The musical force behind dance pioneers Faithless, Sister Bliss is coming to Australia to perform an exclusive Faithless DJ set at the end of the year.
A world-renowned DJ and record producer, Sister Bliss formed Faithless in 1995 with Maxi Jazz, Jamie Catto and Rollo Armstrong (brother of Dido).
Over the course of two decades the group became one of the world's most successful live electronic acts, with Sister Bliss composing the majority of their vast catalogue of genre-defining dance tracks. If there's any truth to their classic dance anthem 'God Is A DJ', there's a good chance Sister Bliss is that DJ.
This December sees Sister Bliss making a long-awaited return to our shores where she'll present an exclusive Faithless DJ set spanning the group's extensive legacy.
What have you been working on so far in 2018?
I've been pretty busy DJing at clubs and festivals all over the world, also doing my weekly radio show/ podcast 'Sister Bliss On Session', which is syndicated globally, and in the studio working on a new Faithless album.
How are you feeling about your upcoming Australian shows?
I'm really looking forward to them. I haven't been over since 2011 when I was with the band for Good Vibrations festival, which was absolutely amazing – but feels like far too long ago.
What can audiences expect from these shows?
This tour is more of a club vibe than festival appearance, so I can really dig in with a longer set time to showcase lots of current music I'm really into as well as playing the Faithless classics.
I love to go all over the place musically when I'm DJing – from rolling tech house, to dirty disco and techno and beyond – and make it all hang together coherently. I see my sets like a giant jigsaw of electronic music: past, present and future.
What is your opinion of the dance music culture in Australia, and how it compares to others around the world?
It seems very vibrant at the moment – there is a massive commercial crossover scene, artists like Flume, Pnau and Sia immediately spring to mind who have really connected globally, and artists who are maybe a bit more underground but with proper, quality releases who I've been supporting in my sets and on my radio show like Rufus Du Sol, Cut Copy, Kaz James, Pablo Calamari and The Aston Shuffle.
I think the Oz dance scene has a lot to offer and has really matured out of a pretty small niche since I first went there in 1995.
Thinking back to when you first formed Faithless, what were your main motivations for wanting to make music?
In terms of Faithless, we were always moved by lyrics as well as music, and at the time it was hard to find much in dance music that went beyond the generic 'throw your hands in the air', which is all well and good to enjoy at a party, but the music that has touched me, and endured in my record collection, has a deeper message to it, and that's what we wanted to do with Faithless.
We - Rollo and I - met Maxi back in 1994; we had never met a Buddhist rapper before and we thought we had a good track for him to rap over – that was 'Salva Mea', our first ever record.
He is an incredible lyric writer and has his own, unique poetic style. So we felt very excited to make music that served as a backdrop to his stunning words and tone, and that had real meaning and emotion within in.
It was also about taking a risk in a relatively 'safe' musical world – it's hard to mix politics and music and for it to work in a club; that's the beauty and skill in our records, I believe, the mixing of personal and the universal. When it works it's a beautiful thing.
And it's important to keep pushing forward. I want to make music people want to play, but I want it to say something, ultimately, and my music be something I'm proud to look back on.
Have those motivations changed since then?
Nope! I think my motivation hasn't changed at all; it's more that there is an awareness that we do actually have an audience now, and a very devoted one at that. That brings a responsibility with it I think.
How has your approach to songwriting and DJing changed over the years?
I think the technology has changed, so that has changed the process a bit. On occasion our collaborations with other artists have been completely virtual – we haven't even been in the same room.
Do you think it's easier now for someone to make a career as a professional DJ than when you started?
I think there are huge mountains to climb for emerging artists, namely that there is just so much music around and so much of it is pretty good. But you now have the tools to self-promote through the internet, which can help an artist get noticed.
In the UK, we also have the issue of many smaller venues being shut down, so artists and DJs don't have a place to showcase their talents, grow a regular crowd and move up in their local circuit.
What do you think has been your single greatest contribution to the world of music?
Hopefully proving that dance music is not the poor cousin to indie or rock; [that our music] can sit on the main stage and hold its own among the biggest artists in every genre – and is a globally enduring force to this day! But maybe better for you to be the judge. ;)
With ease of access to electronic production nowadays, do you worry about an upsurge in disposable music?
I think there probably has been, but I have to say I don't lose sleep over it.
I have been around long enough to know very quickly when something excites me musically – and much as it's annoying to wade through tonnes of average promos I get sent, most are now 'curated' by promo companies with (fairly) good and wide ranging taste before they hit my inbox.
I think there's also an upsurge in artists really pushing boundaries, doing their own thing with swagger and flair, which keeps the scene healthy and regenerating all the time. And that's a great inspiration for us all.
Sister Bliss Tour Dates
Sat 1 Dec - The Court (Perth)Sun 2 Dec - Ivy Courtyard (Sydney)
Sat 9 Dec - Revolver (Melbourne)
