Insomnia (Faithless song)

"Insomnia"
1996 UK CD 1 Cover
Single by Faithless
from the album Reverence
Released	November 1995 September 2005 (re-release)
Format	CD single
Recorded	1995
Genre	House, trance, dream house
Length	3:36
Label	Cheeky Records/BMG
Writer(s)	Maxi Jazz, Sister Bliss, Rollo, Jamie Catto
Producer(s)	Rollo
Faithless singles chronology
"Salva Mea" (1995) "Insomnia" (1995) "Don't Leave" (1996)
Faithless singles chronology "Why Go?" (2005) "Insomnia 2005" (2005) "Fatty Boo" (2005) Alternative cover 2005 version

"Insomnia" is a song recorded by British dance group Faithless. Released as the band's second single, it became one of their most successful. It was released in 1995 and became a hit in Dance Charts while peaking at number 27 in the UK in 1995 and number 3 in 1996. The song also reached number 17 in the UK chart as a re-entry in 2005, showing the song's longevity. The album version is nearly nine minutes long and contains some lyrics not able to be broadcast on the radio edit due to their explicit content. It also contains some bells chiming at the start of the song not generally known by the club-going public as many people know the Monster Mix or the Monster Mix Radio Edit. The Monster Mix was the mix featured on Faithless' greatest hits album Forever Faithless. The song topped the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart. The Moody Mix featured on some of the singles was also on the Reverence / Irreverence release.

Faithless have expressed their displeasure with the fact that elements of this song were reused by Sash! for his single "Encore Une Fois".^[1] Norwegian electronica artist Biosphere has claimed that Faithless sampled the bassline from his single "Novelty Waves".^[2]

Content

The song features Maxi Jazz singing as an insomniac while he struggles to sleep ("I toss and I turn without cease, like a curse, open my eyes and rise like yeast/At least a couple of weeks since I last slept, kept takin' sleepers, but now I keep myself pepped"). The subject is resonant with fans of dance music, since stimulant use is common in club/rave culture, and insomnia is a common side effect. The insomniac is also rather destitute ("Make my way to the refrigerator/One dry potato inside, no lie, not even bread, jam, when the light above my head went bam...").

	"Insomnia" excerpt
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Track listing

Charts

Chart successions

2005 mix

"Insomnia" was re-mixed and re-released in 2005 after the re-entry of the 1996 single into the UK singles chart at #48. This was partly because of Faithless releasing their Greatest Hits album. The re-mix was not used on the Greatest hits with The Monster Mix being the version which featured on the album. The re-mixed version reached #17 in the UK Chart.

CD1

1. Insomnia (Blissy Vs Armand Van Helden 2005 Re-Work) - 03:22
2. Insomnia (Monster Mix Radio Edit) - 03:36

CD2

1. Insomnia (Blissy Vs Armand Van Helden 2005 Re-Work) - 03:22
2. Insomnia (Sasha B.A Remix) - 09:52
3. Insomnia (Armand's European Vacation Mix) - 08:03
4. Insomnia (Monster Mix) - 08:35

Mike Candys & Jack Holiday version

"Insomnia"
Single by Mike Candys & Jack Holiday
from the album Smile
Released	September 11, 2009 (2009-09-11)
Format	CD single, Digital download
Genre	Electro house, eurodance
Length	3:29
Producer(s)	Mike Candys Jack Holiday Chris Crime
Mike Candys & Jack Holiday singles chronology
"Insomnia" (2009) "Together Again" (2010)

In 2009, Swiss DJs, Mike Candys and Jack Holiday recorded a remix of the song. It was released in September 2009 as their debut single and charted throughout Europe.

Track listing

CD maxi - Europe (2009)

1. "Insomnia" (Radio Edit) - 3:31
2. "Insomnia" (Chris Crime Infinity Remix) - 4:41
3. "Insomnia" (Christopher S. Remix) - 4:39

Chart performance

Notes and references

External links

• Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics