Impressive Instant
"Impressive Instant" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 2000 studio album Music. Originally intended to be the fourth single of the album, the release was cancelled due to a disagreement between Madonna and her recording company. Finally Warner Bros. released it in the United States as a promotional single on September 18, 2001. Written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï, the track is bright and uplifting in its content and composition. It was the first song that Madonna and Ahmadzaï worked on and recorded. Ahmadzaï had to work separately on his laptop to generate the sound elements which Madonna wanted in the song, since it was difficult to generate the music in the recording studio. "Impressive Instant" has been described as a club-savvy acid techno, pop-trance, electropop and electro house stomper containing futuristic keyboard lines, with Madonna's vocals being distorted and robotic. Backed by laser noises and synths, the song's lyrics deal with love at first sight, and contains somewhat absurd, nonsensical lyrics.
"Impressive Instant"
"Impressive Instant" was met with positive critical reception. Many reviewers called it a highlight of the album and praised Ahmadzaï's production of the track. Released only in the US, it was a popular dance hit, reaching the top of the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, and staying atop for two consecutive weeks. The track became Madonna's 27th number-one song on this chart, the most for any artist. It was her 36th top-ten song on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play tally and her seventh consecutive chart topper. During the promotional tours for Music, Madonna performed the song in a neo-Western setting at New York and London. It was further performed at the 2001 Drowned World Tour as part of the punk section, with Madonna accompanied by dancers wearing gas masks. The performance was generally received as a highlight of the concert.
Background and release[edit]
By 2000, Madonna was dating director Guy Ritchie, and was pregnant with their child. Wanting to distract herself from the media frenzy surrounding this news, she concentrated on the development of her eighth studio album, Music. Thrilled by the commercial success of her 1998 Ray of Light album, she was keen on getting back to the studio to record new material.[1] She was then introduced to French DJ and producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï by her manager Guy Oseary. Madonna instantly liked his pitch-shifting, pulverizing rhythms and his utilization of acid bass in his songs.[2] One of their collaborations was "Impressive Instant" which was described by Madonna as "downright silly".[3] She explained that they "were working on that song and I thought, 'Oh, fuck it, let's just have fun', Life would be such a drag if we were deep and probing all the time."[3]
The song was intended to be released as the fourth single off Music but Warner Bros., Madonna's recording company, wanted "Amazing" to be the next single. The singer felt that "Amazing" was similar to her previous single "Beautiful Stranger" (1999), and wanted the futuristic "Impressive Instant".[4] In an interview with Russian channel Radio Monte Carlo 102.1 FM, remixer Peter Rauhofer explained that Warner Bros. did plan to move forward with the release of "Amazing" without Madonna's help since she was busy preparing for the Drowned World Tour. They planned to promote the single with a music video created from the live performance of "Amazing" on the tour, so Madonna removed the song from the set list.[4]
Music and lyrics[edit]
Larry Flick from Billboard described "Impressive Instant" as a "club-savvy stomper" containing futuristic keyboard lines, with Madonna's vocals changing from "distorted, robotic lines" to "playful, child like chants".[3] The song is a mixture of acid techno, pop-trance, electropop and electro house.[7][8][9][10] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, "Impressive Instant" is set in the time signature of common time with a moderately fast tempo of 123 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of C major with Madonna's vocals ranging from A3 to A4. The song follows a basic sequence of Am–G–Am–G–Am as its chord progression.[11]
Rikky Rooksby, author of The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, explained that "Impressive Instant" began with the equalizer turned down, so that the amount of treble is very less initially.[12] Madonna's vocals are heavily processed and is accompanied by a crackling sound, which has a "tactile roughness" therefore making the mix sound "like a musical sandpaper", Rooksby wrote. The vocals are often isolated and are backed by laser noises and an octave bass. A "burbling" synth arrives at the 2:30 mark, and then the chorus of "I'm in a trance" is repeated, ending the song with a solo vocal phrase.[12]
The song has lyrics like "I like to singy, singy, singy, Like a bird on a wingy, wingy, wingy", as electronic keyboard riffs and dance beats swirl the whole composition.[3] Lyrically, "Impressive Instant" deals with love at first sight ("You're the one that I've been waiting for / I don't even know your name") and according to O'Brien, is "an abstract world of nonsense lyrics, disco balls and glitz".[7] It also talks about being in a trance and comparison with various cosmic phenomena in lines like "Cosmic systems in a twine, astral bodies drip like wine", but ultimately returns to the subject of dance.[12] DJ Peter Rauhofer was commissioned to remix the track by Warner Bros. Records in April 2001; he transformed the song from techno to progressive house.[13][14]
Chart performance[edit]
"Impressive Instant" was not released commercially and was not promoted to radio; therefore it did not appear on any sales or airplay charts of Billboard.[32] It was released to dance clubs as a promo-only single with remixes by Peter Rauhofer on September 18, 2001.[33][34] The song debuted on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart at number 25 on the issue dated October 27, 2001, becoming the "Hot Shot Debut" of the week.[35] The next week, it moved 13 places to number 12 on the chart.[36] The following week, it entered the top-ten at number four.[37] On the Billboard issue dated November 17, 2001, "Impressive Instant" reached the top of the chart, becoming Madonna's 27th number-one song on this chart, the most for any artist.[32] It was the artist's 36th top-ten song on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play tally and her seventh consecutive chart topper, dating from "Nothing Really Matters" in 1999, followed by "Beautiful Stranger" (1999), "American Pie" and "Music" in 2000, and "Don't Tell Me" and "What It Feels Like for a Girl" in 2001.[38][39]