Five of the Best: Faithless

Photo: Faithless

Since crashing into public consciousness with one of dance music's most seminal records - 'Insomnia' back in 1995, Faithless have established themselves as one of the leading examples of crossover success. This year has seen the iconic group celebrate their 20th anniversary, celebrating a career that has spanned six studio albums, covering trance, trip hop, soul, downtempo electronic and much more.

Ahead of their appearance at Lytham Festival on Thursday August 6th, we trawled through the band's enormous back catalogue and unearthed our five favourite Faithless moments. 

'God is a DJ' 1998

'Insomnia' is widely regarded as their best out and out dance record, so we kind of took that as read, and instead have opted for the equally anthemic 'God is a DJ'. The religious overtones turned this into a peak time, song of praise when it graced our radiowaves back in 1998. Faithless' more matured, ponderous sound and Maxi Jazz's turn as a preacher man combined to make this a rabble-rousing slab of radio-friendly dance music.

'We Come 1' 2001

Faithless nail simple melodies, and they don't come more straightforward and uncluttered than 'We Come 1'. Another unifying anthem with an upfront, driving trance beat, the track has all the hallmarks of the band as Maxi jazz's vocals underpin a soaring chorus that embeds itself deep into your brain. 

'Don't Leave' 1996

Something of a forgotten classic, 'Don't Leave' is a very different sounding Faithless to the one we've come to know and love. Picked up by Danny Boyle for his movie Life Less Ordinary, the track was written by former members Jamie Catto and Rollo, and featured Catto on vocals. Drenched in soul, it's a track that should never be forgotten, and another highlight in their hugely eclectic back catalogue. 

'Bring My Family Back' 1998

Seemingly taking cues from David Arnold and Massive Attack, this is a classic example that Faithless can deliver tracks outside of the dance music template as Maxi Jazz regales the trials and losses of family life over a 50 year period. It's pretty depressing business, delivered with buckets of emotional resonance, which makes it all the more poignant. 

'Mass Destruction' 2004

Faithless - Mass Destruction from Quitoop on Vimeo.

Faithless entered the realms of drum & bass with 'Mass Destruction', and frontman Maxi Jazz used themes huge in the media at the time - the Iraq war and the supposed weapons of mass destruction to lay down a manifesto as to what constitutes a real weapon of mass destruction - racism, globalization, and greed against the back drop of his war-bound father. Again matching weighty lyrics with a thunderous score, 'Mass Destruction' is without doubt another Faithless classic. 

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More like this? Try Five of The Best: The Prodigy

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