"Slipping Away" is a song by American
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
ian
Moby
Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...
. It was released as the sixth and final single from his seventh
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
''
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
'' on January 23, 2006. It served as the fourth single from ''Hotel'' in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 53 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
,
and as the sixth international single from the album. The single version features British singer-songwriter
Alison Moyet
Geneviève Alison Jane Ballard ( ; born 18 June 1961) is an English singer noted for her powerful bluesy contralto voice. She came to prominence as half of the duo Yazoo (also known as Yaz), but has since mainly worked as a solo artist.
Her ...
on backing vocals.
Moby also recorded two alternate versions of the song, which were later released as singles: "
Escapar (Slipping Away)" with Spanish
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Amaral, which reached number three in Spain, and "
Slipping Away (Crier la vie)
"Slipping Away" is a song by American electronic musician Moby. It was released as the sixth and final single from his seventh studio album ''Hotel'' on January 23, 2006. It served as the fourth single from ''Hotel'' in the United Kingdom, wher ...
" with French recording artist
Mylène Farmer
Mylène Jeanne Gautier (; born 12 September 1961), known professionally as Mylène Farmer (), is a Canadian-born French singer, songwriter, occasional actress, writer, and entrepreneur. Having sold more than 30 million records in France, she is ...
, which topped the charts in France and Belgium.
Track listing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Moby and Amaral version
The release of ''Hotel'' in some Spanish speaking countries included a full-Spanish version called "Escapar (Slipping Away)" with the Spanish
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Amaral. The song peaked at number three in Spain.
Track listing
Charts
Moby and Mylène Farmer version
Background and release
In June 2006, a rumor was launched that
Mylène Farmer
Mylène Jeanne Gautier (; born 12 September 1961), known professionally as Mylène Farmer (), is a Canadian-born French singer, songwriter, occasional actress, writer, and entrepreneur. Having sold more than 30 million records in France, she is ...
would record a duet with an international star. Several artists were mentioned, such as
Lara Fabian
Lara Sophie Katy Crokaert (born January 9, 1970), better known as Lara Fabian, is a Belgian-Canadian pop singer and songwriter. She has sold over 20 million records worldwide as of 2021Broadway World (2017)"Lara Fabian annule finalement sa tourn ...
,
Benjamin Biolay
Benjamin Biolay (; born 20 January 1973) is a French singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the brother of singer Coralie Clément—whose first three albums he wrote and produced—and the ex-husband of Chiara Mastroiann ...
,
Diam's
Mélanie Georgiades (; born 25 July 1980 in Nicosia), better known by her stage name Diam's (), is a French rapper of Greek Cypriot origin.
Biography
Mélanie Marie Georgiades was born on July 25, 1980 in Nicosia, capital of Cyprus. Her mother ...
, or
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...
, but especially
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...
who had apparently declared at the 2002
NRJ Music Awards
An NRJ Music Award (commonly abbreviated as an NMA) is an award presented by the French radio station NRJ to honor the best in the French and worldwide music industry. The awards ceremony, created in 2000 by NRJ in partnership with the televisi ...
that he would like to work with her.
Then the name of Moby was suggested because a possible collaboration with Mylène Farmer had been mentioned in the past by Moby himself. In late August, the
purchase order
A purchase order is a commercial document and first official offer issued by a buyer to a seller, indicating types, quantities, and agreed prices for products or services. It is used to control the purchasing of products and services from externa ...
and Moby's official website indicated that the name of the song was "Slipping Away (Crier la vie)".
Produced and remixed by MHC in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, "Slipping Away (Crier la vie)" is a dance version of "Slipping Away" adds
French lyrics. On his blog on September 9, 2006,
[ Royer, 2008, pp. 230-31.] then in the December 16, 2006 edition of the French newspaper ''
Le Parisien
''Le Parisien'' (; French for "The Parisian") is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs. It is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, better known as LVMH.
Histor ...
'', Moby stated that Farmer came to his restaurant
Teany in New York and suggested to him that they record a duet version of "Slipping Away", as she had heard the song on
his best of and liked it. He explained that she wrote her lyrics in French and they worked together at a distance from each other (New York and Paris).
[ Chuberre, 2007, pp. 206-07.]
The song was very regularly aired by all French
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
s,
including
Fun Radio which aired it several times every day. As the song was very successful, new remixes were made and a second CD maxi and vinyl were released on November 15.
Farmer's 2008 album ''
Point de Suture'' contains another duet with Moby called "Looking for My Name", which was recorded just after "Slipping Away (Crier la vie)".
Music video
On September 15, 2006, the website
Yahoo!
Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Man ...
presented the video in preview and five days later, it was broadcast for the first time on the
French television channels. On September 23, a TV promo campaign began and the video was aired every hour on the day of the single's release on
Europe 2 TV
Virgin 17 was a French music video and TV show television network owned by the MCM Group, a subsidiary of Lagardère Active. It was available through digital terrestrial television (DTT).
The channel was created for the launch of DTT and modele ...
. The video, directed by Hugo Ramirez and available on a track of the CD maxi, is almost the same as that of the original version and is composed of a series of photos representing various events in the United States during the 20th century, plus some new photos (Moby and Farmer when they were babies).
The song's lyrics are written in these images.
Live performances
The song was performed for the first time on the
Timeless Tour in 2013, including a virtual duet with Moby.
Chart performance
The single debuted at number one on the French
SNEP Singles Chart on September 30, with 26,019 units. The single remained for 11 weeks in the top ten, 22 weeks in the top 50 and 37 weeks in the top 100. It became Moby's first number one in France and Farmer's fourth, after "
Pourvu qu'elles soient douces
"" (English: "As Long as They're Soft/Gentle/or Sweet") is a 1988 synthpop song by the French artist Mylène Farmer. Third single from her second studio album '' Ainsi soit je...'', it was released on 12 September 1988. The long music video ver ...
", "
Désenchantée
"Désenchantée" (; feminine of ''désenchanté'', which is French language, French for "Disenchanted" or "Disappointed") is a 1991 song recorded by French singer-songwriter Mylène Farmer. The first Single (music), single from her third studio ...
", and "
XXL". It was also the single with longest chart trajectory in France for both artists.
The song also peaked at number one on French Digital Download Chart
and performed well on various airplay charts. On the 2006 Annual Charts, the song ranked at number 22 (physical sales)
and number 51 (digital download).
The song was heavily aired on radio: it peaked at number two on the French Airplay Chart, number three on the Power 70 Airplay Chart, number two on the television Airplay Chart, and number 29 on the Club Chart.
Formats and track listings
; CD
; 7" vinyl
Official versions
Credits and personnel
The credits and the personnel as they appear on the back of the single:
*
Moby
Richard Melville Hall (born September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, singer, producer, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "among the ...
– lyrics, vocals, instruments, engineering of the original version
*
Mylène Farmer
Mylène Jeanne Gautier (; born 12 September 1961), known professionally as Mylène Farmer (), is a Canadian-born French singer, songwriter, occasional actress, writer, and entrepreneur. Having sold more than 30 million records in France, she is ...
– lyrics, vocals
* Manhattan Clique – production
* Brian Sperber – engineering of the original version
* Little Idiot Music / Warner Tamerlane Publishing (BMI) / Requiem Publishing – editions
* Jérôme Devoise – recording of Mylène Farmer's vocals
* Paul Van Parys for Stuffed Monkey – vocal production
* Drew Griffiths at Titanium Studio,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
– Mylène Farmer vocal mixing
* TS3 / Thierry Suc – Mylène Farmer management
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
Notes
*
*
*
*
External links
"Slipping Away (Crier la vie)"at Mylene.net
{{Authority control
2005 songs
2006 singles
Moby songs
Mylène Farmer songs
Songs written by Moby
Songs with lyrics by Mylène Farmer
Ultratop 50 Singles (Wallonia) number-one singles
SNEP Top Singles number-one singles
Macaronic songs
Male–female vocal duets
Mute Records singles