"God Is a DJ" is a song by British group

Faithless Faithless are an English band that formed in 1995, with its core members being Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. Their first album, '' Reverence'', was released in 1996 and their most recent, ''All Blessed'', in 2020. They have sold millions ...

, written by

Maxi Jazz Maxwell Fraser (14 June 1957 – 23 December 2022), better known by his stage name Maxi Jazz, was a British musician, rapper, singer, songwriter and DJ. He was the lead vocalist of British electronic band Faithless from 1995 to 2011 and 2015 ...

Rollo Rollo ( nrf, Rou, ''Rolloun''; non, Hrólfr; french: Rollon; died between 928 and 933) was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, today a region in northern France. He emerged as the outstanding warrior among the Norsemen who had se ...

Sister Bliss Ayalah Deborah Bentovim (born 30 December 1970), better known by her stage name Sister Bliss, is a British keyboardist, record producer, DJ and songwriter. In the studio, she is best known for her work with Rollo Armstrong as one half of the pr ...

, and

Jamie Catto James David Catto (born 14 August 1968 in London, England) is a British musician, video director, photographer, and script editor. He was a founding member of Faithless, before leaving in 1999 to form 1 Giant Leap. Career Faithless Educated a ...

. It was released on 24 August 1998 as the lead single from their second studio album, ''

Sunday 8PM ''Sunday 8PM'' is Faithless' second album, released on 28 September 1998. The album contains the hit singles "Bring My Family Back", "Take the Long Way Home", and "God Is a DJ". The album reached number 10 on the UK Albums Chart. In 1999, ''Sund ...

'' (1998). The single reached number six in the United Kingdom and also reached number one on the US ''Billboard''

Hot Dance Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart in September 1998. The title and core lyric originated from words on a T-shirt worn to rehearsal by the band guitarist Dave Randall. Faithless won a

Brit Award The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

for Best British Act in 1999 for their work on the song and other tracks on ''Sunday 8PM''. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' claimed in an article in early 1999 that many people involved with dance music thought that "God Is a DJ" should have been nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for Best Recording of 1998. The song re-entered the UK chart in 2005 following the release of '' Forever Faithless'' and reached number 66.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

'' wrote that Faithless are "melding electronic elements into a

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

beat." He noted further that vocalist

"strides atop the track with a hypnotic chant that boldly declares the club a church. As he rants "this is my church," organ lines swoop and surround him as the beat pumps with intense authority." '' Daily Record'' described it as a "pumping, hypnotic track"."Chartslot". '' Daily Record''. 4 September 1998. Retrieved 3 December 2020.

Track listings

UK CD release # "God Is a DJ" (radio edit) – 03:34 # "God Is a DJ" (Monster mix) dit– 06:52 # "God Is a DJ" (

Serious Danger Serious Danger (born Richard Philips) is an English speed garage musician and record producer. First becoming prominent in 1997, he was quite popular in the London area. Signed to Fresh Records, his best-known releases are "Deeper" (1997) and "Hi ...

remix) dit– 05:09 # "God Is a DJ" (Sharp remix) dit– 04:27 European CD release # "God Is a DJ" (radio edit) – 03:33 # "God Is a DJ" (Monster mix) dit– 06:53 # "God Is a DJ" (Serious Danger remix) dit– 05:09 # "God Is a DJ" (Sharp remix) dit– 04:26 French CD release # "God Is a DJ" (radio mix) – 03:32 # "God Is a DJ" (Sharp remix) – 04:26 Greek CD release # "God Is a DJ" (radio edit) – 03:33 # "God Is a DJ" (Monster mix) – 06:53 # "God Is a DJ" (Serious Danger remix) – 05:09 # "God Is a DJ" (Sharp remix) – 04:26 12-inch release # "God Is a DJ" (Monster mix) – 08:01 # "God Is a DJ" (Sharp remix) – 09:21

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

FaithlessWeb.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:God Is A Dj (Faithless Song) 1998 songs 1998 singles Arista Records singles Cheeky Records singles Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Faithless songs Songs written by Maxi Jazz Songs written by Rollo Armstrong Songs written by Sister Bliss