Email Interview with Aubrey Nunn 21/2/2005 by Andrew Jackson-Parr

Hi Aubrey,



Thank you for taking part in another interview for us.


2004 was a good year for faithless and their fans, with a Number 1 album and a top 10 single. What does the band have planned for 2005?

We are looking forward to breaking some new territory in South America , and playing some of the biggest shows we have ever done in the UK .

As has already been announced there is to be a "greatest hits" album in April, and we are looking even further ahead to a live DVD later in the year if we can get footage of the quality we want on the upcoming tour.

Festivals aplenty in the summer which should be pretty exciting as they will be the last shows we play for a while - possibly ever - who knows!



Forever Faithless, what prompted a greatest hits album?

Ten years is longer than the average band gets to spend doing their thing and it feels like a round number!

We get lots of people who tell us they have loved many of our songs without realising that we were the band that made them.

Equally there are many who would like to buy an album, but aren't sure which to get. With four albums under our belt, there is a fair amount to choose from and it's something that just feels well timed.

What new tracks will be included on the album, who was involved in them?

Can't say much about the new material as it has yet to be finished and decided upon.

There are rumours of a DVD, what footage will be available on the DVD?

It isn't exactly sure whether this is a definite or not, but we are filming several shows on the UK tour and will take the best of these and see. We have held off releasing anything live in the past as we have never felt that image quality and sound quality matched up, so with so much previously rejected, unless it's good, we won't release it.


Will it include footage from live sets?

There will be a live project and a promo video collection separately.

Will the DVD become a regular thing, i.e. a new one each year for the tours etc. for that year?

I doubt it. It is as difficult to make a DVD as a record so we wouldsee it as a "special" thing for posterity rather than a regular thing.


Faithless are doing an extensive tour this year, including festivals in South America . How popular are the band state side?

Mass Destruction was a very big hit in the US , and in the past we have loved playing there. Sadly it just doesn't make sense for us to play endlessly in the States and neglect those places that love us most, so for now it looks like we will stay in Europe and capitalise on what we have there.


What other countries outside of Europe are the Band most popular?

Australia and New Zealand are great places for us, and Japan seems to be building up slowly. Russia has always been very interested in us.

What countries would you like to break into?

We have a presence pretty much everywhere in the world, but I would
really love to go back to Japan soon. South America is a long term
dream that is finally becoming reality.

Most of the tour events are large, do you plan doing any smaller
intimate gigs?

It gets harder to play small shows when our touring production is geared up to larger shows. We simply can't do much in places that don't have stage sizes big enough, and the capacity to rig our sound and lights, and we want to be seen at our best. I do think this is a shame, but I do see the sums involved and know that while it would be great, we just couldn't do it regularly. Factor in the wide market we have and we would never be able to play to everyone that wanted to see us all over the world and have time for our home lives and families.

Will any guest artist be performing with you, Dido, LSK etc?

Not sure about Dido (she does have a rather busy career of her own !), but LSK will be around this year as will Rhianna, and of course Dave Randall our original guitarist and the brains behind Slovo will be back.

Are the any UK festivals planned yet?

There are, but at the time of writing I can't give anything away.

The gig at Alexandra Palace on the 30th April is an over 18's, why is this?

Simply because the late timing of the show means having a late licence, this is a legal requirement for the licence.

There seems to be a lot of emphasis in the newsletter recently on the fans and there faithless experiences for a Fanzine, When is this likely to be finished?
If you haven't got it already it will be coming very soon ! This is
produced by Sony BMG so I can't really comment.


And how important is it for fans to have that sort of input with the band?

We've always stayed in close contact with the community ( I visit the discussion board and answer questions every day when I get the chance), but there is a much wider fan base, and we welcome their feedback, and this is why we are asking for info. We also feel that it is important to see what the last ten years have meant from all perspectives, as we only have our own experiences to go by.


The official Website ( http://www.faithless.co.uk/ ) was redesigned last year, are you pleased with the new layout?

I was very happy to see that it reflected some of my original ideas and overall style, but has advanced somewhat. The designers did a fantastic job and it has won some great awards. Very pleased with it even a year later.


Does the band have any more collaborations planned for the near future?

At the moment all we can focus on is the new material for the greatest hits album and can't give too much away.


What do you see the band doing this time next year, and in 5 years?

Impossible to say, although I think we will all be doing something musically related be it writing, producing or whatever. Can't see too much touring though.

In the Past year there have been several interviews where members of the group hint at taking a break from live performances, is this true?

Yes. We have done a lot of this and need a break. The thing that needs to be borne in mind is that this does not necessarily apply to the individuals in the band, it just means that we won't be together doing it for a while, maybe not ever. Who knows, we may miss it like mad and look forward to it again.



Anything else you would like too add?

Not really. Saying thanks to everyone who supports us always seems so corny but is really heartfelt. If this is the last opportunity I get to express anything on behalf of myself and the band then I would like to be known how important everyone has been in showing us so much interest. Doing what we do is a very rare thing, and I have always had the feeling that there has been a much closer relationship between us and our fans than most bands. I've always wanted it to be that way so thanks !!!

With thanks to Aubrey Nunn for doing the interview.

if you want to use any content from this interview please contact me. andy@faithlessuk.co.uk