Sister Bliss maps out influences of Faithless on brink of 20th anniversary compilation
Faithless is celebrating their 20-year mark, two decades after originally coming together and surfacing as a top electronic act. Their commemorative project is a two-disc compilation, something of a greatest hits meets remix album, entitled Faithless 2.0. The last 20 years of Faithless saw the trio of Sister Bliss, Maxi Jazz and Rollo deliver seven studio albums and selling upwards of 15 million records.
On the brink of Faithless 2.0 and reflecting on the past 20 years, Sister Bliss maps out the group’s influences, selecting five unique records that shaped Faithless as we know it today.
Underworld – Dark and Long
We absolutely love Underworld – their album “Dubnobasswithmyheadman” was a great influence on us. Underworld have such a hypnotic sound, and let things run and run in their arrangements. Dark and Long had all those deep hypnotic elements, and delivered a euphoric and iconic riff at the end. Shows that good things are worth waiting for.
Leftfield – Open Up
One of the most inspired pairings of Sex Pistol and P.I.L provocateur John Lydon’s howling apocalyptic vocals over Leftfields pummeling techno track. Brilliantly uncompromising, and shows you can have dance music with a political/ angry lyrical content that still works on the dance floor.
Art of Noise – Moment In Love
One of the ‘chill out’ classics before chill out was even invented as a genre. This is machine music with soul.
Grandmaster Flash – The Message
Seminal Hip hop- a crucial document of inner – city reportage, with truly funky electronic musical backing, yet socially conscious lyrics. Music to move the feet as well as stimulate the mind, and touch the heart.
Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon
The sonics of this album are adventurous and extraordinary, and the album has conceptual themes running through it – all of which influenced various Faithless albums along the way. The very “Englishness” of it was something I think gave English artists like ourselves confidence to look to the environment around them to draw influence from, and to draw from experiences inside themselves- we have quite an introspective side to our work – exploring the melancholy of the human condition.