Maxi Jazz, Sister Bliss and Rollo Armstrong are the people behind chart-topping hits such as Insomnia and, most recently, We Come 1 and Tarantula, the first two singles off their third album, Outrospective.
Their last visit to the country was about four years ago, when they shared the stage with dynamic dance-rockers the Prodigy, a line-up that left Faithless’s beats and melodies sounding bland and lifeless in comparison to the Prodigy’s all-out sonic assault, which opened the night. Performing by themselves might allow them to create a more suitable atmosphere in which their music will impress.
Frontman Maxi Jazz spent years as a rapper, hip-hop radio DJ and record-label owner before the band came together in 1995, when he joined forces with Sister Bliss – who is a classically trained pianist and violinist as well as a top club DJ and producer – and acclaimed writer, producer and remixer Rollo Armstrong, who doesn’t appear with Faithless at their live performances, because he “couldn’t play anything on stage anyway”. Vocalist and composer Jamie Catto also worked with them at that stage. Incidentally, Armstrong’s sister is pop darling Dido, who has also performed on all three Faithless albums.
Faithless perform in Johannesburg at Gallagher Estate on April 18, in Durban at the International Convention Centre on April 19 and in Cape Town at the Bellville Velodrome on April 20. Book at Computicket. For more about the band see www.faithless.co.uk.