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Daft Punk
Daft Punk
The French-duo who became mega-world-stars. Even as they evolved from French house pioneers in the '90s to dance tastemakers in the 2000s to mainstream heroes in the 2010s, Daft Punk remained one of dance music's most influential and iconic acts. Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter met in 1987 while attending high school in Paris. The two became friends and recorded demos with others from their school. This led to the formation of a guitar-based group called Darlin' with Laurent Brancowitz in 1992. Bangalter and Homem-Christo played bass and guitar, respectively. The trio had branded themselves after The Beach Boys song of the same name, which they covered along with an original composition. Both tracks were released on a multi-artist EP under Duophonic Records, a label owned by the London-based band Stereolab, who invited the trio to open shows for them in the United Kingdom. Bangalter felt that "The rock n' roll thing we did was pretty average, I think. It was so brief, maybe six months, four songs and two gigs and that was it." A negative review in Melody Maker by Dave Jennings subsequently dubbed the music "a daft punky thrash." Instead of dismissing the review, they found it amusing. As Homem-Christo stated, "We struggled so long to find [the name] Darlin', and this happened so quickly." Darlin' soon disbanded, leaving Bangalter and Homem-Christo to form Daft Punk. They began to experiment with drum machines and synthesizers. Subsequently ditching the almost inevitable creative cul-de-sac of rock for the more appealing rush of the dancefloor, the pair released their debut single, "The New Wave," in 1993 on the celebrated Soma label. Instantly hailed by the dance music press as the work of a new breed of house innovators, the single was followed by "Da Funk," the band's first true hit (the record sold 30,000 copies worldwide). Although the group had only released a trio of singles ("The New Wave" and "Da Funk," as well as the 1996 limited pressing of "Musique"), in early 1996 Daft Punk were the subject of a minor bidding war. The group eventually signed with Virgin, with its first long-player, Homework, being released in January of 1997. As with the earlier singles, the group's sound was a brazen, dancefloor-oriented blend of progressive house, funk, electro, and techno, with sprinklings of hip-hop-styled breakbeats and excessive, crowd-firing samples similar to other anthemic dance-fusion acts such as the Chemical Brothers. After four long years of fans eagerly awaiting a follow-up to their brilliant debut, Daft Punk finally issued Discovery in March 2001. The live record Alive 1997 followed at the end of the year, and a by-now predictable four-year wait preceded the release of Human After All in early 2005. One year later, Daft Punk released a compilation, Musique, Vol. 1: 1993-2005, and in 2007 their second live record, Alive 2007, arrived. The album and its single "Harder,Better, Faster, Stronger" won Grammy Awards early in 2009; shortly after, it was announced that the duo would compose the soundtrack to Tron: Legacy, the sequel to the 1982 classic sci-fi film Tron. Daft Punk's music for the movie was released in November 2010. Early in 2013, Daft Punk announced that they planned to have a new album released by May of that year. That March, the duo announced the album's title, Random Access Memories, and also launched an extensive press campaign featuring snippets of the album's lead single, "Get Lucky," and interviews with some of their collaborators (Nile Rodgers, Paul Williams, Giorgio Moroder, Panda Bear). The single was officially released in April, and Random Access Memories arrived in May of 2013. The album became one of Daft Punk's biggest successes, ultimately winning Grammy Awards for Best Dance/Electronica Album, Album of the Year, and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. "Get Lucky" earned Grammys for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Record of the Year. Daft Punk are well known for their use of visual components, such as the robot helmets they wear. Daft Punk have said that they donned their robot outfits to easily merge the characteristics of humans and machines. In one of the duo's earliest magazine appearances, Homem-Christo stated in a Jockey Slut interview that, "We don't want to be photographed. [...] We don't especially want to be in magazines. We have a responsibility." During their Homework years, the duo would usually wear a variety of masks to hide their appearance.. In their more visible Discovery years, Daft Punk appeared wearing the iconic robotic headgear they’re known for today. But let me leave you with another quote that proves you don't have to play punk music to be punk rock. "Yes. I think people understand what we are doing. I know many people who maybe like the way we are handling things. People understand that you don't need to be on the covers of magazines with your face to make good music. Painters or other artists, you don't know them but you know what they are doing. We are very happy that the concept in itself is becoming famous. In France, you speak of Daft Punk and I'm sure millions of people have heard it, but less than a few thousand people know our face—which is the thing we're into. We control it, but it's not us physically, our persons. We don't want to run into people who are the same age as us, shaking our hand and saying, 'Can I have your autograph?' because we think we're exactly like them. Even girls, they can fall in love with your music, but not with you. You don't always have to compromise yourself to be successful. The playing with masks is just to make it funnier. Pictures can be boring. We don't want all the rock n' roll poses and attitudes—they are completely stupid and ridiculous today."
It's...
Daft Punk
Daft Punk
Daft Punk
The French-duo who became mega-world-stars. Even as they evolved from French house pioneers in the '90s to dance tastemakers in the 2000s to mainstream heroes in the 2010s, Daft Punk remained one of dance music's most influential and iconic acts. Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter met in 1987 while attending high school in Paris. The two became friends and recorded demos with others from their school. This led to the formation of a guitar-based group called Darlin' with Laurent Brancowitz in 1992. Bangalter and Homem-Christo played bass and guitar, respectively. The trio had branded themselves after The Beach Boys song of the same name, which they covered along with an original composition. Both tracks were released on a multi-artist EP under Duophonic Records, a label owned by the London-based band Stereolab, who invited the trio to open shows for them in the United Kingdom. Bangalter felt that "The rock n' roll thing we did was pretty average, I think. It was so brief, maybe six months, four songs and two gigs and that was it." A negative review in Melody Maker by Dave Jennings subsequently dubbed the music "a daft punky thrash." Instead of dismissing the review, they found it amusing. As Homem-Christo stated, "We struggled so long to find [the name] Darlin', and this happened so quickly." Darlin' soon disbanded, leaving Bangalter and Homem-Christo to form Daft Punk. They began to experiment with drum machines and synthesizers. Subsequently ditching the almost inevitable creative cul-de-sac of rock for the more appealing rush of the dancefloor, the pair released their debut single, "The New Wave," in 1993 on the celebrated Soma label. Instantly hailed by the dance music press as the work of a new breed of house innovators, the single was followed by "Da Funk," the band's first true hit (the record sold 30,000 copies worldwide). Although the group had only released a trio of singles ("The New Wave" and "Da Funk," as well as the 1996 limited pressing of "Musique"), in early 1996 Daft Punk were the subject of a minor bidding war. The group eventually signed with Virgin, with its first long-player, Homework, being released in January of 1997. As with the earlier singles, the group's sound was a brazen, dancefloor-oriented blend of progressive house, funk, electro, and techno, with sprinklings of hip-hop-styled breakbeats and excessive, crowd-firing samples similar to other anthemic dance-fusion acts such as the Chemical Brothers. After four long years of fans eagerly awaiting a follow-up to their brilliant debut, Daft Punk finally issued Discovery in March 2001. The live record Alive 1997 followed at the end of the year, and a by-now predictable four-year wait preceded the release of Human After All in early 2005. One year later, Daft Punk released a compilation, Musique, Vol. 1: 1993-2005, and in 2007 their second live record, Alive 2007, arrived. The album and its single "Harder,Better, Faster, Stronger" won Grammy Awards early in 2009; shortly after, it was announced that the duo would compose the soundtrack to Tron: Legacy, the sequel to the 1982 classic sci-fi film Tron. Daft Punk's music for the movie was released in November 2010. Early in 2013, Daft Punk announced that they planned to have a new album released by May of that year. That March, the duo announced the album's title, Random Access Memories, and also launched an extensive press campaign featuring snippets of the album's lead single, "Get Lucky," and interviews with some of their collaborators (Nile Rodgers, Paul Williams, Giorgio Moroder, Panda Bear). The single was officially released in April, and Random Access Memories arrived in May of 2013. The album became one of Daft Punk's biggest successes, ultimately winning Grammy Awards for Best Dance/Electronica Album, Album of the Year, and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. "Get Lucky" earned Grammys for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Record of the Year. Daft Punk are well known for their use of visual components, such as the robot helmets they wear. Daft Punk have said that they donned their robot outfits to easily merge the characteristics of humans and machines. In one of the duo's earliest magazine appearances, Homem-Christo stated in a Jockey Slut interview that, "We don't want to be photographed. [...] We don't especially want to be in magazines. We have a responsibility." During their Homework years, the duo would usually wear a variety of masks to hide their appearance.. In their more visible Discovery years, Daft Punk appeared wearing the iconic robotic headgear they’re known for today. But let me leave you with another quote that proves you don't have to play punk music to be punk rock. "Yes. I think people understand what we are doing. I know many people who maybe like the way we are handling things. People understand that you don't need to be on the covers of magazines with your face to make good music. Painters or other artists, you don't know them but you know what they are doing. We are very happy that the concept in itself is becoming famous. In France, you speak of Daft Punk and I'm sure millions of people have heard it, but less than a few thousand people know our face—which is the thing we're into. We control it, but it's not us physically, our persons. We don't want to run into people who are the same age as us, shaking our hand and saying, 'Can I have your autograph?' because we think we're exactly like them. Even girls, they can fall in love with your music, but not with you. You don't always have to compromise yourself to be successful. The playing with masks is just to make it funnier. Pictures can be boring. We don't want all the rock n' roll poses and attitudes—they are completely stupid and ridiculous today."
It's...
Daft Punk
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