A curry. That's all it takes to get Dido to sing with you. Well,
of course, it helps if you happen to be in a group like UK dance
giants Faithless. It would also help if the Thank You and
White Flag singer happens to be your sister.
And as it turns out, Rollo, one of the principle members of
Faithless, is Dido's brother and the only payment required to get
her to sing with the group was a hot bowl of Indian chicken.
Faithless frontman Maxi Jazz whips the crowd
into a frenzy.
"It is true, but I can't remember what curry - probably a
biryani," says the Faithless multi-instrumentalist Sister
Bliss.
Kind of makes you wonder what Dido requests on her backstage
rider doesn't it? But one thing that Beijing and Shanghai dance
fans won't have to wonder about any longer is what it's like to see
arguably the world's biggest electronic act live.
Headliners for the Yue Festival, which will be held this weekend
in Beijing and the following weekend in Shanghai, Faithless will
play in venues a little smaller than some of the ones they are used
to. They've peered out into oceans of people at events like the
Glastonbury Music Festival, and footage of their shows reveals
thousands of fans working themselves up into a right old lather. In
the capital, however, they will storm the mid-sized Star Live
stage. So, is size important in this instance?
Sister Bliss says they both have their benefits.
"I love huge festival shows, because there is such an
opportunity to make a transcendent experience visually, and also,
at a festival, you are playing to an audience who hasn't
necessarily heard you before, so it is a challenge to win them
over," she says.
"But the intimacy and rawness of small shows are also exciting
and visceral, and they are an opportunity for the audience to be
very close to the band."
Faithless multi-instrumentalist Sister Bliss
is no stranger to China.
As more local festivals start to emerge, more big name
international groups, such as recent Beijing Pop Festival
headliners Nine Inch Nails, are being lured to China where they
hope to find an untapped audience. And for many of those stars, it
is the first time they have visited the Middle Kingdom, let alone
played here. Not so for Sister Bliss, though.
"I have deejayed in China a couple of times, so I know there is
now more of a connection with the electronic scene than ever
before," she says. "We are also hoping people will not be inhibited
and will have a good dance!"
Since their formation in 1995, Faithless has enjoyed huge chart
success in the United Kingdom and several of their tracks, such as
God is a DJ, Insomnia and We Become 1, have risen to anthemic
status. Surprisingly, the band's popularity has not been limited to
fans of hip-hop and dance, which is an appeal that Sister Bliss
attributes to the kinds of acts they regularly appear with at
festivals.
"I think it's because we have been exposed to an audience beyond
the clubs by playing many rock festivals, and we out-rock the
rockers," she says.
"I also think we make an effort to be inclusive, and Maxi's
performance as a front man is really powerful in bringing people
from all walks of life together. We are also an eight-piece live
band, so there is always something interesting going on
onstage."
While you couldn't classify Faithless as strictly a hip-hop or
rap act, they have embraced that genre's proclivity for politically
minded lyrics. For example, Bombs, the first single from the 2006
album, To All New Arrivals, was banned from MTV for its criticism
of the war in Iraq. And while such social critique may seem
uncommon in dance music, Sister Bliss says that several stars of
the genre are already speaking out on issues that concern them.
"I think activism isn't very present in dance music lyrics,
because dance music is often seen as escapist," she says.
"But as a movement, dance music has many activists within it -
for example, DJ Paul Van Dyk encouraging young people to vote in
the 'Rock the Vote' campaign, World DJ Day, where dance music stars
donate their fees to the Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy Centre.
There are also countless charity DJ events and club nights for the
homeless, for AIDS and Amnesty International, to name a few."
The Yue music festival, hosted by Split Works, will also feature
other world-renowned performers, including the Grammy-winning
Latin-dance outfit, Ozomatli and acclaimed rapper Talib Kweli.
These two acts will perform at the Star Live in Beijing on Monday,
October 1, followed by Faithless and DJ Youdai the next night. On
Friday October 5, Faithless, Talib Kweli and Ozomatli will play at
Shanghai's Zhongshan Park.
Yue Festival
Star Live, Beijing
Oct 2: Talib Kweli + Ozomatli + DJ V-Nutz
Tickets: 100/140/180 yuan student/advance/door
Oct 3: Faithless + DJ Youdai
Tickets: 160/280/360 yuan student/advance/door, available from www.piao.com.cn or 010 6425
5677
Zhongshan Park, Shanghai
Oct 5: Faithless, Talib Kweli, Ozomatli
Tickets: 140/280/360 yuan student/advance/door, available from www.228.com.cn or 135 2455
1955
(China Daily September 29, 2007)
