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Writer's pictureWOCR Staff

Daft Punk - Random Access Memories


The vibe that comes from listening to Daft Punk is unlike any other musical act I've ever heard. With their revolutionary style of French House,Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter first started making waves in the music industry with their 1997 debut “Homework” and later reached critical acclaim with their 2001 effort “Discovery” which would eventually be hailed by many including Rolling Stone as one of the greatest Electronic Dance Music records of all time. These albums as well as the rest of their catalog have solidified Daft Punk a legacy hard to rival. And their 2013 effort "Random Access Memories" is no exception.

Although largely leaving behind house music, the genre that got them where they were in the first place, and leaning more towards a disco esque aesthetic, the track list still manages to find itself lined with iconic Daft Punk sounds, complete with masterful production and fantastic features that seem handpicked for each song. Pharell Williams on "Get Lucky" for example (and numerous other tracks as well) brings the soulful charisma needed to tie it together. Williams himself stated that it reminded him of a “sunrise on an exotic island.” [1] The other few features fuse their own sound into Daft Punk's as well such as Julian Casablancas of The Strokes on “Instant Crush” with his signature voice or legendary producer Giovanni Giorgio Moroder on “Giorgio by Moroder” just straight up telling his story. The eight minute track “Touch” with Paul Williams is probably the most grand piece of music on the album as it goes through numerous different styles of music. Everything from the ambient build up to the dance heavy middle section, it’s a beautiful core to the album that seems to in one singular song represent what the entire album has. Variety.

The vibes mentioned prior are a mainstay for the entirety of the album as well with themes of both technology and humanity. According to Bangalter: "We were drawing a parallel between the brain and the hard drive – the random way that memories are stored." [2] Every single song here I can find myself either dancing, laying back to, or even deeply analyzing. Much like many artists have layers to their lyrics or themes, Daft Punk have achieved deep layers with their production. The whole thing feels like an experience with how many sounds and themes it covers within just barely over an hour. It is to put it simply, meaningful dance music.

Citations:

[1] "Daft Punk | Random Access Memories | The Collaborators, Episode 4: Pharrell Williams"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QVtHogFrI0

[2] Weiner, Jonah. “Daft Punk Reveal Secrets of New Album.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 13 Apr. 2013, www.rollingstone.com/music/news/exclusive-daft-punk-reveal-secrets-of-new-album-20130413.

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