Insomnia (Faithless song)

"Insomnia"
Single by Faithless
from the album Reverence
Released November 1995
September 2005 (re-release)
Format CD single
Recorded 1995 London, England
Genre Electronica, trip hop, trance
Length 3:36
Label Cheeky/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, illustrating the song's longevity. It was voted by Mixmag readers as the fifth greatest dance record of all time.[1]

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
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Release

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".[2] Norwegian electronica artist Biosphere has claimed that Faithless sampled the bassline from his single "Novelty Waves".[3]

Track listing

1995 UK Release/1996 UK CD 1

  1. Insomnia (Monster Radio Edit) - 03:34
  2. Insomnia (Original Radio Edit) - 03:36
  3. Insomnia (Monster Mix) - 08:38
  4. Insomnia (Moody Mix) - 10:40
  5. Insomnia (Tuff Mix) - 07:18

1995 European Release

  1. Insomnia (CEC Edit) - 04:37
  2. Insomnia (Monster Radio Edit) - 03:33
  3. Insomnia (Original Mix) - 10:55
  4. Insomnia (Monster Mix) - 08:38
  5. Insomnia (Moody Mix) - 10:42
  6. Insomnia (Tuff Mix) - 07:19

1996 Scandinavian Release

  1. Insomnia (Monster Radio Edit) - 03:36
  2. Insomnia (Original Radio Edit) - 03:38
  3. Insomnia (Monster Mix) - 08:41
  4. Insomnia (Moody Mix) - 10:45
  5. Insomnia (Tuff Mix) - 07:18

1996 Italian Release

  1. Insomnia (Monster Radio Edit) - 03:34
  2. Insomnia (Original Radio Edit) - 03:36
  3. Insomnia (Monster Mix) - 08:38
  4. Insomnia (Moody Mix) - 10:40
  5. Insomnia (Tuff Mix) - 07:18

1996 UK CD 2

  1. Insomnia (CEC Radio Mix) - 03:53
  2. Insomnia (96 Remix) - 07:16
  3. Insomnia (DJ Quicksilver Mix) - 07:58
  4. Insomnia (De Donatis Mix) - 07:38

1996 European Release

  1. Insomnia (CEC Radio Mix) - 03:53
  2. Insomnia (Original Radio Edit) - 03:37
  3. Insomnia (96 Remix) - 07:16
  4. Insomnia (DJ Quicksilver Mix) - 07:58
  5. Insomnia (De Donatis Mix) - 07:38
  6. Insomnia (Monster Mix) - 08:35

1997 US Release 1

  1. Insomnia (Monster Mix Radio Edit) - 03:33
  2. Insomnia (Armand's European Vacation Mix) - 07:56
  3. Insomnia (Monster Mix) - 08:34
  4. Insomnia (Armand's Mission To Mars Mix) - 08:49
  5. Insomnia (De Donatis Mix) - 07:35
  6. Insomnia (CEC Radio Mix) - 03:51

1997 US Release 2

  1. Insomnia (Monster Mix Radio Edit) - 03:33
  2. Insomnia (Album Version) - 08:43
  3. Insomnia (De Donatis Mix) - 07:23
  4. Reverence (Tamsin's Drum & Bass Mix) - 05:20
  5. Don't Leave (Floating Bass Mix) - 05:53
*The 1997 US Releases used the 1995 UK Release cover

Charts

Chart (1995-96) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[4] 16
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5] 5
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 2
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[7] 6
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[8] 6
Canada Dance (RPM)[9] 1
Denmark (Tracklisten)[10] 3
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[11] 3
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[12] 1
France (SNEP)[13] 7
Germany (Media Control Charts)[14] 2
Ireland (IRMA)[15] 3
Italy (FIMI)[16] 19
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[17] 12
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[18] 39
Norway (VG-lista)[19] 1
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[20] 4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] 1
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[22] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[23] 62
US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[24] 1

Chart successions

Preceded by
"Runaway" by Nuyorican Soul featuring India		 Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single
1 March 1997 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"Discotheque" by U2

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 11 September 2009
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

Chart (2009-2012) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[25] 41
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[26] 9
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[27] 16
Denmark (Tracklisten)[28] 2
France (SNEP)[29] 15
Germany (Media Control Charts)[30] 44
Luxembourg (Billboard)[31] 5
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[32] 30
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[33] 34

References

  1. ↑ What is the Greatest Dance Track of All Time? Mixmag (15 February 2013).
  2. ↑ http://www.discogs.com/release/7016
  3. ↑ Invisible Jukebox, The Wire (magazine), Issue 270 (August 2006), p.23
  4. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Faithless – Insomnia)". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  5. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Faithless – Insomnia)" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  6. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Faithless – Insomnia)" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  7. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Faithless – Insomnia)" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  8. ↑ John Bush. "Faithless - Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic.
  9. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca.
  10. ↑ "Billboard". google.ca.
  11. ↑ "Billboard". google.ca.
  12. ↑ "Faithless: Insomnia)" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  13. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Faithless – Insomnia)" (in French). Les classement single.
  14. ↑ "Chartverfulgong > Faithless > Insomnia) – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  15. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 2, 1996". Irish Singles Chart.
  16. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Faithless – Insomnia)". Top Digital Download.
  17. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Faithless search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
  18. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Faithless – Insomnia)". Top 40 Singles.
  19. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Faithless – Insomnia)". VG-lista.
  20. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Faithless – Insomnia)". Singles Top 60.
  21. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Faithless – Insomnia)". Swiss Singles Chart.
  22. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1995-10-26" UK Singles Chart.
  23. ↑ "Faithless Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Faithless.
  24. ↑ "Faithless Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for Faithless.
  25. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Mike Candys & Jack Holiday – Insomnia" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  26. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Mike Candys & Jack Holiday – Insomnia" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  27. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Mike Candys & Jack Holiday – Insomnia" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  28. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Mike Candys & Jack Holiday – Insomnia". Tracklisten.
  29. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Mike Candys & Jack Holiday – Insomnia" (in French). Les classement single.
  30. ↑ "Chartverfulgong > Mike Candys & Jack Holiday > Insomnia – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  31. ↑ "Luxembourg Digital Songs - June 2, 2012". Billboard. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  32. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Mike Candys & Jack Holiday – Insomnia" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  33. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Mike Candys & Jack Holiday – Insomnia". Swiss Singles Chart.

External links