Sound History: The Daft Punk Legacy
Oh, what a year 2021 is turning out to be! The dynamic EDM veterans, Daft Punk, has decided to call it quits after a glorious career spanning almost 30 years!
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, two halves of Daft Punk shared an eight-minute video as their departing statement with fans. The longtime publicist of the duo officially confirmed the break up to sources and declined to provide further details.
‘Epilogue’
The video entitled ‘Epilogue’, features excerpts from their 2006 movie ‘Electroma’ and it opens with a long shot of the pair in custom Daft Punk racing suits. Not to forget their iconic robot helmets as the two slowly walk through a windy desert scape.
As Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo strides with purpose in the video, Thomas Bangalter hangs back and eventually halts, the distance between them growing. Looking backwards to his partner, Homem-Christo returns and faces Bangalter staring at the helmeted face, as he strips off his black jacket and turns around to reveal a control panel in his back. Then, with nothing but the sound of the wind swirling around them, Homem-Christo opens the panel, flips a switch and sets off a ticking timer that gets louder as Bangalter walks away and then braces for self-destruction. Oh, how we love a dramatic finish!
Check out the video of ‘Epilogue’ below:
The video ends with the image of one silver and one gold hand making the shape of a triangle over the years 1993-2021, as a sun sets to the strains of their song ‘Touch’ from their final album, “Random Access Memories”, released in 2013.
EDM’s Golden Boys
Daft Punk gave us the Tron: Legacy soundtrack and kept us grooving all night to ‘Get Lucky’. Their contributions to electronic music has undeniably left an impact on society that will live on for generations.
A crucial part in the revival of Disco pop music and the first of many face-less, helmeted artists, the two publicity-shy members rarely appeared in public without their quirky, bizarre and iconic headgear.
Daft Punk has won six Grammy Awards and influenced numerous musicians with their music and mythology. Their 2013 single, ‘Get Lucky’, featuring Pharrell Williams, made it to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. They made No. 1 as part of The Weeknd’s 2016 single, ‘Starboy,’ which they performed on, and also co-wrote and co-produced.
Daft Punk formed in Paris in 1993, and grew to define the French touch style of house music. Their debut album, 1997’s “Homework”, was a dance music landmark, featuring classic singles “Around the World” and “Da Funk.” They released “Discovery” in 2001, making public appearances in the robot outfits that became their trademark. Their singles “One More Time” and “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” cemented their success as global superstars. Their fame only continued to deepen with their subsequent releases, with records including third album “Human After All”, live LP “Alive 2007”, and the “Tron: Legacy” soundtrack album.
After a brief hiatus Daft Punk blew up once more with ‘Get Lucky,’ the lead single of their 2013 album “Random Access Memories”. Nile Rodgers and Pharell Williams also featured on the follow-up single ‘Lose Yourself to Dance’.
“When you know how a magic trick is done, it’s so depressing,” Bangalter told a magazine in a 2013 interview when asked about their latest spectacular live show at the time. “We focus on the illusion because giving away how it’s done instantly shuts down the sense of excitement and innocence.”
Daft Punk is also credited with co-production on several tracks like Kanye West’s “Yeezus”, as well as a The Weeknd’s ‘I Feel It Coming’.
Apart from their music, their visual identity, ‘out-of-this-world’ aesthetics, and party-music ethos, has inspired generations of artists across genres. In short, Daft Punk has gifted us with some of the best electronic music in the world and we will always be grateful.
By: Anjana Sathyanarayan
