"Fly Life" (often stylised as "Flylife") is a song by English

electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

duo

Basement Jaxx Basement Jaxx are an English electronic music duo consisting of Felix Buxton (born 30 April 1970) and Simon Ratcliffe (born 28 November 1969). The pair got their name from the regular club night they held in Brixton, London, UK. They first ros ...

from their fourth

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

, ''EP3'', released in 1996. The track was largely based on the 1996 single "Live Your Life with Me", which they produced for vocalist Corrina Joseph, their collaborator since 1995 in order to make "proper songs". It was re-released as a single by Multiply Records on 19 May 1997 with a new mix, featuring added vocals from British

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

artist Glamma Kid. It later went on to become Basement Jaxx's first charting single in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

by reaching the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart. Granted moderate success commercially, critically, the song also received very positive reviews from

music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...

s, the ones who highlighted the fusion of the many genres of the track and its handful production. The song was later included on two compilations from the duo: '' Atlantic Jaxx Recordings: A Compilation'' in 1997 and '' The Singles'' in 2005 and on various DJ sets, including those by

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...

and

Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known as Fatboy Slim, is an English musician and DJ who helped popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. His music makes extensive use of Sampling (music), samples from eclectic ...

Production

In 1995,

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

picked up and distributed Basement Jaxx's first single "Samba Magic". After spending time remixing for

Pet Shop Boys Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...

Roger Sanchez Roger Sanchez (born June 1, 1967) is an American house DJ, remixer and producer. He won a Grammy Award for his remix of "Hella Good" by No Doubt in 2003, and is best known for his song " Another Chance", which was an international hit in 2001. ...

and Lil' Mo' Yin Yang, they released their fourth

called ''EP3''. A track from it, "Fly Life", is a

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

song with

ragga Raggamuffin music (or simply ragga) is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music with heavy use of sampling. Wayne Smith's " Under Mi Sleng Teng", produced by King Jammy in 1985 on a ...

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

proto-punk Proto-punk (or protopunk) is rock music from the 1960s to mid-1970s that foreshadowed the punk rock genre and movement. A retrospective label, the musicians involved were generally not originally associated with each other and came from a variet ...

and

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house and jungle production methods, but also incorporates elements from ...

influences. Its basis was "Live Your Life with Me", a single originally performed by vocalist Corrina Joseph in 1998, the singer whom they had been working with since the release of ''EP2'' (1995) for their first attempts at making "proper songs". The duo's re-work of "Live Your Life with Me" added "

euphoric Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and danci ...

synth A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

" and "filtered brass stabs" with long-winded air horn throughout. Generally, Charles Aaron from ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' described the track as a "

blaxploitation In American cinema, Blaxploitation is the film subgenre of action movie derived from the exploitation film genre in the early 1970s, consequent to the combined cultural momentum of the black civil rights movement, the black power movement, ...

dubby" while ''

Resident Advisor ''Resident Advisor'' (also known as ''RA'') is an online music magazine and community platform established in 2001 and dedicated to showcasing electronic music, artists and events across the globe. Its editorial team provides news, music and ev ...

'' described it as "a more idiosyncratic, homegrown sound emerged in the edge-of-panic squeal."

Critical reception

"Fly Life" received much acclaim from

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British music writer. He founded and was the editor-in-chief of ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. Along with the ten-volume encyclopedia, Larkin also wrote the book ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'', and edited th ...

described the track in ''

Encyclopedia of Popular Music ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' is an encyclopedia created in 1989 by Colin Larkin. It is the "modern man's" equivalent of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music'', which Larkin describes in less than flattering terms.''The Times'', ''The Kno ...

'' as a "club classic" and an "unusual blend of

and house." Andy Kellman from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

stated the song, along with their first single "Samba Magic" are the only two examples of why their debut album was so heavily anticipated. Writing for ''

The New Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'', Michaelangelo Matos called the song one of their "definitive mid-'90s club anthems". From the same publication, John Bush also agreed those two were their best tracks from 1994 through 1997, and marked them as his "Track Picks" on their compilation. However, looking at the whole Basement Jaxx's catalogue, Anna Chapman from ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' stated the "glittered" ragga and disco influences of "Fly Life" seemed to "come out of nowhere." French music magazine ''

Les Inrockuptibles ''Les Inrockuptibles'' (), abbreviated as ''Les Inrocks'', is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. As of 2021, it returned to a monthly format. In the beginning, rock music was the magazine's prim ...

'' still highly praised it, commenting it was "finely crafted", with "the bass increased tension while the dance rhythm completely nailed on the dance floor." Joseph's vocals were also said to give a "disco aftertaste" to the song. British publication ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was printe ...

'' listed "Fly Life" at number 16 on their year-end list "Tunes of 1997" while house music label

Defected Records Defected Records, or simply Defected, is a British independent record label specialising in house music recordings, compilation albums, events, publishing, artist bookings and management. Defected is one of the longest running independent lab ...

voted the track as the

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

Space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

anthem of 1997. The "Brix" Mix was later included in ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' 2010 list of "twenty-five great remixes" of 1990s.

Release and other appearances

"Fly Life" was released as a single on 19 May 1997 by their own record label Atlantic Jaxx and Multiply Records with distribution by The Total Record Company. The single cover features a

giraffe The giraffe is a large Fauna of Africa, African even-toed ungulate, hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa.'' It is the Largest mammals#Even-toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on ...

, the picture which also appeared at their 1999 show at the Forum in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

via a "vast dot-matrix screen". A few different formats of the single have been released in the United Kingdom and some other countries in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, including a CD version which was released in the United Kingdom via Atlantic Jaxx and in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

via Smart Records that includes the original mix of the track, a radio edit and an unedited version for the "Brix" mix with remixes from

Roni Size Ryan Owen Granville Williams (born 29 October 1969), better known by his stage name Roni Size, is an English DJ and record producer. He came to prominence in 1997 as the founder and frontman of Roni Size & Reprazent, a drum and bass collective. ...

Erick Morillo Erick Morillo (March 26, 1971 – September 1, 2020) was a Colombian-American disc jockey, music producer, and record label owner. Having produced under a number of pseudonyms, including Ministers de la Funk, the Dronez, RAW, Smooth Touch, RBM, ...

and Curtis Jones; the UK

vinyl single Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

and cassette versions both have the "Brix" and Size's mix, while the vinyl one also added Morillo's and the original mix. A promotional

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the song was also released while it became their first charted single by debuting at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart on 31 May 1997. After that, the song fell down to number 41, dropped to number 67 on the week of 14 June and disappeared from the chart. "Fly Life" later made its appearances on various DJ mixes, including the free mix cassette ''

Beat Up the NME The discography of Fatboy Slim, an alias of Norman Cook, an English disc jockey, DJ, big beat musician, and record producer, consists of four studio albums, three live albums, one soundtrack album, two compilation albums, three remix albums, si ...

'' (1997) from music magazine ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' which was compiled by British DJ

;

Junior Vasquez Junior Vasquez (born Donald Gregory Mattern; August 24, 1949) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer. He has been referred to as one of the only DJs of his time to gain international attention. Career Mattern moved to New York City a ...

's live album ''Live, Vol. 2'' (1998); later on Victor Calderone's

mix album A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically mixed together by a DJ to appear as one continuous track. DJ mixes are usually performed using a DJ mixer and multiple sounds sources, such as turntables, CD players, digital audi ...

called ''E=VC²'' (1999); and on the mix album '' Soul of Man Presents: Y4K: Breakin' in tha House'' (2004). In 2009, "Fly Life Xtra" appeared on Paul Ritch's DJ set for

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

radio show ''

Essential Mix The ''Essential Mix'' is a weekly radio show on BBC Radio 1 currently broadcast between 0:00 and 2:00 a.m. UK time on Saturday morning. Originally broadcast on 30 October 1993, the ''Essential Mix'' features contemporary DJs and music pr ...

''. The "Brix" mix also made its appearances on the 1999

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

film '' Virtual Sexuality'' and its soundtrack.

Formats and track listings

*UK and Europe maxi CD single # "Fly Life" – 4:03 # "Fly Life" – 6:41 # "Fly Life" – 6:09 # "Fly Life" – 7:31 # "Fly Life" – 7:39 # "Fly Life" – 6:33 *UK 12" single # "Fly Life" – 4:03 # "Fly Life" – 7:31 # "Fly Life" – 6:09 # "Fly Life" – 6:33 *UK cassette single # "Fly Life" – 4:03 # "Fly Life" – 6:09 *France 12" single # "Fly Life" – 6:41 # "Fly Life" – 6:33 # "Fly Life" – 5:14 *France 12" remixes single # "Fly Life" – 7:39 # "Fly Life" – 6:09 # "Fly Life" – 7:31 *International digital and UK vinyl ''Fly Life Xtra'' EP # "Fly Life Xtra" – 7:39 # "Fly Life" – 6:09 # "Fly Life" – 7:31

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the CD single liner notes. *Simon Ratcliffe (credited as "Ratcliffe") – producer,

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

*Felix Buxton (credited as "Felix B") – producer, songwriter * Glamma Kid –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

* Corrina Joseph – vocals *Alexia Cox –

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

Charts

References

{{authority control 1997 singles Basement Jaxx songs 1996 songs Songs written by Simon Ratcliffe (musician) Songs written by Felix Buxton Multiply Records singles