Daydream (Wallace Collection song)

"Daydream"
Single by Wallace Collection
B-side	"Baby I Don't Mind"
Released	1969
Format	7" vinyl
Recorded	1968 Abbey Road Studios, London
Length	4:10
Label	EMI/Odeon
Writer(s)	Sylvain Vanholme Raymond Vincent David MacKay[1]
Producer	David MacKay[2]

"Daydream" or "Daydream in Blue" is a song originally recorded in 1968 by the Belgian band Wallace Collection. It was composed by band members Sylvain Vanholme and Raymond Vincent, with David MacKay^[1] who also produced the single.^[2]

Original song

The song is a symphonic pop/rock strings and flutes affair that was very popular in mainland Europe at the time, although this popularity didn't make it to English speaking countries, despite using English lyrics. Recently, however, this song has become quite popular (especially for extracts and samples) with trip hop and electronica bands. It has even been (mistakenly) credited as having created the Bristol Sound^{[citation needed]}, although the sample that Portishead and Tricky used for "Glory Box" and "Hell Is Round the Corner" respectively is in fact from the similar sounding Isaac Hayes track "Ike's Rap II" from his 1971 album Black Moses.

Nevertheless, Daydream has been sampled so many times that it is now extremely well known, although most people have forgotten The Wallace Collection. Although often sampled by other artists, it takes its melody from Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake ballet [1].

The most notable uses of this song by other bands are listed below in chronological order.

Contemporary use

Claude François

The French popstar, known for writing the original "My Way," released his cover "Rêveries" in April 1969.

The Motowns

The British group released their cover in Italian "Sogno, sogno, sogno" ("I dream") in 1969.

Gunter Kallmann

The song was also covered in 1970 by the Gunter Kallmann Chorus, and this version was used on a popular easy listening record of the time. As such Gunter Kallmann is occasionally mis-credited as the original author of the song. The Gunter Kallmann version is sometimes sampled instead of the original (see below).

Modern use

Fettes Brot

This track was sampled on 'Gangsta Rap' by Hamburg rap group Fettes Brot released on their 1995 album Auf Einem Auge Blöd.

The Pharcyde

This track was sampled on a remix of 'She Said' by The Pharcyde released on Go! Discs Records in 1996. The remix was produced by Fuzz Face and tWANK Boy. Fuzz Face is better known as Geoff Barrow from Portishead.

AL & Dj Duke

This track was sampled on 'Les Lions vivent dans la brousse' by Lyon rap group AL & Dj Duke released on compilation Duke Flava by DJ Duke in 1997. Cut Killer used it too for his mixtape Cut Killer Show Présente: Operation Freestyle of 1998.

Severin Suveren

Through Norwegian television, this song has in Norway been recognised as the "Easter song," due to it being used as background music to an advertisement for the Norwegian Mountain Rules starring Åsleik Engmark as the lost skier, Severin Suveren (Severin Sovereign), in the Norwegian mountains when bad weather came.

I Monster

The most famous modern version of "Daydream" is by British electronic music duo I Monster who extensively sampled the Gunter Kallmann Choir's version to create the song "Daydream in Blue". The chorus words are now famous in themselves due to extensive airplay, use in advertisements, and as background music to many TV programmes including the BBC's highly-acclaimed Hustle and Cutting It, as well as in the film Layer Cake and the 2004 Belgian drama Le Dernier Jour (The Last Day).

The chorus lyrics are as follows:

Daydream, I fell asleep amid the flowers

For a couple of hours, on a beautiful day

Daydream, I dream of you amid the flowers

For a couple of hours, such a beautiful day

The chorus bassline is replaced with a sample of Portishead's trip-hop classic Glory Box.

There are two I Monster versions of "Daydream". One version is on their first album These Are Our Children. The other version is on their newer album Neveroddoreven. Both versions also feature other lyrics, but in case of the version from Neveroddereven, the lyrics are processed through a vocoder, giving them a synthetic aspect and rendering the words difficult to comprehend. This version was originally released in 1999, and can be found on Neveroddoreven. It was also the theme music for the film Steal a.k.a. Riders.

The music video features a puppet of Jarrod Gosling and a blonde woman appears in both human and doll form. He fantasises about her throughout the video. The video begins with I Monster using a synthesizer to play the song. A puppet of Gosling is then seen lying down in a miniature garden filled with trees and flowers (hence, "I fell asleep amid the flowers") He spots the woman who appears in both human and doll form in the video. The two can be seen in a bed and the field and by a pond together. The woman often teases Gosling by spanking herself and exposing her breasts to him.

The Beta Band

Coincidentally, at almost exactly the same time as I Monster were releasing Daydream in Blue, The Beta Band were just about to release their single Squares from their 2001 album Hot Shots II. Squares also used the same melody as the original throughout and has the original song's chorus line: additionally, the vocal styles are very similar. On realizing the clash with I Monster, The Beta Band decided to pull the single and released Broke from the same album instead. Squares, however, may be found on the first soundtrack for HBO's Six Feet Under.

Skinny

Also in 2001, British electronica/alternative rock band Skinny released their second and final album Taller. The album's song On a beautiful day relies heavily on a sample from the Gunter Kallman Choir version of "Daydream."

Guru

Guru, the rapper from the hip hop duo Gang Starr used the sample on his song Hood Dreamin, which is featured on his 2005 solo album Version 7.0: Street Scriptures.

Lord Funk

"Rêverie" is a remix of the French version "Rêveries" by Claude Francois. Lord Funk is a French DJ part of the Kourtrajmé crew.

Lupe Fiasco

Lupe Fiasco also samples the Gunter Kallmann Chorus version of "Daydream" featuring Jill Scott on "Daydreamin'" from his 2006 album Food & Liquor, albeit indirectly by taking the sample from a recording of "Daydream in Blue" by I Monster. While a popular AT&T commercial is often said to use the I Monster version, it is actually the Lupe Fiasco/Jill Scott version.

Use by Qwel & Maker

In a live performance of Qwel's song "The Highest Commitment" Qwel uses a beat made by Maker that samples the Gunter Kallmann Choir version of "Daydream".

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Daydream on the BMI database
2. ^ ^{a b} Daydream on Discogs