Daft Punk

Daft Punk is the collective name of Paris musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (born February 8, 1974) and Thomas Bangalter (born January 3, 1975). The duo are considered one of the most successful electronic music collaborations of all time, both in album sales and in critical acclaim. The name Daft Punk was inspired by a review in the British music magazine Melody Maker, which dubbed their first collaboration, the Beach Boys-inspired guitar group Darlin', "a bunch of daft punk."

History

Their debut single was "The New Wave" a limited release on Soma Recordings in 1994. Their first commercially successful single "Da Funk" came the following year, and was later included on their 1997 debut album Homework. Homework 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. "Around the World" was the most successful single from Homework, known for its hypnotic chant of the song's title and distinctive music video directed by Michel Gondry.

2001's Discovery took on a slicker and distinctly synth-pop oriented style, initially stunning fans of their previous work. The album reached #2 in the UK, and its single "One More Time" was a major club hit, creating a new generation of fans mainly familiar with the sophomore Daft Punk release. The singles "Digital Love" and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" were also very successful in the UK and on the US dance chart, and "Face to Face" hit #1 on the US club play charts despite a limited single release.

In an interview with Remix Magazine Online, the group said that the album was conceived as an attempt to re-connect 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. Interestingly enough, more than two tracks had unacknowledged samples. A live album containing a 45-minute set from the Daftendirekt tour recorded in Birmingham in 1997 was also released in 2001, entitled Alive 1997.

In 2005, Human After All was released, a 10-track album running 45 minutes and recorded in a mere 6 weeks. Reviews were mixed, mostly citing its short length, overly repetitive nature and rushed recording. They also noted the fact that it had only nine proper tracks and one interlude. The singles off 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."

Albeit not as immediately dynamic or "hooky" as Discovery. Human After All shows Daft Punk on a new mission of musical creativity. Human After All boasts machine-tight arrangements and subtle variations on musical themes. Sonically all the sounds seems to meld together with varying levels of distortion and compression, the songs pump and vibrate in the most natural and "human way." Daft Punk, perhaps stepped away from the glitzy-electro-future-pop of Discovery, and delved into a fresh, organic unfolding of electronic sounds. Robot-voices cry of "emotion" and a piano refrain, urges you to "make love", while the title track's pumping computer-guitar sounds like a slight explanation of the new sound, "We are human after all."

Despite some fan and critical backlash. Daft Punk made another huge music statement with their 3rd masterpice long player, Human After All. It proves to be a record as deep and rich as any of their music.

A Daft Punk greatest hits CD/DVD collection entitled Musique Vol. 1 1993-2005 was released on April 4, 2006. It contains new videos for "The Prime Time of Your Life" and "Robot Rock (Maximum Overdrive)".

On April 29, 2006, they performed at the 2006 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, where they received a jubilant reception for their first U.S. performance in eight years. They also will be performing at the 2006 Global Gathering in Stratford-upon-Avon (U.K.), Eurockéennes in Belfort (France), Summercase Festival (www.summercase.com) in Barcelona and Madrid (Spain), Pukkelpop (www.pukkelpop.be) in Hasselt (Belgium), and SummerSonic Music Festival (www.summersonic.com) in Tokyo and Osaka. Daft Punk will finish this tour with a gig at Marley Park in Dublin (Ireland).

On May 22, 2006, Daft Punk premiered their first directed film, Electroma at the Cannes Film Festival sidebar Director's Fortnight. The film does not 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 The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem for Discovery). It is currently unknown whether the film will be released on DVD.

Use of 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 were directed by cult video producers, including Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry. The album Discovery subsequently became the soundtrack to the anime film The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, which the group co-produced with Leiji Matsumoto. Many US fans were introduced to Daft Punk through a special presentation of their videos during Cartoon Network's Toonami block on August 31, 2001.

During their publicity shots, interviews, music videos, and live shows, both members wear elaborate robot costumes. Their outward personae have changed over the years. During their Homework years, the duo would usually wear masks to hide their appearance. ^* In their more visible Discovery years, and ever since, they have appeared as futuristic robots, sporting remarkably complicated helmets capable of various LED effects and metallic finger gloves. "We did not choose to become robots," Bangalter once explained. "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." With the release of Human After All, the musical duo's outfits became slightly less complicated, consisting of simplified versions of the Discovery helmets, and black, leather jumpsuits. Very few photos of the faces of the duo exist, although a blurry one can be found in Homework's liner notes. The mystery of their identity and the elaborate nature of their disguises has added to their international popularity.

Trivia

Thomas Bangalter had a major club hit with "Music Sounds Better With You" in 1998, collaborating with Alan Braxe and Benjamin Diamond under the name Stardust on his own Roulé-label. In 2002 he produced the motion picture soundtrack for Gaspar Noé's Irréversible. Bangalter teamed up to create Together with DJ Falcon, who subsequently released the club smash "So Much Love to Give". The song provided inspiration for the hit single "Call On Me" by Eric Prydz.

Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo operates his own music label, Crydamoure.

Thomas Bangalter played all keyboard parts on the fellow parisian band Phoenix's first album United.

"Technologic" was used by Apple Computer for its iPod commercial campaign.

Daft Punk appeared with Juliette Lewis in a commercial for the The Gap (video link), and were contractually obligated to appear only in Gap clothing.

Daft Punk's "Technologic" was sampled by Swizz Beatz for a Busta Rhymes song called "Touch It". The lines from the song were sung by R&B / rap artist Missy Elliott. The song can be found on Busta Rhymes' latest album, The Big Bang.

In 2005, LCD Soundsystem recorded a song called "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House". It reached #29 in the UK and was nominated for Best Dance Recording in the 2006 Grammys.

In "Losing My Edge," a later track of the same album, LCD Soundsystem also (facetiously) bragged about being the first to "play Daft Punk to the rock kids."

Daft Punk made a song called "Musique" which can be found on the Wipeout XL video game soundtrack and on their greatest hits album. It was initially released as a double A-side with their hit single "Da Funk". A portion of "Musique" can be heard in the track "WDPK 83.7 FM" on the album Homework, though it is slower and set to the sampled drum riff from "Da Funk".

Grammy Nominations

2001 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording - "One More Time"
2001 Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance - "Short Circuit"
2006 Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album - Human After All

Daft Punk's "Aerodynamic" appeared in the film "L'Auberge Espagnole."

Discography

Albums

Homework (1997) #150 US, #8 UK
Discovery (2001) #44 US, #2 UK
Alive 1997 (2001)
Daft Club (remix LP) (2003)
Human After All (2005) #98 US, #10 UK, #36 AUS
Human After All: Remixes (2006)
Musique Vol. 1 1993-2005 (2006) #34 UK

Singles

From Homework:

"The New Wave"/"Assault"/"Alive" (1994)
"Da Funk"/"Musique" (1996) #7 UK, #31 Australia, #1 Hot Dance Music/Club Play
"Around the World" (1997) #61 US, #5 UK, #11 Australia, #1 Hot Dance Music/Club Play
"Burnin'" (1997) #30 UK
"Revolution 909" (1997) #47 UK, #2 Hot Dance Music/Club Play

From Discovery:

"One More Time" (2000) #61 US, #2 UK, #2 Canada, #10 Australia, #1 Hot Dance Music/Club Play, #2 Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Single Sales, #27 Rhythmic Top 40, #33 Top 40 Mainstream, #32 Top 40 Tracks
"Aerodynamic" (2001) #50 Australia
"Digital Love"/"Aerodynamic" (2001) #14 UK, #9 Hot Dance Music/Club Play
"Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" (2001) #25 UK, #3 Hot Dance Music/Club Play
"Something About Us" (Love Theme From Interstella 5555) (2003) (promo EP)
"Face to Face" (2004) (promo EP) #1 Hot Dance Music/Club Play

From Human After All:

"Robot Rock" (2005) #32 UK, #30 Hot Dance Music/Club Play
"Technologic" (2005) #40 UK
"Human After All" (2005) (promo EP)
"The Prime Time of Your Life" (2006)

VHS/DVD

D.A.F.T. - A Story about Dogs, Androids, Firemen and Tomatoes (VHS/DVD, 1999)
The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem (Film, DVD, 2003)
Musique Vol. 1 1993-2005 (CD/DVD, 2006)

External links

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