The announcement of ‘Champion Sound’ Comes in the middle of Faithless’ first run of live shows in eight years and their first since Maxi Jazz died. They are currently touring Europe and the UK and recently performed a headline set at Glastonbury on the Glade stage.

The announcement of the new album and the release of ‘Find A Way’ sees the group release their first new music since their legendary singer Maxi Jazz passed away in December 2022. Speaking on the potential release of new music on their Instagram back in April, remaining members Sister Bliss and Rollo wrote: “As many of you have noticed, we’re back…Some shows have already been announced but we couldn’t start the summer without a little personal note. Maxi died just over a year ago and obviously we miss him every day. Thank you all for all of your kind words of support over this last year. It has really, really meant a lot.

In the meantime we never stopped (couldn’t stop, never wanted to stop!) making music. Even during Maxi’s long illness we recorded and released ‘All Blessed’ and now finally, 8 years after our last live performance, we are returning to festival stages across the summer and are planning some of our own shows later this year…”

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Sister Bliss spoke to DJ Mag around the same time about Faithless’ return to live shows: “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, 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.”

The Dance group’s new single ‘Find A Way’ sees the group collaborate with poet Suli Breaks. The two also partnered up for a lot of the tracks from the group’s last album ‘All Blessed’ Which saw them release their first record without Jazz on vocals.

Maxi Jazz died after a long battle with an undisclosed illness back in 2022. Jazz first met producer Rollo Armstrong in 1995 and along with Sister Bliss and Jamie Catto, they went onto to form Faithless. Jazz was a constant member of the group from their formation in 1995 all the way until 2011. During this time the dance group released lots of successful music including the huge hit ‘Insomnia’ which was originally released in 1995 and reached number 1 on the UK Dance Chart and then reached number 3 on UK Singles Chart when it was re-released a year later.

Sister Bliss, keyboardist for Faithless released a statement on Twitter of his passing. “Maxi Jazz, 1957-2022. We are heartbroken to share that Maxi died peacefully in his sleep last night. Sending love to all of you who shared our musical journey. Look after each other y’hear.”

Faithless released an official statement on Twitter offering their condolences as well. “We are heartbroken to say that Maxi Jazz died peacefully in his sleep last night. He was a man who changed our lives in so many ways. He gave proper meaning to our music. He was a lovely human being with time for everyone and wisdom that was both profound and accessible.”

We are heartbroken to say Maxi Jazz died peacefully in his sleep last night. He was a man who changed our lives in so many ways. He gave proper meaning and a message to our music. He was a lovely human being with time for everyone and wisdom that was both profound and accessible. pic.twitter.com/VcFe7OpTh6

— Faithless (@faithless) December 24, 2022

Prior to Faithless, in 1984, Maxi was the founder of The Soul Food Café System as a DJ. This was after he discovered hip-hop a year prior. The Soul Food Café band was picked up by Tam Tam Records in 1989. Three years later, he was the founder of Namu Records and released the band’s material by recording three EPs and touring to support big artists like Jamiroquai in Amsterdam, Soul II Soul in Barcelona, Galliano in Switzerland and Jason Rebello in Brazil. It was these experiences alone, that inspired him to form a band which ended up being a success.

Maxi Jazz was the person who formed and shaped Faithless to success throughout the 90s-00s.  All thanks to his ever-shining charisma and support towards his bandmates, especially Rollo Armstrong who he met at the studio which began the formation. In Faithless, he was the mastermind of providing one of the most iconic voices in House/Electronic music. Two major hits such as “God Is A DJ” and as well as “Insomnia” was vibrant back in their time and still remain vibrant and nostalgic to this day.

Though vibrant, Faithless songs had a deeper meaning that reflected political approaches. The US senate and the House of Parliament quote lyrics from one of Faithless’ songs. During the lockdown, their 2020 album, All Blessed, focuses on the harsh reality of immigration, identity and how much it lacked in our society.

In 2015, Maxi split from the group to focus on fronting as a guitarist and singer the Maxi Jazz and The E-Type Boys under the Faithless 2.0 banner. In 2016, he left Faithless for the final time.

Faithless
“Insomnia”
1️⃣9️⃣9️⃣6️⃣ #90s pic.twitter.com/XK8kAYJY9n

— The 80’s & 90’s Revisited (@80s90sRevisited) January 6, 2023