Faithless - Renaissance 3D

From Jason Shawhan

This three-disc set from Renaissance features Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz from Faithless, each curating a disc themselves and also serving up a disc of Faithless mixes and rarities for the long-term fan.

The opulently-packaged set starts with the 'Studio' disc, serving up several rare Faithless tracks and a
sampler of Rollo & Sister Bliss' remixes. The highlights on this disc are the Pete Heller remix of "Miss U Less See U More," which takes a tack from the early days of rave and makes it thump gloriously, "Woozy" and the sublime "Addicted," which were both previously available only on movie soundtracks, the Rollo/Sister Bliss mix of BBE's "Seven Days and One Week," and the Big Mix of Living Joy's "Dreamer," which still makes my friend Christopher get all misty-eyed to this day.

Unfortunately, the first disc is continuously-mixed, though not in a particularly innovative way. I've said it before and I'll say it again, unless the disc is a showcase for a specific DJ, stop continuously mixing discs. The value of a collection of rarities is diminished by having them unnaturally segue between
one another, and the drastic BPM and tonal shifts on this disc feel unnatural. Plus, can we as the dance music community put a moratorium on the Rollo & Sister Bliss mix of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love." Classic song, touchstone of all modern dance music, yeah… I know. But it's one of the biggest clunkers that ever had a Rollo mix on it (and the other is Roxy Music's "Love is the Drug").

Disc Two, labeled 'Club,' is a continuously-mixed Sister Bliss DJ set and it is glorious. Working with progressive house and electro as her main palette, Bliss keeps the vibe pumping quite well. This DJ mix is how I was introduced to Axwell's masterful remix of the Deep Dish/Stevie Nicks collaboration "Dreams," and if there's any track this year that can mesh mid-to-late aughts progressive house and old school piano-driven early 90s house as well as "Soul Power" by Mark Flash, then I want to hear it.

The Flash track, remixed 'avec piano' by Mike Monday, is just majestic, and any DJ who wants to inject some much-needed piano throwdowns into their sets should seek this mix out immediately. I also got a lot of joy from D-Nox's "Seven Hours" and "Cold Drink Hot Girl" from Jody Wisternoff (of Way Out West). The only clunker on Bliss' disc is the opening cover of "Running Up That Hill," which just doesn't work.

Disc Three, labeled 'Home,' is Maxi Jazz's to curate, and he serves up a nice assortment of
downtempo R&B, hip-hop, dub, and jazzy soul. It's a mellow collection that is a great record to throw
on for relaxing and contemplation, with standouts being the hypnotic Sly & Robbie dub of Grace Jones' "Private Life," Ward 21's "Petrol," a gangsta raga track that popped up a couple of years back in one of those re-edited G.I. Joe public service announcements, and Todd Rundgren's shimmering "Remember Me," which closes the set with decades worth of emotion packed into less than a minute.

Overall, despite the unnecessary mixing, this is a hell of a set from one of the most important dance collectives of the past decade. Until we get a comprehensive and unmixed collection of Faithless' lost masterpieces (the Direct Hit Mix of "Salva Mea," the Mighty Mix of "If Loving You Is Wrong," the Tuff Mix
of "God is a DJ") and Rollo/Sister Bliss remixes (Simply Red's "Fairground,"Moby's" That's When I Reach For My Revolver," Olive's "Your Not Alone," and a shitload of Kristine W tracks, just to name a few), Faithless/Renaissance 3D is an exemplary compilation.

 

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