Staying Faithless

What to say about Faithless? Their anthemic dance music has paved many a path into the electronic world for people of all ages; the appeal of their hymnal hits is so wide-reaching just as many indie kids as tech fiends consider themselves Faithless fans (hell, be honest; would you be surprised if you heard even your mother singing 'Insomnia?'), and the band's impressive live show is one which sells out as soon as it's announced.

Last year, Maxi Jazz and Sister Bliss scaled down said show for a while (find out why, below) and enjoyed it so much they've got it out on the road again in 2010. It stops at Leeds' O2 Academy this Friday as the headline act for Filth's 3rd Birthday with John Dahlback, Style of Eye and Funkagenda amongst other musical delights.

So, to find out what Sister Bliss makes of laptop DJs and the current scene, and for an idea of what to expect from Faithless Sound System and their forthcoming album, do read on...


You were a prolific DJ before Faithless – what was it about the band that made you put that on the back-burner?

Simply that it’s impossible to be in 2 places at once! I'm still DJing loads right up until we start rehearsals in march- I've also held residencies at the gallery at ministry of sound, London, and Pacha, Ibiza, as well as DJing all over the globe- from Europe to Asia and oz and beyond whilst making the new Faithless album, so DJing hasn’t really been on the 'back-burner' that much... In fact it’s been pretty much essential for testing out our new album.

How does DJing differ to touring with faithless? Do you have a preference?

DJing is a solo affair whereas with the band I have 7 people on stage to keep me company- so it feels quite different. DJing is also the place where I get to play lots of new music, and road test Faithless material- which has been invaluable over the years- so I get that variety that changes with every gig. During a tour with the band the music is 'confined' to material from our 6 albums- so it’s not the same as adding and changing the set week by week as I would do as a DJ.

I love both sides of my musical world- they coexist pretty well!

How is the scene different now to when you started out?

I think the instant nature of the internet has absolutely changed how people consume dance music- it is much harder now to have a track build its way from dubplate to white label to promo to release.

Insomnia was in DJs’ record boxes for a year and a half before it finally gathered enough momentum for a re-release, and its eventual global success- I wonder if it was released now if it would have had the same impact.

The shelf life of the music was longer back in the day, and the anticipation and excitement that built up around tracks also made dance music feel very special. Now you can hear a track in a club, more likely than not be able to download it that night when you get home from the club- and consequently get tired of it more quickly!

On the positive side there is more inventiveness in dance music than ever before- technology is cheaper than ever, and its full of new exciting ideas-not so long ago it was written off as 'dead'- how wrong the doubters were!

What set up do you use when DJing? Are you still on vinyl?

I use 2 x CDJ1000s and a Pioneer mixer for DJing. For the Faithless Sound System, I'm using the Pioneer SVM 1000 mixer and I am programming and mixing the visuals live during the set - which has been lots of fun!

Sadly, I'm not using vinyl anymore after a slightly disastrous tour in OZ where nothing was set up properly and there was loads of feedback and needles jumping all over the place... I didn’t think I could risk playing in front of 10, 000 people and having that happen so I made the decision to play CDs only. Vinyl still sounds loads better than CDs – it’s true....

What do you see as the role of a DJ, and what makes a good one great?

Well obviously to provide the music for the party! And to harness the energy of the crowd and take them on a rollercoaster ride through the very best musical journey they can- a great DJ to me reads and connects with the crowd, and also brings an emotion to the set which people will remember for years after...and also a great DJ will take risks and try and put their own identity into their music...

How does family life tie in with DJing and faithless?

It’s quite tough as much of my working life takes place late at night and I can no longer have a lie in as my son is up at 7 every day without fail!

So there are times where I feel exceptionally knackered- in fact I’m popping upstairs to have a little nap as soon as I’ve finished answering these questions!



Do you think you’ll ever stop touring with the band? If so would you still work in music somehow?

I’m sure there will come a time when we call it a day as our show is very physically demanding- it’s hardly loads of ballads you can perform sitting on a chair! But for now we are all in good nick so the show must go on!

I hope I will always make music in some capacity- as it is the only thing I know how to do!- and also I have written music for 3 TV series, music for film and theatre and hope to become involved in different projects in the future once the touring is over.

What did you learn in 2009 and what do you hope to achieve in 2010?

I learnt how to make rice crispy cakes in 2009, and hope to make an apple crumble in 2010.

What is Faithless Sound System?

Well we really enjoyed gigging last summer so that’s why we’re doing it again. It’s a way to reach fans old and new; we wanted to do much more of a club thing. It allows us to connect in a way which would be impossible with the full Faithless show because it needs so much space and equipment – this way we can play in smaller venues all over the place with the Sound System.

You’ll hear old Faithless stuff but in a bootleg way (and there’ll be 5 or 6 new songs too). It’s getting our music out there in a different way really.

How much practice goes into it?

There’s so much to do! Now, with the new material, we have six albums of stuff. It’s hard work for me to chose which songs to play – Maxi’s happy though because he knows all his lines so doesn’t have to come to rehearsal which makes him happy, but I’ve been in and out a lot working on things. After each show we watch it back, too, to see if we can perfect and improve it. It’s hard work!

Can you tell us about the new album and the influences and inspirations behind it? Are they much different to influences on past records?

I’m seeing the world with fresh eyes now as I’ve been at home more with a child, but my passion never went away. When we had a remix done by Mark Knight and the reception was great, it reconfirmed how much people want to hear the music. I’ve got very excited about dance music again so the albums quite dance-y, but it still asks big questions about what it is to be human. We’ve got some great collaborations we’re very excited about, too – all will be revealed in Leeds.

How important is it to you to include the messages Faithless often do?

Our main aim is to get people dancing but those messages of spirituality and things are still there. Mainly we want to entertain, but also connect with hearts and minds with beautiful music.

What are your thoughts on the scene now as against how it was when you started out? What do you think of all these laptop producers?

If you take people like Deadmau5 – he’s doing a full show on a laptop of all his own material which is cool. Then you look at current acts now like Dizzie Rascal and Chase & Status where it’s just one act with a DJ and it’s an interesting idea – it’s how it used to be years ago. We never wanted to just do a live PA though so that’s why we started the Sound System.

What do you have planned for your gig in Leeds in February?

As well as the music there’s a full light show which I’ve directed as well as Maxi bouncing about on percussion and me on the decks. I’ll be DJing too afterwards which is really exciting – I get a real buzz out of playing the music I love to other people. Maybe Maxi will hang around on stage for that as well!