Give Life Back to Music: Daft Punks Journey to Revolutionizing the Electronic Music Industry

By: Alexander Groen Date: 4/25/14 English 12 (CCB) Mr. Scott Allen

Comprised of Thomas Bangalter and Guy Manuel de-Homem Christo, Daft Punk is a French Electronic duo who has been creating music as far back as 1993. Over the years, they have strived to constantly recreate the genre they are a part of, and have worked with famed artists such as Pharrell Williams, Nile Rogers, and Kanye West. With six Grammys and many other awards under their belt, Daft Punk has successfully pushed their name into the current music culture and has shown other bands the true meaning behind the creation of music. By creating such a large fan base, some of the greatest live shows in history, and such varied albums in terms of their genre, Daft Punk has successfully revolutionized the Electronic Music industry. Daft Punk began back when both men were merely teens, creating music in Thomas bedroom. Originating as the band Darlin, named after a Beach Boys song, Thomas Bangaler, Guy Manuel de Homem Chriso, and Laurent Brancowitz began making music to try and push their way into the French music industry. The group was greatly inspired by Stereolab, a famed 1990s british band. When Stereolab toured to France, Thomas and Guy were able to give them a copy of the music they had been working on, which was later put on Stereolabs album, Shimmies in Super 8. This album was a compilation, which had many different sounds and styles of various bands in that era. When the album was released, a critic wrote a review and focused specifically on the two songs made by the three. He reviewed their songs and ended by calling the music, Daft, Punky Trash, and thus the name that would become forever famous was born. Laurent Brancowitz left their band and decided to join his younger brother in making music in the band Phoenix, which is still a well known band today. Thomas and Guy decided to move on, and use their new name and create the band Daft Punk, a band

branded in the minds of many around the world. The band to this date has created many albums including four studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, a soundtrack, and even a video album. Their first two albums, Homework and Discovery, were created in Thomas home in Paris, France. After creating the first album, they had the money and ability to move to a studio, but preferred what they were able to do in the comfort of his home. Today, Daft Punk records in studios famed worldwide, including Electric Lady studios where artists like Elvis Costello, Paul McCartney, and David Bowie have also recorded. The transfer from bedroom to Studio was for one reason and one reason only: to keep the evolution of their music flowing. There are songs on the album that traveled into five studios over two and a half years. Theyre vials being filled up with life. Today, electronic music is made in airports and hotel rooms, by DJs traveling. It has a sense of movement, maybe, but its not the same vibe as going into these studios that contain specific things (Rolling Stone). Throughout the years of their work, their albums have varied dramatically. From the beginning with Homework, to their recent work in Random Access Memories, their sound has changed by a landslide. We like the idea of trying to be pioneers, but the problem with that is when youre too much ahead, the connection doesnt really happen all the time (Bangalter). While other bands produce music on a fairly frequent basis, Daft Punk focuses more on their quality, and continues to move the music industry in the right direction, whichever that direction that may be. In their most recent album, Random Access Memories (RAM for short), the band decided to again change the way they created their music. For the first time in their history, they decided to record their albums with live instruments, rather than using synthesizers and other electronic equipment completely. They also had many famed

artists on the album like Pharrel Williams, Nile Rodgers, and Giorgio Moroder. This is what happens, right? This is what happens to life, it evolves, it changes, you cant help it. And thats what has happened to the robots, theyve come to a place thats where they started and theyve evolved (Rodgers). Another difference with this album was that it was their first release in eight years, and they had been working on it for the entire time. We worked on this album for way too long in some sense, but thats also the way it took us to grab the magic. It was always about capturing the magic, and maybe thats the difference between a wizard or just a magician or illusionist. It just takes time to capture those real moments of magic, and reorganize them and edit them and put them together (Bangalter). When the robots became a band, they entered the music industry with one goal in mind. They wanted to change the way music was. They entered at a time when groups like Britney Spears, NSYNC, and the Backstreet Boys were the popular bands of the era, but they managed to make a statement when they introduced their style of electronic music for the first time. When creating this new album, Thomas commented on the fact that they sparked the music industry to make artists be creative and take leaps like they did. Thomas was upset with the fact that electronic music was again no longer evolving, so they decided to try their technique again by changing it up with RAM, and they were successful after achieving Platinum and Gold status in many countries, including the United States (Mixmag). Unlike many bands, Daft Punk takes leaps from one type of electronic music to the next, and has proven the successes behind their motives. Daft Punk is not your ordinary band. They dont speak, they dont like fame, and they dont show their faces. These things are some of the things that have made Daft Punk the iconic band that they are. Because they do not show their faces, they wear

helmets that are well known throughout the world. Thomas Bangalter wears a silver chromed helmet that has a baseball helmet look, and a tinted visor that has the ability to send scrolling messages across it. Guy wears a gold chromed helmed that is similar to a motorcycle helmet, with a larger black tinted visor and the ability to make it light up in various ways. The idea of their anonymity came about when they recorded the album Discovery and have been used ever since. Because of this anonymity, Daft Punk has been able to stay out of the limelight and live their lives as normal. In fact, since 1996, Daft Punk did not allow their faces to be photographed until recently when they were travelling to the Grammy awards. We do things counterclockwise. We live in a world where somehow everybody wants to be famous, and we want to be anonymous. Its as if youre driving on a highway but in reverse. Its true that artists and people share a lot about their private live and communicate everything every five seconds and we dont really communicate anything. When we do, its every five years (Bangalter). They do whatever they can to stay anonymous because it allows a mystery and bubble to be created about them. Because of the anonymity and the way we usually function, [creating the bubble] is actually easier to do because we arent actually operating in the spotlight in the first place (Bangalter). The duo understands what their anonymity brings, and they use it to their advantage in their successes. After this last years Grammy Awards, Time Magazine released an article titled, The World Probably Got Punked at the Grammys. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, Daft Punk won five awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year. The duo was there to accept their awards, along with all of their collaborators from the album Random Access Memories. After their acceptance, Daft Punk was joined on stage by Stevie Wonder and fellow collaborators Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers to perform their hit single, Get

Lucky. In the article released by Time, they argue that Daft Punk may have not even been there to accept the awards or perform, and that they had someone else dress up to do it for them. The article states, Whether they were or werent in costume, or even present at the awards, Daft Punk does a good job keeping the mystery alive (Time). This type of mystery is what sets them apart as artists, and is definitely a huge piece of their success. But once you spend any time with Daft Punkor even just listen to their music, or watch their videos, or gawk at their live showsuch protectiveness suddenly becomes understandable, even necessary. It's an instinct to keep the idea of mystery alive at a time when it seems to be in historically short supply (Dombal). Daft Punk has done what no band has done before. They have managed to win a total of six Grammys, and never say a word or reveal themselves. Another thing that Daft Punk is well known for is their live shows. Many people who attend their shows, although there havent been any since 2007, say that what they do is absolutely incredible. Just like all of their other work, the robots try and make everything absolutely perfect with everything they do. Their shows have inspired many, including the artist Skrillex. I remember seeing the full Daft Punk Pyramid show in 2007. I went alone, drove up in my Honda Fit, bought a ticket off a scalper for $150, got on the floor, and had the best time of my life. I didnt have a drink, no drugs. But I was high out of my mind (Skrillex). DJ Falcon, another famed electronic artist talked about a show at Red Rocks Ampitheatre and said, There were all these handicapped people and their families in the front, and they were [SO] happy. At some point, I was wondering if they were going to stand up and start walking, like a miracle (Falcon). Every show they do is similar to their albums, they like to take their time in planning everything, and they sometimes get equally shocked with the result of some of their

actions. After becoming really well known, Thomas was amazed at the outcome of their shows. To jump from 1,800 people to 40,000 was pretty brutal. Because of the anonymity, the relationship with our audience until that point was an abstract concept, so to feel this energy was very strange. It felt like we had validated something that had been so abstract. In French its called la concretisation (make it real) (Bangalter). Guy also commented on the shows and says, Looking at robots is not like looking at an idol. Its not a human being, so its more like a mirror- the energy people send to the stage bounces back and everybody has a good time together rather than focusing on us (Guy). The robots focus most on pleasing their crowd. They put aside things like money and fame to make sure everything they do is perfect and different from the last. We never want to do something twice... but at the same time, we've never done anything twice, so if we did do something twice, that might be cool (Bangalter). While other bands make repetitive concert setlists and create long and frequent tours, Daft Punk sits back and creates a plan for the greatest and most entertaining shows for their audience, regardless of the time it takes to do so. For the first time in history, a band has emerged that focuses more on their music than the fame, money, and celebrity lifestyle. That band is Daft Punk. The potential of the music industry is incredible, and if more bands focused on the same aspects as this duo, we can only imagine the work that could emerge. The robots strive to change the music industry on a constant basis, and have done so successfully while inspiring others like Skrillex to follow in their footsteps. Revolutionize is defined as the action of

changing dramatically or completely, which the duo has managed to do on many levels. They have changed the look of music, both literally and figuratively, and have managed to continue growing their fan base while keeping their audience entertained. Many bands keep the same sound over the course of many years, if not their entire career. But Daft Punk is always looking for a way to change it, and make the change as dramatic as possible. When creating their most recent album, they wanted to make music of the future by taking a step into the past. Because of their excessive success in so many different ways in the music culture, Daft Punk has successfully revolutionized the electronic music industry.

Works Cited Bangalter, Thomas, and Guy Manuel De Homem Christo. "Daft Punk Speak to Lauren Laverne." Interview by Lauren Laverne. BBC Radio. N.p., 17 May 2013. Web. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p019569h>. Bangalter, Thomas, and Guy Manuel De Homem Christo. "Daft Punk Speak to Pete Tong." Interview by Pete Tong. Youtube.com. BBC Radio, 10 May 2013. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZoUVnmr4Qc>. Bangalter, Thomas, and Guy Manuel De Homem Christo. "Daft Punk Talk to Zane Lowe." Interview by Zane Lowe. BBC Radio. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0190cxy>. Conniff, Kelly. "The World Probably Got Daft Punk'd at the 2014 Grammys | TIME." Time. Time, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014. Dick, Duncan. "Home." Mixmag. N.p., 30 Dec. 2013. Web. 09 Apr. 2014. Dombal, Ryan. "Machines for Life." Pitchfork. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014. Moroder, Giorgio. "The Collaborators: Giorgio Moroder." Interview. Youtube.com. N.p., 3 Apr. 2013. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYDvxo-M0OQ>. Rodgers, Nile. "The Collaborators: Nile Rodgers." Interview. Youtube.com. N.p., 11 Apr. 2013. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da_Yp9BOCaI>. Santorelli, Dina. Daft Punk: A Trip inside the Pyramid. New York: St. Martin's, 2014. Print. Weiner, Jonah. "Daft Punk Reveal Secrets of New Album - Exclusive." Rolling Stone. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014. Williams, Pharrell. "The Collaborators: Pharrell Williams." Interview. Youtube.com. N.p.,

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15 Apr. 2013. Web. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QVtHogFrI0>.