Hacienda e Faithless

Comprised of revered vocalist Maxi Jazz, multi-instrumentalist Sister Bliss, who electronically composes most of the music, producer Rollo Armstrong, and Jamie Catto, Faithless formed in 1995. Prior to Faithless, Rollo had earned success producing the club hit “Don’t You Want Me” under the moniker Felix, and remixing the likes of the Pet Shop Boys and Björk. The band’s debut single “Salva Mea (Save Me)” was issued in July 1995, and became one of the biggest dance hits of the year. With the success of “Salva Mea (Save Me)”, Faithless went on to issue the subsequent singles “Insomnia” and “Reverence”.

A year later arrived Faithless’ debut album “Reverence” was released on Rollo’s Cheeky Records and debuted at No. 26 on the UK albums chart. The album was succeeded by “Sunday 8pm” in 1998, and aided by the hits “Bring My Family Back”, “God Is a DJ” and Take The Long Walk Home”, reached No. 10 on the UK’s album chart.

The group continued their trend into the Top 10 with the subsequent album “Outrospective” in 2001, which reached No. 4 in the chart. 2004’s “No Roots” marked the addition of vocalist LSK to the group and became the band's first No. 1 album. Further guest vocalists included Dido, who is Rollo’s sister, and late jazz singer Nina Simone. The album earned rave reviews from the musical press and cemented the band’s position as a staple of British dance music.

Faithless returned in 2006 to release “To All New Arrivals” however despite contributions from Cat Power and Robert Smith the album failed to achieve the success of its predecessor. Ahead of the release Faithless issued the single “Bombs”, the video of which caused a stir for its depiction of war scenes in daily life. The band subsequently performed at the 2007 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, before releasing the album “The Dance” in 2009. After an eight year break, Faithless returned to Glastonbury Festival’s Pyramid Stage in 2010, followed by a couple farewell performances at Brixton Academy in 2011.

A graduate of New York City’s High School of Art and Design, Sanchez subsequently enrolled at the Pratt Institute studying architecture. Following advice from his father, in 1987 the DJ took a break from his studies to focus on his DJing and production endeavours. After only a few years Sanchez was mixing for multiple New York clubs including the Tunnel, before his own club, Ego Trip, became the hot spot for the freshest house and dance tracks. With his reputation raising to new levels, Sanchez toyed with the idea of production, recording his debut single “Luv Dancin" in 1990 as Underground Solution.

By greater coincidence than intention, the DJ began mixing high-profile tracks by the likes of Babyface, Janet and Michael Jackson, Chic, Diana Ross, and Soul II Soul. Sanchez subsequently issued his debut full-length album “Secret Weapons Volume 1” in 1994 on the revered Strictly Rhythm label, followed by the EP “Strictly 4 the Underground” in 1995, under the moniker Roger S. The same year, this time under the name Transatlantic Soul, the DJ and producer released “Released Yourself”, placing Sanchez is an exclusive group of the world’s finest producers.

A mix LP “Hard Times: The Album” featuring the S-Man appeared in 1995, following which he released a pair of mix volumes in Mixmag Live! and United DJ’s of America. In 1997 Sanchez formed a super group alongside Junior Sanchez and DJ Sneak, known as S-Men, later releasing the single “Back”. In a showcase of his finest remixes and productions, the DJ issued the two-disc collection "S-Man Classics" in 1998.

In 2001 Sanchez began making headway into mainstream charts, notably for his original single “Another Chance”, which topped the UK Singles Chart. Taken from the full-length “First Contact”, the single also proved popular in Austria, Beliglium, Finland and the Netherlands. Consisting entirely of his own productions, “First Contact” was new ground for Sanchez, and spawned the subsequent singles “You Can’t Change Me” and “Nothing 2 Prove”. The following year the DJ launched the label Stealth Records as a vehicle for his mixes, before winning a Grammy in 2003 for his remix of No Doubt’s “Hella Good”. The production full-length “Come with Me” followed in 2005 spawning the No. 1 U.S. Dance track “Lost” and “Turn on the Music”. In 2008 the DJ and producer issued the single “Bang That Box!” featuring Terri B!, before releasing the 10th Anniversary Edition of “Release Yourself” in 2011.