DAFT PUNK – SPINNING MUSICAL ROULETTE
Doing my homework on Da Funk has uncovered a new discovery that Daft Punk are human after all.
Spinning musical Roulette they crashed onto the UK music scene and into our lives with ‘Da Funk’ in 1996. Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo a.k.a. Daft Punk led the first wave of the French dance music invasion with their secret formula captured from the Parisian underground. Throughout their careers the duo have refused to give interviews or court media attention, instead adopting the personas of two shimmering androids. The robots first appeared in Michel Gondry’s ‘Around The World’ video, representing the bass notes of the song, soon to become a reality under the pen name of ‘Stardust’ with ‘The Music Sounds Better’, a track with an unlimited shelf life. Indeed I am sure Kylie is thankful for that she couldn’t get it out of her head!
This new offering from Daft Punk takes the form of a simple narrative through space and time. It is the story of two robotic androids and of their return to Paris, Earth after extensive touring the galaxies, Tokyo, Japan. Planting their four LED encrusted moon boots into the heavy sods of France’s fine agricultural soil, DP have once again landed, channeling the liquid magma underneath the Parisian streets into their familiar set of rough, fat and cut-up hedonistic beats.
Returning from their epic journey ‘Intersella 5555′, the 5tory of a 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, (the first and possibly the last animated house musical), is a tale of four rather fluffy (and blue) interplanetary musicians who were kidnapped and mutated into humans by an evil cult manager to exploit the commercial wheels of Earth’s music industry and ultimately become the biggest band on Earth. This collaboration with the legendary Japanese animator Leiji Matsumoto, approximately 3 years in production, explored the possibilities of DP’s space pop classic Discovery. It was originally rumoured that every track on the album would be released as a single, complemented with the next installment of the saga with Matsumoto’s slice of animated video action. After about a year, I presume that the suits at Virgin records wised up, making the connection between the not-so-hidden analogy behind the film’s message and the bands artistic vision, as this coincided with the fourth and final single, track four, ‘Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger’. You can now buy the vinyl toys of Shep, Stella, Arpegius, Octave and Baryl, not to forget the DP be@rbricks or 12″ action figures. But the finest moment from this period has to be the release of the Daft Club remix compilation, with offerings from the likes of Basement Jaxx, which far outshines subsequent remix projects from other unnamed artists.
The self-proclaimed ‘Human After All’ is a series of well considered and paired down essentials, proudly announcing “all guitars by Daft Punk”. With under two months in their Paris studio, this is electronic rock literally ready to hit the road. It has the feel of a live album, a sample paradise for modern rockers. Indeed in the wrong or right hands, these controlled sound palettes could emerge into the richest silk you would ever want to kiss or transform into the most intoxicating killer beats. The sound captures the energy of waiting for the main act to come on stage, it sets the tone, a soundtrack to life. Reminiscent of the music played to whip up a crowd into a frenzy, it pumps the adrenaline and builds anticipation but there is no main act, only you. To dance or leave when the music’s over, whatever action you choose it’s certainly a rewarding experience.
The project does sound very familiar at first but its Daft Punk and they play sounds that only Daft Punk can. With overtones of the heavy sound of 70’s midlands, this is Black Sabbath through soft synths, or maybe their fingers are to big in the robot costumes to hit all the notes on the keyboard! Perhaps even influenced by Antony Gormley’s Iron Man on their last trip to Birmingham, when they recorded ‘ALIVE’, live from the then infamous Que Club, that has coloured the direction of the Sabbath orientated vocal licks on the introduction to ‘The Brain Washer’. Yes, it’s true there are many similarities to previous material, take ‘Make Love’ for instance that follows the same heavenly pace set by ‘Reflections’. It’s good enough for the BBC who has licensed it for their incidental stings on BBC3, and there are several times when you could have switched back to their debut ‘Homework’, but I for one want more and every track is lovingly infused with their unique and original brand of quality. If it causes you too much stigma then play it on your iPod to avoid unwanted criticism from the unenlightened!
After Air have evaporated and Etienne de Crecy has deceased, when Laurent Garnier is falsely remembered for a range of hair products, Alex Gopher mistaken as a sock puppet TV mascot and Cassius celebrated as an obsolete computer language, Daft Punk will rock on. If the androids are truly human after all, prepare to start assembling your recycled cardboard boxes and aluminium foil into your chosen robot costume for a planetary rock show near you!
words: David Osbaldestin
Illustration: Newtasty
first appeared in Fused magazine issue 22
