Latest

Faithless announce tour, confirm new music coming “soon”

April 18, 2024

Faithless have announced their upcoming tour, and confirmed that new music is coming “soon”.

Returning after an eight-year live hiatus, the legendary English electronic act will embark on a four-date run this June culminating with a homecoming show at London’s Roundhouse. The ‘Champion Sound’ tour will make stops in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Amsterdam, and see Faithless being joined by a seven-piece band as they perform a combination of both “new and old music.”

Speaking to DJ Mag about Faithless’ return to the live arena, founding member Sister Bliss said: “These shows are going to be a celebration of all our years in music – what we love, what we stand for as a band, and a real tribute to Maxi as well.”

“We’ve been working on this for months now so there is a theme, there is a feeling, there is a vibe to the show, and it’s exciting,” she continued. “It will still have the rawness and edge that our shows are known for, and I think that’s because we’ve thought really hard about what we want to say both sonically and visually.”

During the shows, the band will pay tribute to bandmate and vocalist Maxi Jazz who passed away in December 2022, aged 65. “Obviously he won’t be there with us, but he’ll be there in spirit, and so the whole thing is a very new and different thing for us,” Sister Bliss shared. “I really hope people are going to get stuck in and dance, and really lose themselves in the music, because that’s what people have always done at a Faithless gig.”

The upcoming shows will also will feature a unique visual identity, thanks to Italian set and lighting director, Jvan Morandi. A long-time Faithless collaborator, Morandi pioneered the ‘contemporary psychedelic’ visual style of Faithless’ 2001 tour.

“He’s all about the lights and the story – and the synthesisers!,” Sister Bliss shared, “and that’s what we’re about really. The amazing blend between the emotional and the electronic. It was great being able to pick up the phone and have the kind of exciting conversations we’ve always loved having.”

Sister Bliss stressed the importance of maintaining this “family feeling” throughout their return to touring. “It is a bit like going on stage and taking your pants down, going out without your iconic frontman, so I felt really strongly that we were surrounded by people on this tour who understood and loved Maxi. Who have that kind of old school Faithless energy – I’m hoping that’s what we’re going to bring in spades.”

As part of the live shows, Faithless are hoping to enlist the help of their fans for a special collaborative segment. “We want our fans to send in videos, photos, artwork into a website we’ve made and that will become part of the show dedicated to them and their memories of Faithless,” Sister Bliss told DJ Mag.

“When Max died, people’s tributes artistically were just mind blowing… but I never felt that there was a specific place for people to go to feel close to him,” she continued. “So we want the show to feel like a place for fans to congregate and be part of the celebration of his life.” Faithless are set to reveal more information on the project in the coming months.

Jazz lent his distinctive spoken word delivery and poetic lyricism to hits such as ‘Insomnia’ and ‘God is a DJ’, which helped Faithless become recognised as one of the most prominent acts in British electronic music. In the months after his passing, ‘Insomnia’ climbed to the top 10 of the Beatport Top 100, three decades after its release.

“It is so beautiful when people go bananas for our music still after all this time,” Sister Bliss added. “I’m hoping that these new shows will be really raw, punky, and vibrant, and a tribute to music and connection because I feel so strongly that’s what Maxi’s life was all about.”

As well as the classics, the shows will also feature brand new music from Faithless. Earlier this month, the band revealed that they were in the studio working on new tracks, which fans can expect to hear “soon”.

“I’ve been very industrious, and when I’m working I’m just super focused because there’s a story to tell. You realise the point of all of that angst you go through in the studio when you get to play your music to an audience and touch them or move them in some way,” said Sister Bliss.

“We also made the album ‘All Blessed’ in lockdown and we never got the chance to tour that… so this is also putting a bit of the music from that album into the set because nobody got the chance to hear it live last time around.”

Faithless will also be headlining three major UK festivals this summer – Glastonbury, Wilderness and Camp Bestival – where fans can expect to see more of the “crazy visuals” and “raw energy” of the band’s live shows.

“If there’s anything that headlining the biggest festivals in the world for 20 years has taught us, it’s how to please a festival crowd and bring something to the table that’s really exciting and dynamic and beautiful,” Sister Bliss shared.