The voice floats out of the ether, shrouded in angelic arias and celestial electronics: “When time come beneath the fearsome sun, my daughter, my son, be as completely you as you can be, forever free.” It’s the voice of Maxi Jazz, the iconic frontman of London dance phenomenon Faithless, who died in 2022, aged 65, after a long illness. A stoic yet powerful voice, one which gave rave music depth, meaning and political impact on historic tracks such as Insomnia and Mass Destruction, now delivering what his bandmate Sister Bliss calls “his little last statement of intent to the world” as introduction to the band’s latest release Forever Free. If God is a DJ, you sense, he’s got a legendary new MC.
“It’s just a little nugget of wisdom among many,” Bliss says from her north London home, explaining how the sample of Jazz’s lyric was repurposed from a recording of a poem about a mango tree at his mother’s home in Jamaica. “Maxi, he’s now free. He’s free of illness. He’s free of pain. He’s also forever around in our music — anytime you want to click on your phone or your Spotify, there he is.”
