha Kheterpal
Sudha Kheterpal is a British-Indian musician best known as the percussionist in Faithless. In 2008 she toured with The Return of the Spice Girls. She has also played with K-Klass, Kylie Minogue, Melanie Williams, Jo Roberts, Corduroy, Mark Morrison, Rae and Christian, Ian Brown, Talvin Singh, and...
) gave final shows on 22 July 2011 at the Tomorrowland festival in Belgium, at the Waterford Music Fest in Ireland on 30 July and in Split at the Riva Discotheque on 12 August.
Other work
As well as their own studio albums, all three members actively engage in other people's work as solo figures. Sister Bliss is a prominent dance DJ and has for a long time toured the circuit on her own, remixed others' albums and even appeared in music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s, such as Paul Oakenfold
Paul Oakenfold
Paul Mark Oakenfold is a British record producer and a trance DJ.-Early Career: 1979–84:Paul Oakenfold's career was set to be a chef, after having hopes of becoming part of a band. He describes his early life as a "bedroom deejay" in a podcasted interview with Vancouver's 24 Hours, stating he grew...
's "Weekend". Maxi Jazz brought out an album before the formation of Faithless and also worked on pirate radio. He also collaborated with Faithless founding member Jamie Catto
Jamie Catto
Jamie Catto is a former and founding member of Faithless. He was the ballad singer/songwriter, and became Art Director and Video Director of the band before leaving in 1999 to form the double-Grammy nominated, global music and film project 1 Giant Leap. His last album with Faithless was Sunday 8PM...
on his new project 1 Giant Leap
1 Giant Leap
1 Giant Leap is a concept band and media project consisting of the two principal artists, Jamie Catto and Duncan Bridgeman.-Information:...
guesting on a song with Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
. Finally, Rollo founded the label Cheeky Records
Cheeky Records
Cheeky Records was founded in 1991 by the producer/remixer Rollo Armstrong, brother of Dido.After releasing Frankë's - "Understand This Groove" and Gloworm's "I Lift My Cup" the label collapsed but was rescued in 1994 by Champion Records and was later bought out by BMG in 1999.-Notable artists:*...
and has produced the music of other artists, most notably his sister Dido's
Dido (singer)
Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong , known as Dido, is an English singer-songwriter.Dido shot to worldwide success with her debut album, No Angel...
albums, as well as using various monikers to create popular dance music under the names Rollo Goes … (Camping, Mystic and Spiritual), Felix, Our Tribe (with Rob Dougan
Rob Dougan
Rob Dougan, also known as Rob D , is a genre-blending music composer. Mixing elements of orchestral music, trip hop, and bluesy vocals, his work is tangentially relatable to electronic music. He was known primarily for his breakthrough 1995 single "Clubbed to Death ", further popularised by 1999's...
), and Dusted
Dusted (band)
Dusted is the joint venture of two record producers, Rollo Armstrong and Mark Bates . Their best remembered track was "Always Remember to Respect and Honour Your Mother Part One" in 2001, which reached #31 on the UK Singles Chart...
.
Discography
- Reverence (1996)
- Sunday 8PMSunday 8PMSunday 8PM is Faithless' second album, released on September 18, 1998. The album contains the hit singles "Bring My Family Back", "Take The Long Way Home", and "God Is A DJ"...
(1998) - OutrospectiveOutrospectiveOutrospective is the third album by Faithless, released on 18 June 2001 it was the follow-up to Sunday 8PM and the predecessor to No Roots. The Single "We Come 1" had the most success charting at no. 3 on the UK Singles Chart, "One Step Too Far" charted at no. 6 with vocals from Dido, while...
(2001) - No RootsNo RootsNo Roots is the fourth album by British electronic music act Faithless, released in 2004. It reached number one on the UK Albums Chart that year, giving them their first number one album in their career. It features vocals from vocalist LSK, and the late Nina Simone.-Track listing:-Samples:...
(2004) - To All New ArrivalsTo All New ArrivalsTo All New Arrivals is the 5th studio album by dance music act Faithless. The album was created after the positive response to the Faithless Greatest Hits tour, originally described as their "final tour". The album was released on 27 November 2006, a week after the single Bombs...
(2006) - The DanceThe Dance (Faithless album)The Dance is the sixth and last studio album by dance music act Faithless on their own record label, Nates Tunes, and first for PIAS Recordings. Dido is featured on the songs "North Star" and "Feelin' Good"...
(2010)