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Daft Punk is a duo consisting of Paris musicians Guy-Manuel de
Homem-Christo (born February 8, 1974) and Thomas Bangalter (born January 3,
1975). The duo is considered one of the most successful electronic music
collaborations of all time, both in album sales and in critical acclaim. After
Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in
France, other artists such as Air, Cassius and Dimitri from Paris began to
receive a similar amount of attention.
Daft Punk is also credited with producing songs that were considered
essential in the French house scene. They are currently managed by Pedro
Winter (Busy P), the head of Ed Banger Records.
Contents
1 History
1.1 Early years (1987-1993)
1.2 Homework era (1993-1999)
1.3 Discovery era (1999-2004)
1.4 Human After All era (2004-2007)
2 Influences
3 Visual components
4 Live performances
5 Appearances in media
6 Discography
History
Early years (1987 - 1993)
Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo met in 1987 on the
grounds of the Lyc‚e Carnot, a secondary school in Paris. The two became good
friends and later recorded demo tracks with others from the school. This
eventually led to the formation of the guitar-based group Darlin' with
Laurent Brancowitz in 1992. Bangalter and de Homem-Christo played bass and
guitar, respectively, while Brancowitz performed on drums. The indie rock
trio had branded themselves after The Beach Boys song of the same name, which
they covered along with an original composition. Stereolab released both
tracks on a multi-artist Duophonic Records EP and invited the band to open
for stage shows 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
subsequently dubbed the music "a bunch of daft punk." Instead of dismissing
the review, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo found it to be amusing. As the
latter stated, "We struggled so long to find [the name] Darlin', and this
happened so quickly." Darlin' soon disbanded, leaving Brancowitz to pursue
other efforts with Phoenix. Bangalter and de Homem-Christo formed Daft Punk
and experimented with drum machines and synthesizers.
Homework era (1993 - 1999)
In 1993 Daft Punk attended a rave at EuroDisney, where they met
Stuart Macmillan of Slam, co-founder of the label Soma Quality Recordings.
The demo tape given to Macmillan at the rave formed the basis for Daft Punk's
debut single, "The New Wave", a limited release in 1994.[9] The single also
contained the final mix of "The New Wave" called "Alive".
Daft Punk returned to the studio in May 1995 to record "Da Funk". It
became their first commercially successful single the same year. After the
success of "Da Funk", Daft Punk looked to find a manager. They had no trouble
finding one at the time as they chose Pedro Winter, who regularly promoted
them and other artists at his Hype night clubs. The band signed with Virgin
Records in September 1996 and made a deal through which they licensed their
tracks to the major label through their production company, Daft Trax.
"Da Funk" and "Alive" were later included on Daft Punk's 1997 debut
album Homework. The album was regarded as an innovative synthesis of techno,
house, acid house and electro styles, and is widely acknowledged as one of
the most influential dance music albums of the nineties. "Da Funk" was also
included on The Saint film soundtrack. It was during this period of change in
dance music that Daft Punk became largely successful. They combined the
aforementioned music styles and elements of rave that were crowd pleasers.
The most successful single from Homework was "Around the World", which is
known for the repeating chant of the song's title. Daft Punk also produced a
series of music videos for Homework directed by Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry,
Roman Coppola and Seb Janiak. The collection of videos was released in 1999
and titled D.A.F.T. - A Story about Dogs, Androids, Firemen and Tomatoes.
Discovery era (1999 - 2004)
By 1999 the duo were well into the recording sessions for their
second album, which had begun a year earlier. 2001's Discovery took on a
slicker and distinctly synthpop-oriented style, initially stunning fans of
Daft Punk's previous material in Homework. The group states that the album
was conceived as an attempt to reconnect with a playful, open-minded attitude
associated with the discovery phase of childhood. This accounts for the heavy
use of themes and samples from the late '70s to early '80s era on the album.
It reached #2 in the United Kingdom, and its single "One More Time" was a
major club hit, creating a new generation of fans mainly familiar with the
second Daft Punk release. "One More Time" is believed to contain a sample of
"More Spell on You" by Eddie Johns, but this is uncredited in the Discovery
liner notes. Bangalter reportedly denied using any samples for the song.
The singles "Digital Love" and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger"
were also very successful in the UK and on the United States dance chart, and
"Face to Face" hit #1 on the USA club play charts despite a limited single
release. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger would later be successful as an
underground song at Australia in 2007. A 45-minute excerpt from a
Daftendirektour performance recorded at Birmingham, UK in 1997 was also
released in 2001, entitled Alive 1997.
2003 first saw the release of the feature-length animated film
Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem. Daft Punk produced the
film under the supervision of Leiji Matsumoto, whom they have said is their
childhood hero. The album Daft Club was also released to promote the film. It
features a collection of remixes previously made available through an online
membership service of the same name.
Human After All era (2004 - 2007)
Daft Punk in their robotic suitsStarting on September 13 and ending
November 9, 2004, Daft Punk devoted six weeks to creating new material. The
duo released the album Human After All in March 2005. Reviews were mixed,
mostly citing its overly repetitive nature and seemingly rushed recording.
The singles taken from this album were "Robot Rock", "Technologic", "Human
After All" and "The Prime Time of Your Life". The earliest official statement
from Daft Punk concerning the album was "we believe that Human After All
speaks for itself."
A Daft Punk anthology CD/DVD entitled Musique Vol. 1 1993-2005 was
released on April 4, 2006. It contains new music videos for "The Prime Time
of Your Life" and "Robot Rock (Maximum Overdrive)". Daft Punk also released a
remix album of Human After All called Human After All: Remixes. A limited
edition included two kubricks of Daft Punk as robots.
On May 21, 2006, Daft Punk premiered their first directed film, Daft
Punk's Electroma at the Cannes Film Festival sidebar Director's Fortnight.
The film doesn't include their own music, which is a first for the duo
considering their previous DVD and film releases (D.A.F.T. for Homework and
Interstella 5555 for Discovery). Midnight screenings of the film were shown
in Paris theaters starting from the end of March '07. Initial public comments
have since been positive.
Daft Punk released their second live album titled Alive 2007 on
November 19, 2007. It contains the duo's performance in Paris from their
Alive 2007 tour. The album includes a 50-page book showcasing photographs
shot while on tour. The live version of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger"
from Alive 2007 was released as a single. A music video for the single
directed by Olivier Gondry features footage shot by 250 audience members at
Daft Punk's Brooklyn appearance at KeySpan Park, Coney Island.
Tron: Legacy (2007 - 2011)
Following the Alive 2007 tour, the duo focused on other projects.
Daft Punk made a surprise appearance at the 50th Grammy Awards on 10 February
2008. The duo appeared with Kanye West to perform a reworked version of
"Stronger" on stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. For the appearance,
Daft Punk utilized four JazzMutant Lemur controllers. A press release specified
that this was the first televised live performance by the duo in their career.
Bangalter's wife Ιlodie Bouchez also attended the event. Daft Punk later stated
in an EMI-sponsored live webchat that there would be no tour performances for
2008, and that they would instead focus on new projects.
A 2008 interview with Pedro Winter revealed that Daft Punk returned
to its Paris studio to work on new material. Winter also stepped down from
managing the duo to focus attention on his Ed Banger Records label and his work
as Busy P. He stated in a later interview that Daft Punk is working with an
unspecified management company in Los Angeles.The duo held its Daft Arts
production office at the Jim Henson Studios complex in Hollywood. In 2008,
Daft Punk placed 38th in a worldwide official poll of DJ Magazine after
debuting at position 71 in the year before.[45] On 8 February 2009, Daft Punk
won Grammy Awards for Alive 2007 and its single "Harder, Better, Faster,
Stronger".
Later in February 2009, a website stated that a "hidden" tour had been
set for 2009. An event for 13 February 2009 in Shanghai, China was mentioned
in the website. It was later revealed to be a hoax unaffiliated with Daft Punk
and a scam to sell tickets for a nonexistent event. Representatives of the band
announced that Daft Punk had no tour plans for 2009, but stated that the duo
was looking forward to performing in China during their next world tour "in
2010 or 2011". The announcement also stated that all of Daft Punk's shows are
and would be posted on their official MySpace page, and that the page can
therefore be used to verify validity.
Daft Punk provided eleven new mixes featuring its music for the video
game DJ Hero. The duo also appears in the game as a pair of playable characters,
along with a unique venue. The duo appears wearing its Discovery-era helmets
and Human After All-era leather attire. Daft Punk's playable likenesses are
absent from the sequel DJ Hero 2, which includes a remixed version of the song
"Human After All".
At the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that the duo composed
24 tracks for the film Tron: Legacy. Daft Punk's score was arranged and
orchestrated by Joseph Trapanese. The band collaborated with him for two years
on the score, from pre-production to completion. The score features an 85-piece
orchestra, recorded at AIR Lyndhurst Studios in London. Joseph Kosinski,
director of the film, referred to the score as being a mixture of orchestral
and electronic elements. The members of Daft Punk also make a cameo appearance
as disc jockey programs wearing their trademark robot helmets within the film's
virtual world. The soundtrack album of the film was released on 6 December 2010.
A deluxe 2-disc edition of the album was also released that includes a poster of
the duo from the film. Additional bonus tracks are also available through various
online vendors. An official music video for "Derezzed", with a running time of
less than two minutes, also premiered on the MTV Networks on the same day the
album was released. The video, which features Olivia Wilde as the character
Quorra in specially-shot footage, along with images of Daft Punk in Flynn's
Arcade, was later made available for purchase from the iTunes Store and included
in the DVD and Blu-ray releases of the film. Walt Disney Records released a
remix album of the score titled Tron: Legacy Reconfigured on 5 April 2011.
In 2010, Daft Punk were admitted into the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres,
an order of merit of France. Bangalter and Homem-Christo were individually
awarded the rank of Chevalier (knight). On October of that year, Daft Punk made
a surprise guest appearance during the encore of Phoenix's show at Madison
Square Garden in New York City. They played a medley of "Harder, Better,
Faster, Stronger" and "Around the World" before the song segued into Phoenix's
song "1901". The duo also included elements of their tracks "Rock'n Roll",
"Human After All", as well as one of Bangalter's side projects, "Together".
Random Access Memories (2011 - 2016)
Billboard in New York City promoting Random Access Memories in March
2013 Soma Records released a previously unpublished Daft Punk track called
"Drive" that was made while the duo was still with Soma Records and recording
"Rollin' and Scratchin'" and "Da Funk". The track was included in a twentieth
anniversary multi-artist compilation of the Soma label. In October 2011, Daft
Punk placed 28th in a "top-100 DJs of 2011" list by DJ Magazine after appearing
at position 44 in the year before. On 19 January 2012, Daft Punk ranked No. 2
on Mixmag's Greatest Dance Acts of All Time, with The Prodigy at No. 1 by just
a few points.
Daft Punk worked on their fourth studio album, Random Access Memories
in collaboration with musicians Paul Williams and Chic frontman Nile Rodgers.
In May 2012 it was also announced that Italian musician Giorgio Moroder had
collaborated with the duo, recording a monologue about his life in a vocal booth
containing microphones ranging from 1960 to present day. Chilly Gonzales stated
in an interview that he had performed material for the duo's project in a
one-day session: "I played for hours and they're gonna grab what they grab and
turn it into whatever." He also said that the album would be released "next
spring". In October 2012, Daft Punk provided a fifteen-minute mix of songs by
blues musician Junior Kimbrough for Hedi Slimane's Yves Saint Laurent fashion
show. The duo also placed 44th in DJ Magazine's annual Top 100 DJs list.
In January 2013, Homem-Christo revealed that Daft Punk was in the
process of signing with Sony Music Entertainment through the Columbia Records
label, and that the album would have a spring release. A gradual promotional
rollout was later launched featuring billboards and television spots, leading
to the reveal of the album title and the release date of 21 May 2013. On 3
April, the official Random Access Memories website launched The Collaborators,
a series of documentary videos about the album. Later that month, a video
preview for the song "Get Lucky" featuring Rodgers and Pharrell Williams was
played at the 2013 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The radio edit
of the song was released as a digital download single one week later on 19
April 2013. "Get Lucky" became Daft Punk's first UK No. 1 single on 28 April
2013 remaining at number one for 4 weeks (as of 24 May) and the Spotify music
streaming website reported that the song is the most-streamed new song in the
service's history. At the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, Daft Punk debuted a
trailer for their single "Lose Yourself to Dance," and presented the award for
"Best Female Video" alongside Rodgers and Pharrell.
For the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, Random Access Memories was awarded
the Grammy for Best Dance/Electronica Album, Album of the Year and Best
Engineered Album, Non-Classical, while "Get Lucky" received the Grammy for
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and the Record of the Year. Daft Punk performed
at the ceremony with Stevie Wonder, Rodgers, Pharrell Williams as well as
Random Access Memories rhythm section players Nathan East, Omar Hakim, Paul
Jackson, Jr. and Chris Caswell. The ensemble performed "Get Lucky" before
moving into a medley consisting of Chic's "Le Freak" and Stevie Wonder's
"Another Star" as well as elements of Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster,
Stronger", "Lose Yourself to Dance", and "Around the World". The stage backdrop
used for the performance was designed by Daft Arts to resemble a recording
studio, incorporating a functioning mixing console operated by Daft Punk.
Pharrell later released his second studio album G I R L, in which Daft Punk
performed additional vocals for the song "Gust of Wind". On 10 March 2014, an
unreleased Daft Punk song called "Computerized" surfaced on the Internet. The
song features Jay Z and appears to contain elements of "The Son of Flynn" from
the Tron: Legacy soundtrack.
In April 2015, Daft Punk appeared in a short tribute to Rodgers as
part of a documentary on his life titled "Nile Rodgers: From Disco to Daft
Punk". In the short clip, the two send a "transmission" to Rodgers with the
message, "Dear Nile, We are sending you this transmission to thank you for all
your amazing songs. Your music continues to inspire the world... With love,
Daft Punk". Later in 2015, a documentary on Daft Punk titled Daft Punk Unchained
was released. The film covers Daft Punk's music career from the 1990s up to and
including their 2014 Grammy appearance. The documentary features interviews
with Rodgers, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and others who have interacted
with the duo in their projects.
Recent projects (2016 - present)
Light-up outfits worn at the encore of the Alive 2007 tour performances,
later on display at a pop-up shop for a limited time On 15 July 2016, in an
interview for Billboard, Republic Records' executive vice president Wendy
Goldstein released information regarding a collaboration between the duo and
Canadian R&B singer The Weeknd. On 22 September 2016, The Weeknd released a
track titled "Starboy" featuring Daft Punk, which later hit No. 1 on the
Billboard Hot 100, becoming Daft Punk's first No. 1 song in the US. On 17
November 2016, The Weeknd released "I Feel It Coming" which also features
Daft Punk. The songs appeared on The Weeknd's album Starboy.
Throughout the end of 2016, many rumors began to surface of a Daft
Punk Alive 2017 tour. In September 2016, the rumors led to Pitchfork reporting
that Daft Punk had no plans for a future tour. A website that first appeared
on 27 October 2016 featured a blank page with text reading Alive in plain text.
Within the website coding were geo-coordinates based in Paris, Los Angeles,
London, New York, Tokyo, Sao Paulo, Ibiza and Indio, the latter being location
of Coachella. The website has since been taken down.
In February 2017, Daft Punk launched a pop-up shop in Hollywood,
California featuring memorabilia, artwork, and a display of the various
costumes the duo has worn over the years.[88] The duo also performed with The
Weeknd at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards on 12 February 2017. On 20 June 2017,
the Australian band Parcels released the song "Overnight", co-produced and
co-written by Daft Punk.
Influences
Bangalter and de Homem-Christo years before the release of
Homework Bangalter and de Homem-Christo have credited many sources that
influenced their musical style. Years before producing electronic music as a
duo, they were stated to have shared tastes for Elton John, MC5, The Rolling
Stones, The Beach Boys and The Stooges. Their mutual admiration for rock
bands led to the founding of their own independent project, Darlin'.
Bangalter expressed that "It was still maybe more a teenage thing at that
time. It's like, you know, everybody wants to be in a band." They drew
inspiration from the rock and acid house displayed in the United Kingdom
during the early 1990s. De Homem-Christo pointed to Screamadelica by Primal
Scream as an influential work, as the record "put everything together" in
terms of genre.
The liner notes of Homework pay tribute to a large number of musical
artists and contains a quote from Brian Wilson. Bangalter expressed that "In
Brian Wilson's music you could really feel the beauty - it was very spiritual.
Like Bob Marley, too." When questioned on the success of their debut album
and rising popularity of their associated musical genre, Bangalter responded,
"before us you had Frankie Knuckles or Juan Atkins and so on. The least you
can do is pay respect to those who aren't known and who have influenced
people." The Daft Punk track "Teachers" on Homework refers to several
influences including Romanthony and Todd Edwards. De Homem-Christo stated
that "Their music had a big effect on us. The sound of their productions
- the compression, the sound of the kick drum and Romanthony's voice, the
emotion and soul - is part of how we sound today."
Romanthony and Edwards later collaborated with Daft Punk in tracks
for Discovery. For the album Daft Punk focused on new styles of electronic
music. A major inspiration was the Aphex Twin single "Windowlicker", which
was "neither a purely club track nor a very chilled-out, down-tempo
relaxation track" according to Bangalter. The duo also utilized vintage
equipment to recreate the sound of a previous artist. As stated by de
Homem-Christo, "On 'Digital Love' you get this Supertramp vibe on the bridge,"
which was generated through an in-studio Wurlitzer piano. During a later
interview, de Homem-Christo clarified that "we didn't make a list of artists
we like and copy their songs."
Visual components
Daft Punk are noted for their use of visual components associated
with their musical productions. The music videos for their singles from
Homework featured memorable characters and placed emphasis on storytelling
instead of musical performance. The album Discovery subsequently became the
soundtrack to Interstella 5555.
Their outward personae have also changed over time. During their
Homework years, the duo would usually wear masks to hide their appearance.
When not wearing disguises, they occasionally preferred to be replaced by
animation (as they appeared in The Work of Director Michel Gondry DVD) or
have their faces digitally obscured for press kits. Very few photos of the
duo's faces exist, including a blurry one found in the Homework liner notes.
In their more visible Discovery years, they have appeared as
futuristic robots for publicity photo shoots, interviews, live shows and
music videos. These suits, engineered by Tony Gardner and Alterian, Inc.,
sport complicated helmets capable of various LED effects and metallic finger
gloves. Daft Punk introduced the costumes to many U.S. television viewers
through an advertisement for a special presentation of their videos during
Cartoon Network's Toonami block. Thomas Bangalter once stated, "We didn't
choose to become robots. There was an accident in our studio. We were working
on our sampler, and at exactly 9:09 a.m. on September 9, 1999, it exploded.
When we regained consciousness, we discovered that we had become robots."
During a video interview shot in Japan, Daft Punk stated that they
donned their robot masks to easily merge the characteristics of humans and
machines. However, Bangalter later admitted that the costumes were initially
the result of shyness. "But then it became exciting from the audiences' point
of view. It's the idea of being an average guy with some kind of superpower".
When asked on whether the duo expressed themselves differently within the
robotic suits, Bangalter stated "No, we don't need to. It's not about having
inhibitions. It's more like an advanced version of glam, where it's definitely
not you." With the release of Human After All, the musical duo's outfits
became slightly less complicated, consisting of simplified versions of the
Discovery head gear and dark leather jumpsuits. The latter were designed by
Hedi Slimane.
During the filming and promotion of Daft Punk's Electroma, the duo
went to great lengths to avoid showing their faces. While on the set of the
film, the duo chose to be interviewed with their backs turned. As reported
on October 2006, the band went as far as to wear black cloth over their heads
during a televised interview.
It is believed that the mystery of their identity and the elaborate
nature of their disguises has added to their popularity. The iconic status of
the robotic costumes has been compared to the makeup of KISS and the leather
jacket worn by Iggy Pop. Bangalter stated, "The mask gets very hot, but after
wearing it as long as I have, I am used to it."
Live performances
In the mid-to-late nineties, Daft Punk performed live without costumes
in many places including the United States. In particular, a rare bootlegged
video featuring the duo in Wisconsin matches the verified identity of Thomas
Bangalter. Less clearly seen, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo is to Bangalter's
right and is mostly cut off from the camera. Comparing the artwork
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