persona non grata

Haben schon einen kleinen Schuss, die beiden Franzosen. Verstecken sich unter Helmen, huldigen Maschinen und lassen sich ganze neun Jahre lang nicht in unseren Breitengraden blicken. Nachdem bereits im letzten Jahr im sonnigen Kalifornien das Eis gebrochen wurde und die Punks die Lust an der Massenbeschallung wiedergefunden haben, kommen sie nun auch für zwei Gigs nach Deutschland. Wir stimmen Euch ein mit einer kleinen Daft Punk-History von Semone.

DAFT PUNK live

29.6. Düsseldorf, Philipshalle
30.6. Berlin, Velodrom
Beginn jeweils 20 Uhr

Daft Punk: Neon Nuits Sans Fin

What happens when your first commercial release gets the royal flush from a British rock bible, written off as ‘a bunch of daft punk’? Well, you start a new project, take a different direction, and forever taunt that hapless reviewer by taking your new moniker from the most cutting part of that review.

It’s hard to believe that Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter’s first release, ‘Darlin’ (with Phoenix’s Laurent Brancowitz), inspired such a review in Melody Maker. Oh how that reviewer must have suffered over the years, constantly reminded that they’d once written off the efforts of two young musicians who would go on to rule the electronic music scene, becoming one of the most influential duos in modern day music.

The band decided to call it quits shortly after the review surfaced, and Thomas and Guy-Manuel found themselves getting heavily into the early strains of house music, which was filtering in from the US and UK. “I remember when my brother brought home his first sampler, he would lock himself away and play with it for hours,” notes Guy-Manuel’s brother Paul, who interestingly enough is now also a rapidly rising name in the European electro scene under the moniker Play Paul.

Feeling their way around new instruments and equipment, with a few handy hints from Thomas’ father (who was responsible for a string of chart-topping 70s disco tracks), after a few months they were in possession of their first demo. The duo’s reputation began to flourish after they attended a rain-drenched rave at Euro Disney in 1993, where Bangalter managed to get a copy of their demo into the hands of Stuart MacMillan, one half of legendary Scottish techno duo Slam.

Their first single, ‘The New Wave’, surfaced soon after on Slam’s independent label Soma, however it was their second release through the imprint that really sealed their destiny. ‘Da Funk’ struck up an industry bidding war, with its addictive riff flirting with a sneaky groove and intermittent acid bassline. It was an instant dancefloor scorcher, with enough energy and intellect to inspire a crossover hit.

The bidding war was finally won by Virgin, and they provided the Daft ones with proof that they were breaking down boundaries and inciting an industry change towards ‘dance’ acts. Up until this point, it was unheard of for an electronic artist to sign a worldwide deal with a major before they’d even dropped their debut. Virgin were so determined to secure the signatures of Bangalter and de Homem-Christo, that they granted the boys their every request, including one that would prove to be a thorn in the side of journalists the world over for years to come… Total media anonymity.

Contrary to your usual pop star who craves the glare of the media’s spotlight, Daft Punk chose instead to wear masks and costumes (which have included everything from Freddy Kruger to their more famed robot get ups), disguising their true identity in press shots. Thomas explained their reasoning behind this in one of their rare early interviews with Mixmag, back in August 97. “We don’t want to play this star system thing, we don’t want to be recognised in the streets. The music is the most personal thing we can give, the rest is about taking ourselves seriously, which is all very boring.”

This experiment in antagonising the media proved that artists could indeed have their cake and eat it too; selling records and enjoying commercial success, without having to sell yourself in order to do so. This is an influence which has filtered down through today’s new breed of electronic artists, with acts like The Knife and the Gorillaz opting to go down a similar path, shielding their identities from the public. “Before this time it was a reality artists had only dreamed of, but [one they] weren’t brave enough to try, until Daft Punk proved it could be done. That if the music was strong enough, it could sell itself,” offered Philippe Zdar of Cassius, as a reason for the growing popularity of the ‘faceless artist’.

The release of ‘Homework’ (which the boys made in Bangalter’s bedroom - hence the humble title), threw the international scene into a state of frenzy. It both paralysed and inspired all facets of the music world, from the club crowd to the indie kids, all the way through to those with a penchant for commercial pop. Cut Copy’s Tim Hoey recall’s his own electronic awakening during this time. “I was busy wearing grandpa pants and practicing my Stephen Malkamus poses in front of the mirror. ‘Homework’ completely changed that for me, there was something in there that had a certain rock energy to it.” Uber-producer James Murphy also noted Daft Punk’s early crossover potential in his breakthrough LCD Soundsystem hit ‘Losing My Edge’.

It was also at this time that Daft Punk took their first steps into the world of visual delights, releasing a slew of timeless, jaw-dropping film-clips. They enlisted the talents of cult-director Michel Gondry to create the entrancingly choreographed ‘Around The World’ clip, which has since been heralded as ‘the greatest dance clip of our time’. Their second single followed in similar fashion, as New York video wonder-boy Spike Jonze jumped behind the lens for ‘Da Funk’. With such a solid visual presence accompanying each track, there was no denying that there was a new super-force on the scene, and they were here to push dance music culture to it’s limit, with thrilling results.

An obvious repercussion of Daft Punk’s early success was the extra attention focussed on their homeland, as the world became obsessed with the French house movement. “They proved that all is possible,” Alan Braxe explains, from his perspective as an artist on the French scene at the time. “They opened the door for us and lead the way, which was certainly beneficial to the French scene,” he adds.

It wasn’t just French artists who benefited from this time, aspiring producers and electronic outfits everywhere felt the effect. The world’s mindset was opened in order to accommodate dance music as more than ‘mindless repetition without direction’. Daft Punk proved dance music could be made with uplifting, heartfelt substance. “Having them as contemporaries influenced us to push boundaries and lift the bar on the quality of music we were making,” notes Zdar.

By the end of 1997 both Thomas and Guy-Manuel has set up their own record labels. Thomas’ Roule imprint took its name from the Daft Punk track ‘Rolling and Scratching’, and later spawned the sister label ‘Scratche’, while Guy-Manuel focussed his efforts on Crydamoure. The most famous release to come from these labels was, of course, Bangalter’s collaboration with Alan Braxe and vocalist Benjamin Diamond as Stardust, who enjoyed worldwide success in 1998 with ‘Music Sounds Better With You’, a project that came about shortly after Roule released Braxe’s dancefloor debut ‘Vertigo’. “One day the three of us came across a disc by Chaka Khan and found the perfect sample on which to base a track. The whole process only took about a week,” Braxe says of the project’s short, but successful, existence.

In 2001 Daft Punk returned with ‘Discovery’, which served only to cement the duo’s stranglehold over the international scene. Their visual collaboration with Japanese artist Leiji Matsumoto provided another groundbreaking effort, as each of the album’s clips was connected, eventually becoming the full-length anime film ‘Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem’. The album proved to be an even bigger success than ‘Homework’, satiating even the hardest to please aural appetites. “Everything they do is extremely considered and never compromised. Their records have never dated, which is amazing in dance music, as so much of it is disposable and usually follows a particular moment in time. I think both ‘Homework’ and ‘Discovery’ transcended that,” provides Hoey.

It was also at this time that we began to see Daft Punk’s influence over the hip hop scene emerge, with Pharell Williams showing his love through a Neptunes remix of ‘Harder Better Faster Stronger’. “One of the principal lessons [learnt] from their music is simplicity,” observes Braxe of their song writing expertise. “There is always a strong idea carried out without useless details, they go right to the essence.”

Four years after ‘Discovery’, the Daft ones returned with their anxiously awaited third studio album. ‘Human After All’ confused fans, leaving some singing Daft Punk’s praise on their unexpected new direction, and others wondering how they could have got it so wrong. The album spawned the electro-smash ‘Technologic’, which again saw evidence of the hip hop world’s fascination with the duo, as Busta Rhymes heavily based his 2006 single ‘Touch It’ on the track’s chorus. “A lot of hip hop producers are open to Daft Punk’s music, because it makes them think differently about the way they structure songs,” suggests Zdar.

In an effort to win back fans that may have been left disillusioned following ‘Human After All’, in 2006 the pair made their long awaited return to the live scene, playing their first shows in over 8 years. Blowing away crowds on this year’s international festival bills, playing in the USA, across Europe and Japan. Fans breathed a collective sigh of relief the world over, safe in the knowledge that the duo hadn’t lost it altogether.

The Daft crew further shocked and excited with news of ‘Electroma’, a 72-minute film project, written and directed by the duo, with a plot revolving around two central characters (robots) on their quest to become human. The project has been described as the most ambitiously rewarding venture the duo have ever put their minds to, so it’s hardly surprising that many are waiting with eager anticipation. There’s no denying that Daft Punk are here to stay!

Daft Punk Timeline

1992 – Darlin’ (the duo’s first project) release a track on Duophonic, resulting in the review from which they took their next moniker.

1993 – Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo sign with Slam’s independent Soma label as Daft Punk.

1994 – Their debut single ‘The New Wave’ is released.

1995 – Thomas sets up the ‘Roule’ record label.

1996 – ‘Da Funk’ causes industry havoc, resulting in a bidding war, eventually won by Virgin.

1997 – Their debut ‘Homework’ is released, inspiring a major dance music crossover.
- Guy-Manuel sets up his ‘Crydamoure’ label.

1998 – Stardust, Thomas’ extracurricular project with Alan Braxe score a #1 with ‘Music Sounds Better With You’.
- Daft Punk appear in a Michel Gondry directed commercial with Juliet Lewis for The Gap and are contractually obligated to wear only Gap clothing.

1999 – Daft Punk release their first video ‘D.A.F.T.- A Story About Dogs, Androids, Firemen and Tomatoes.
- According to the duo, at 9.09am on September 9, an accident in their studio involving an exploded sampler left them forever doomed to live as robots.

2001 – ‘Discovery’ is released and 2 Grammy nominations follow, for best dance recording (One More Time) and best pop instrumental performance (Short Circuit)
2002 - Thomas produced the soundtrack for Gaspar Noe’s horrific motion picture ‘Irreversible’.
- He also teamed with DJ Falcon for ‘Together’, who were responsible for the club smash ‘So Much Love To Give’.

2003 – ‘Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem’ is released, an anime film in which the duo co-produced with Leiji Matsumoto.

2004 – DFA production wizard James Murphy makes reference to Daft Punk’s early crossover influence in LCD Soundsystem’s ‘Losing My Edge’.

2005 – LCD Soundsystem continue to show their love for the duo with ‘Daft Punk is Playing at My House’ – which is accompanied by an ‘Around The World’ inspired clip.
- Later in the year Daft Punk return with ‘Human After All’ which cops a fair amount of industry flack, but still earned itself a Grammy nomination for ‘best dance album’.

2006 – ‘Musique’ the duo’s first greatest hits comp is released.
- The boys return to the live circuit, appearing at a string of festivals, beginning with LA’s Coachella, earning rave reviews.
- On May 22, ‘Electroma’ Daft Punk’s first written and directed film is premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. (see www.daftpunk.com)

Semone