Daft punk alive album artwork series#

To that end, Daft Punk got even more creative with sampling than they had before. Discovery is a fantasia in which вЂ70s bubblegum pop and AOR, as well as mid-вЂ80s MTV-based pop, were reimagined as the coolest pop music eras in history. вЂњ Discovery was the opposite, of saying to the electronic kids, вЂRock is cool, you know? You can like that.вЂ™вЂќ They wanted to reflect a reverted state of childlike innocence, of that time that you can never recapture when you listen to music without critical filters or prejudice. вЂњ Homework was a way to say to the rock kids, like, вЂElectronic music is coolвЂ™,вЂќ Bangalter told GQ many years later. Instead of making dance music appeal to the indie kids, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo took aspects of the disco and pop music of their shared childhood experiences from the mid-Seventies to mid-Eighties and reformulated them into a contemporary aesthetic of electronic pop and house. What they did with their second album Discovery was to effectively invert their own formula. READ MORE: Daft Punk // вЂHomeworkвЂ™ at 20 years old Sophisticated yet primal, Homework was the pure, distilled essence of the club, and one that could appeal across tribes of fans.

Daft punk alive album artwork series#

Originally intended to be a series of 12вЂќ singles, Daft Punk had accidentally amassed such a brilliant arsenal of dancefloor mammoths that they were too good not to release as an album. With their supremely confident debut album Homework, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo had held their nerve in the face of major label pressure (particularly after theyвЂ™d had the brass neck to insist upon a structuring of royalty rights that hugely, uniquely favoured them) to deliver a seminal house album. Discovery, the groupвЂ™s second studio album and released in early 2001, represents the foundation of their legacy and popularity. From their inception as DarlinвЂ™ in the early Nineties, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo never worked at a particularly prodigious rate вЂ“ four studio albums and two tours in 28 years speaks for itself вЂ“ yet they have consistently been one of the most critically praised and, belatedly, biggest-selling artists in the Western world. вЂњAs well as their parents.When Daft Punk recently announced their split, after nearly three decades together yet having maintained total radio silence for over seven years, it was a reminder not only about the French duoвЂ™s contributions to the wider field of popular music but also a lesson in the value we place upon art itself. вЂњWe hope all the kids will love the video,вЂќ a disembodied voice says near the end of the promo clip. And as implausible as it may have seemed for two French men in robot helmets, Discovery got them there. Most of all, though, Daft Punk wanted to be universal. PepperвЂ™s Lonely Hearts Club Band or The Beach Boys circa Pet Sounds and Smile: music that took pop seriously as art, but also recontextualized older, seemingly uncool styles in ways that felt progressive and fresh. But you can also trace it back to The Beatles circa Sgt. You can easily trace Discovery forward to EDM and the continuing entwinement of techno and rock. вЂњElectronic musicвЂќ-a term that always suggested the future, however vague-was demonstrated to be as familiar and comforting as classic rock, and no less real in its depth of feeling. And the rest-the faux-metal guitars of вЂњAerodynamic,вЂќ the sci-fi daydream of вЂњVeridis Quo,вЂќ the UK garage showcase of Todd Edwards on вЂњFace to FaceвЂќ-glimpsed down dozens of stylistic alleyways without disrupting the albumвЂ™s course. The albumвЂ™s biggest singles-вЂњOne More Time,вЂќ вЂњHarder Better Faster Stronger,вЂќ вЂњDigital LoveвЂќ-were as useful to wedding DJs as they were to pop philosophers. Dancing on the subway in a city where they didnвЂ™t speak the language, liberated from judgment and self-criticism: ItвЂ™s all there in the title. And yet, when asked about DiscoveryвЂ™s turn toward вЂ™70s and вЂ™80s pop, Thomas Bangalter said the goal wasnвЂ™t to evoke a specific sound or era, but the raw wonder theyвЂ™d felt encountering that music as children. At the time, Daft Punk was big enough business to dismiss goofing off-their first album, 1997вЂ™s Homework, had already sold two million copies. Some riders smile and stare, while others look politely away. ThereвЂ™s a video that Daft Punk made to promote 2001вЂ™s Discovery in which the French duo, wearing their famous robot helmets, dance on the Tokyo subway.