Would you believe that it’s almost 30 years since the single release of Insomnia, by Faithless? The track is one of the most fondly remembered of the mid-’90s era of UK dance dance music, thanks to lead singer Maxi Jazz’s deadpan delivery and Sister Bliss’s instantly recognisable synth riff.
In tribute to the tune and the band that made it, classic house torchbearers Disclosure have now released a 2025 edit of Insomnia, which features beefed-up drums and an acid bassline. But if you’re thinking that you’ve already heard it, you might be right.
“Last year for our live show at Glastonbury, we made a live version of one of the greatest electronic music songs of all time - Insomnia by the legendary band Faithless,” say Disclosure. “To our delight, Sister Bliss reached out and suggested we put out the version we made as a collaboration for all our fans to enjoy. We couldn’t be more honoured to be asked and never thought reworking this track would lead to such a special moment for us”.
Commenting on the release, Sister Bliss says: “We are so excited to present Disclosure’s 2025 edit of Insomnia. It’s a great and funky tribute to Maxi and our beloved UK dance music scene, and a totally unexpected moment in their Glastonbury set that really touched us deeply. It’s a privilege to see our influence on the next generation of artists - Maxi would be very proud to see how much this song is still being enjoyed.”
Maxi Jazz died in 2022 of an undisclosed illness. Speaking to The Guardian in 2020, he said that he came up with the famous ‘I can’t get no sleep’ line after being kept awake by a tooth abscess, but came to realise that, to a generation of clubbers, it meant something else.
“Suddenly the song was being played to crowds who had arguably taken 50 quid’s worth of high-powered drugs and weren’t thinking of getting much sleep for days,” he noted.
Sister Bliss, meanwhile, said that they were inspired by Underworld to hold the big synth riff back until later in the track, and that arguably the most pioneering dance music track of them all gave her a musical idea.
“I remembered Donna Summer’s I Feel Love and how it goes from a major chord to a minor one, and did the same,” she revealed.
Insomnia (Disclosure’s 2025 Edit) is out now on streaming platforms and is also available to buy.
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