Just heard the sad news that Maxi Jazz, frontman and lead vocalist for uk band Faithless, has died.
This has hit me like a gut punch. I never met the man, but his work evidences a man of humility, warmth, wit and wisdom.
The music is equally inspired; live-changing electronica with strong reggae influences, typical of the uk sound.
I'd like to share three tracks with you to illustrate his talent,
all drawn from the 1996 debut album from Faithless: Reverance. (Strongly recommended, btw)
The first two, Dirty Old Man and Baseball Cap, are dubby, funky bass driven workouts for your system. The sound is huuge, yet Maxi's volcals are calm, intimate and infused with self-deprecating warmth.
The final track is my favourite version of their monster hit Insomnia.
Earlier i used the phrase 'life changing', well it's no hyperbole when describing Insomnia. This track on a good club sound rig has changed the course of a few lives, from the driving, sparse intro to the ecstatic melodic hook, it's a force of nature from top to bottom that takes full advantage of the 90's revolution in sound system design.
(lead by the genius Richard Long working in New York's mega clubs, and enthusiastically adopted here in the uk, where we already had a deep tradition of reggae sound system culture. )
This 90's meeting of two energies, rave and reggae, is for me the location of my favourite music, and one that i have strived to make my sound system worthy of.
Dirty old man:
Baseball cap:
And the almighty Insomnia.
My favourite version is this, the Monster Mix:
This has hit me like a gut punch. I never met the man, but his work evidences a man of humility, warmth, wit and wisdom.
The music is equally inspired; live-changing electronica with strong reggae influences, typical of the uk sound.
I'd like to share three tracks with you to illustrate his talent,
all drawn from the 1996 debut album from Faithless: Reverance. (Strongly recommended, btw)
The first two, Dirty Old Man and Baseball Cap, are dubby, funky bass driven workouts for your system. The sound is huuge, yet Maxi's volcals are calm, intimate and infused with self-deprecating warmth.
The final track is my favourite version of their monster hit Insomnia.
Earlier i used the phrase 'life changing', well it's no hyperbole when describing Insomnia. This track on a good club sound rig has changed the course of a few lives, from the driving, sparse intro to the ecstatic melodic hook, it's a force of nature from top to bottom that takes full advantage of the 90's revolution in sound system design.
(lead by the genius Richard Long working in New York's mega clubs, and enthusiastically adopted here in the uk, where we already had a deep tradition of reggae sound system culture. )
This 90's meeting of two energies, rave and reggae, is for me the location of my favourite music, and one that i have strived to make my sound system worthy of.
Dirty old man:
Baseball cap:
And the almighty Insomnia.
My favourite version is this, the Monster Mix:
