🌙 About the Song
“Insomnia” is one of those tracks that changed everything.
Released in 1995, it fused house, trance, and poetry into a single slow-burn masterpiece.
Frontman Maxi Jazz’s spoken delivery — part lament, part sermon — rides on Sister Bliss’s icy keys and Rollo’s brooding production.
It’s the anthem for every sleepless soul, every club kid staring at the ceiling long after the strobes stopped.
On ukulele, it becomes a ghost story.
The hypnotic groove becomes a slow, looping meditation.
You can whisper the verses, or half-sing them like prayer.
It’s minimal. It’s moody. It shouldn’t work — and that’s exactly why it does.
🎸 Ukulele Playing Tips
We’ll play it in E minor, the natural key for that haunted pulse.
You’ll need Em, C, G, and D.
Main loop (whole song):
[Em] – [C] – [G] – [D]
Keep it steady, almost robotic — it’s all about repetition and texture.
Tempo: 100–105 bpm for a downtempo version, or 120 bpm if you want a proper groove.
Strumming: down–down–chuck–up–down–chuck (for that “kick-snare” feel).
Use palm muting to get the percussive bounce — muted strokes give you the Faithless pulse.
Or fingerpick:
Thumb (4th string) → index (3rd) → middle (2nd) → ring (1st) — soft, mechanical, trance-like.
Vocals:
Half-spoken, half-murmured.
The power of “Insomnia” isn’t in pitch — it’s in rhythm and restraint.
Whisper it. Mean it. Don’t overplay.
💡 Trivia You Can Drop Casually
- Maxi Jazz wrote the lyrics after a real stretch of sleepless nights while living in a small bedsit.
- The original version flopped in 1995 — the 1996 reissue became a global hit.
- Sister Bliss’s synth hook was improvised on a Roland JP-8000 — that arpeggiator line changed dance music.
- Faithless never mimed it live; they rebuilt it every night — Maxi would freestyle entire new verses.
- When he passed away in 2022, clubs across Europe held minute-long silences during their sets — then dropped Insomnia.
🌈 Final Word
“Insomnia” on ukulele is like taking a rave into candlelight — stripped of volume, full of truth.
It’s the sound of overthinking, overfeeling, and still finding rhythm in the quiet.
Strum it slow, speak it low, and let the silence between chords feel like the empty hours before dawn.
