Faithless are an English dance music band that formed in 1995, with its core original members being

Rollo Rollo (, ''Rolloun''; ; ; – 933), also known with his epithet, Rollo "the Walker", was a Viking who, as Count of Rouen, became the first ruler of Normandy, a region in today's northern France. He was prominent among the Vikings who Siege o ...

, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. During the band's initial period of success, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz contributed to studio recordings and toured frequently under the Faithless name, while Rollo served as a studio-only member, and has never performed live with the band. Their first album, '' Reverence'', was released in 1996 and their most recent, ''

All Blessed ''All Blessed'' is the seventh studio album by dance music act Faithless Faithless are an English dance music Band (rock and pop), band that formed in 1995, with its core original members being Rollo Armstrong, Rollo, Sister Bliss and Max ...

'', in 2020. They have sold millions of physical records, and their catalogue was uploaded to streaming sites in 2018. They average almost 3 million listeners a month on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

. Faithless' records have charted at No. 1 in numerous countries and they were voted the 4th greatest dance band of all time by ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was printe ...

''. Their lyrical style has been seen as

sociopolitical Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how p ...

. Their 2021 album ''All Blessed'' featured photo-journalist

Yannis Behrakis Yannis Behrakis (; 29 August 1960 – 2 March 2019) was a Greek photojournalist and a Senior editor with Reuters. Biography Yannis Behrakis was born in 1960 in Athens, Greece. He studied photography in the Athens School of Arts and Technology ...

' photograph of

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

s in its artwork, and included immigration as its writing themes. Faithless have headlined numerous major festivals in Europe and beyond, including four editions of

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

History

1990s

Faithless were founded in 1995. Jazz had his musical beginnings in hip-hop, and was a rapper on the local scene in South London since the mid-1980s. Bliss' and Rollo's primary interests were in electronic music. Faithless' first album ''Reverence'' was conceived as a

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

which covers many genres, encapsulating house, hip-hop, folk and classical music. The album was released on Rollo's label, Cheeky Records. Their first show at Camden’s Jazz cafe to showcase ''Reverence'' was a sell-out, and a global tour ensued as the record went up the charts all over Europe. The singles "

Insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder where people have difficulty sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep for as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low ene ...

" and " Salva Mea" each selling over a million copies, and album going either platinum or gold in every European territory. The second studio album, Mercury-nominated '' Sunday 8PM'', contained the global hit " God Is a DJ" and established Faithless as a major touring force in 1998. Emotive videos were directed by featured vocalist Jamie Catto, featuring the band’s transcendent live shows, and helped bring Faithless’ live prowess to the attention of music fans. They were nominated for Best British Dance Act at the Brit Awards in 1999. The same year, Catto departed the band to form 1 Giant Leap.

2000s

In 2001, their third album '' Outrospective'' was the first to be released on major label

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

and captured the dreamy synergy between sadness and mad delirium giving rise to hit singles " We Come 1" and a tribute to

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

. In 2002, they performed on the

Pyramid stage The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

, with another nomination for best British Dance Act at The Brit Awards in the same year. They won Best Dance and Best Live Act at the TMF Awards in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in 2001. In 2004, their fourth album '' No Roots'' debuted at number 1 in the UK, conceived as a conceptual continuous piece of music in one key, with strong lyrical gravitas it featured vocals from

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (located ...

, new collaborator L.S.K, and the late

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (; born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He founded the rock band Foo Fighters, of which he is the lead singer, guitarist, principal songwriter, and only consistent member. From 1990 to 1994, he was the drummer of th ...

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

and

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

cited Faithless’ hit protest song "Mass Destruction" as the song he most wished he had written during an interview with ''Q'' magazine, and the lyrics were quoted in the

US Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

. A powerful video directed by award-winning directing team Dom & Nick alluded to abuses of power during the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

to chilling effect, tracing the connection from childhood bullying to terrorism and genocide. Encouraged by their label, Faithless released a

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

album, '' Forever Faithless''. The Greatest Hits album went four times platinum and was the best-selling dance album of 2005. A huge global tour followed the success of the album. Their fifth album, '' To All New Arrivals'', was released in 2006. It was inspired by the uncertain futures facing Sister Bliss’ recently-born son, and

’s young family, exploring themes of global poverty, immigration, conflict and belonging through the concept of "new arrivals". The first single "Bombs", with its anti-war message and video directed by director Howard Greenhalgh, was not playlisted on daytime

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

. The album also featured collaborations with Cat Power and Robert Smith of

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

. The band played Coachella Valley Festival in 2007.

2010s: Hiatuses and Jazz's departure

Their sixth album '' The Dance'' was released on 16 May 2010, after a four-year recording break for the band, on their own label "Nate’s Tunes" - and was 2nd in the UK album charts behind

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

. Faithless again played the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury in 2010, as well as other festivals around the world, and arenas. They were seen by over one million people and sold over 400,000 records. Faithless performed at

Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Lon ...

on 7 and 8 April 2011 and was transmitted live via satellite to cinemas across

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. In 2015, Faithless released a remix album under the banner of '' Faithless 2.0''. The studio album featured contributions from the biggest names in electronic music including

Avicii Tim Bergling (8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii, was a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer. At age 16, he began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first record deal. He rose ...

Tiësto Tijs Michiel Verwest (; born 17 January 1969), known professionally as Tiësto ( , ), is a Dutch DJ and record producer. He was voted "The Greatest DJ of All Time" by ''Mix (magazine), Mix'' magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, h ...

, Armin van Buuren, Claptone and

Booka Shade Booka Shade is a German house duo. It is made up of Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier, described as veterans of the Frankfurt electronic music scene. They have released 10 studio albums, including '' Memento'' (2004), ''Movements'' (2006), '' ...

. The album contained tracks from their 25-year career, encompassing seventeen Top 40 singles, six Top 10 albums and they embarked on a tour to celebrate the album released. In 2015 and 2016, the band played a series of live dates under the Faithless 2.0 banner, featuring Maxi Jazz and a full live band. Jazz left the group for the final time in 2016.

2020s: ''All Blessed'', death of Maxi Jazz, and ''Champion Sound''

After a seven-year recording hiatus, the seventh Faithless studio album ''

'' was released in October 2020. The release came in the middle of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, with the themes of the album weaving around immigration, identity, empathy and lack of it. The first track that was officially released from the album came on the same weekend as the album release, Synthesizer, a love letter to electronic music. The album features vocals from newcomers Nathan Ball and spoken word artist & poet Suli Breaks, along with Caleb Femi. Other notable appearances on the album include Soul II Soul founder Jazzie B, Gaika, and Damien Jurado. Rollo said of the album, "We want to give them something else – something that could breathe." It continued their top 3 chart success in the UK and Europe. On 23 December 2022, Maxi Jazz died "peacefully in his sleep" at his home in London, England at the age of 65. Seven days later, the band's compilation ''Forever Faithless'' re-entered the UK Album Downloads chart at number 7. In January 2024, Bliss announced that Faithless were returning to the "live arena" after eight years, with the group confirmed for dates including Camp Bestival in Shropshire in August that year. On 12 July 2024, Faithless released the single "Find A Way", which features Suli Breaks. On the same day, they announced the title of their upcoming eighth studio album, ''Champion Sound''. On 30 August 2024, the group released the single "I'm Not Alone (Rest Well Maxwell)" which features Amelia Fox and LSK, in tribute to Maxi Jazz. On the same day, they announced The Champion Sound Tour, which will visit UK and European cities in November and December 2024. On 25 April 2025, Faithless released the single "Dollars and Dimes", featuring

Bebe Rexha Bleta "Bebe" Rexha ( , ; born August 30, 1989) is an American singer and songwriter. She signed with Warner Records in 2013, and was credited with co-writing releases of other artists—such as Eminem's Grammy Award-winning single " The Monster" ...

Other work

In between album releases, Faithless also released compilation albums revealing more of their personality and influence including the long-running Back to Mine sessions as well as NME in Association with War Child Presents 1 Love, The Bedroom Sessions and the Renaissance 3D music project, in conjunction with the iconic Renaissance nightclub. As well as their own studio albums, all three members have actively engaged in other people's work as solo artists. Sister Bliss is a prominent dance DJ and has for a long time toured the circuit on her own, and has also scored numerous TV, film and theatre productions, along with presenting an award-winning Bauer Media show on Scala Radio joining the dots between classical and electronic music. Sister Bliss’ hugely successful weekly radio show and podcast ‘Sister Bliss in Session’, is syndicated to over 100 stations & 43 countries worldwide, and has around 10 million listeners per month and 60,000 podcast downloads per month.

released a solo record in 2019 under the moniker ''R PLUS'' called ''The Last Summer'' which features

. On 13 May 2022 he released ''WeDisappear'', a collaboration album with Amelia Fox. "Makes Me Feel Good" and an edited version of "Let's Really Have Some Fun", released 28 April 2023, were released as singles. On 24 November 2023, the album, ''For Lovers, Not Killers'' was released, once again in collaboration with Amelia Fox. The R Plus albums have erroneously been credited to Faithless on many streaming services. Maxi Jazz also collaborated with Faithless founding member Jamie Catto on his project ''1 Giant Leap'' and released an album with his band Maxi Jazz and the E-Type Boys. 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.

Band members

Current members * Sister Bliss (studio and live) – keyboards, synthesizers, piano, production, arrangement, mixer, composer, programming (1995–2011; 2015–present) *

(studio only) – keyboards, drum machine, guitar, bass, production, arrangement, mixer, composer, programming (1995–2011; 2015–present) Collaborative and touring member * LSK – lead and backing vocals (2004–2011; 2015–present)Faithless open a new era with ‘Forever Free’ and Maxi Jazz’s final vocal performance
''We rave You''. 2 June 2025. Retrieved 8 June 2025. Former members * Maxi Jazz – lead vocals, guitar, programmer, production (1995–2011; 2015–2016, died 2022) * Jamie Catto – lead and backing vocals, guitar, keyboards (1995–1999) * Dave Randall – guitar (1996–1999 and 2004–2011) * Aubrey Nunn – bass guitar (1995–2006) * Sudha Kheterpal – percussion (1998–2011)

Discography

*'' Reverence'' (1996) *'' Sunday 8PM'' (1998) *'' Outrospective'' (2001) *'' No Roots'' (2004) *'' To All New Arrivals'' (2006) *'' The Dance'' (2010) *''

'' (2020) *''

Champion Sound ''Champion Sound'' is a collaborative album by the duo Jaylib, consisting of producers J Dilla and Madlib. The album was released in 2003 and is considered a classic in the underground hip-hop scene. The title track, "Champion Sound", features ...

'' (2025)

References

External links

Official web site (UK)
* * * *
The story of Faithless in the french PDF magazine Soundamental
{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1995 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Musical groups reestablished in 2015 1995 establishments in England 2011 disestablishments in England English dance music groups Arista Records artists Sony Music UK artists English electronic music groups English house music groups British techno music groups Trip hop groups British trance music groups English remixers Electronic music groups from London BT Digital Music Awards winners Electronic dance music