Few tracks in electronic music have had the lasting cultural impact of “Insomnia” by Faithless. Released in 1995 and exploding globally in 1996, the song went on to define the sound of European dance floors for decades, until today. Its hypnotic synth line, whisper-spoken vocals, and famously delayed “I can’t get no sleep” beat drop made it an anthem unlike anything else in club culture at the time.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary, Cheeky Records is releasing a special zeotrope 12″ vinyl (A zoetrope vinyl is a special picture record which turns into a little animation when it spins on the turntable) including the original mix along with the Monster Mix, Moody Mix and Tuff Mix.
Formed in London in 1995, Faithless was an electronic collective built around three core members:
Maxi Jazz, the band’s vocalist and lyricist
Sister Bliss (Ayalah Bentovim), a classically trained composer and the group’s primary instrumentalist
Rollo (Rollo Armstrong), the producer and architect of the Faithless sound
Together, they blended house, trance, trip-hop, and spoken-word poetry into something that felt simultaneously spiritual and club-ready. This synthesis became the signature identity of Faithless, however the soul of “Insomnia” came from Maxi Jazz’s spoken-word delivery. Maxi later explained that the lyrics were grounded in reality: he was genuinely struggling with stress-induced insomnia while trying to make ends meet in London’s 1990s creative scene.
Maxi Jazz once said, “You are only ever one choice away from changing your life.” but behind the track lies the story of three artists whose combined musical instincts surely changed the approach to electronic music of millions of music lovers.
📷 : Photo Credits / Emre Telci (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
