Describing The New Daft Punk Album To Myself

I don’t have ADD or anything, but like most people, when I’m asked to sit in a room in silence for over an hour I don’t cope that well. Even if I’m there to listen to one of the most anticipated albums in years, I still get a bit distracted.

So when the embargo on discussing the Daft Punk album was lifted today, I went over my notes from the album playback at Columbia’s London office that happened a couple of weeks ago. The problem, of course, is that my notes read like the ramblings of sectioned recovering alcoholic trying to describe the voices in his head.

From what I remember I guess my overall view of the record is: yes, well done Daft Punk, you’ve done very well. Beyond that I thought I’d just put my unabridged notes up here and you can get a sense of what I thought as I was listening to it. Also any psychologists out there can diagnose what’s wrong with me.

Track 1 - Give Life Back to Music feat. Nile Rodgers

Why is there a big poster of Chris Brown in this meeting room? Why is he pointing his finger at the CD player? Is this supposed to be like a test? A way for Columbia to package Daft Punk’s good vibes with Chris Browns woman beatingy ones? Why would they do that? I never understood marketing. Oh right, the song: it’s funk riffs, lushly produced, all live instruments. Not very electronic - there’s a few vocoders, louder handclaps but not far off from straight-up 70s funk. WERE THEY HUMAN AFTER ALL AFTER ALL?

Track 2 - The Game of Love

There’s something so early 80s about it, not just the later-era funk but the long fade outs, the drum fills, it’s like really Phil Collins. You know when you watch 80s films and the soundtracks are made on early synthesisers and it dates the film in a weird way – like even it’s an amazing film like Rain Man or something but then in the emotional moments there’s just like a really lulz 808 blasting through with some MIDI cor anglais on top. It’s like that a bit.

Track 3 - Giorgio by Moroder feat. Giorgio Moroder

OH DEAR GOD THIS IS AMAZING. It’s basically Giorgio Moroder , the legendary korg fiddler and all round old man, recounting his life over the most incredible score. I’ll try and write down what he’s saying:

When I was 15 16 when I really started to play guitar I definitely wanted to become a musician the dream was big I didn’t see any chance when I finally broke away from school and became a musician and now I thought all I wanted make music. At that time in Germany, they hadn’t really invented discotheques. I would sleep in the car. That helped me survive for 2 years in the beginning. I know the synthisiser – I wanted to make an album from the future.

Sorry, missed some bits out, he was going too fast. Oh now it’s broken down to just the click, then there’s like an arpeggiated synth – very basic with an ever disintegrating release. A proper bluesy woozey electric piano solo too. Imagine if Daft Punk went on Jools Holland and he played this bit. I wonder who decides which songs get a Jools solo. Like is it condition of performing on that show that he can just show up and play in your song? Oh sorry Yeah Yeah Yeahs, you can only appear if half way through Sacrilege some bloke who use to be on The Tube plays piano. Oh here comes Giorgio again:

“Once you free your mind of the concept of harmony of music being correct. Nobody told me what to do.”

After he says that they’re some lush acoustic strings. Then they finish there’s some seemingly disparate synths. It doesn’t make sense really. But then the strings combine with the synths and it creates something completely different and it’s like watching a little Daft Punk foetus crawl out. Our mind if freed of the concept of harmony and music being correct. It’s all very clever, then there’s some stuff with a bass solo :(

Track 4 - Within feat. Chilly Gonzales

Considering the last track came in at 9 minutes, this is almost an interlude, in that it’s under 4 minutes long. Beautiful solos played across different pianos (grand, electric, some kind of weird organ). I guess that’s what kind of amazing is that all the stuff you’d hate – widdling, solos and really technical musicality - but done with such deliciously shiny production that you have to love it.

Track 5 – Instant Crush feat. Julian Casablancas

They’ve put so much vocoder on it you could never tell it’s him. Still better than anything The Strokes have done in the past eight years. Also I really need to check my emails, is it like rude if I get my iPhone out? It’s not like Daft Punk are here playing the songs for us here now, but I still think the PR might get a bit sniffy, like I’m not paying attention properly.

Track 6 - Lose Yourself to Dance feat. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers

More funk guitars, floor kick drum pattern. Pharrell singing “Loose yourself to dance” which is something I think we can all get behind. I checked my email – one thing asking me to resize a photograph of Action Bronson. Also a Snapchat from someone I haven’t spoken to in three years. I opened it, it was her face with a cat’s body drawn on. Which wouldn’t be funny except we always use to say she looked like a cat behind her back. Is she in on the joke now? Maybe she just found out and that was her way of getting back at us. Shit, the PR is getting a bit sniffy because I’m getting distracted.

Track 7 - Touch feat. Paul Williams

Wind FX and synth wibbling goes into Doctor Who villain saying “Touch, I remember touch” and weird Clangers sounds. Then it goes into a kind of, Nat King Cole, Smile vibe. It’s all a bit Magic FM. But then what would you expect from Paul Williams, the bloke who wrote for The Carpenters and Three Dog Night. There’s all horns and dawdling flutes and it’s like the best wedding band in the world.

This is another in-it-for-the-long-haul one and we’re off with the strings again, wandering through like a Richard Burton movie and then a childrens choir. It’s kind of like that bit in WallE when he’s looking through everything that was ever on earth. I need a lie down.

Track 8 – Get Lucky feat. Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers

IT’S THE ONE I’VE HEARD BEFORE. I’M GOING TO HAVE A SIP OF TEA TO CELEBRATE. OH SHIT IT'S COLD.

Track 9 - Beyond

OI OI, IS THAT A BUGLE I HEAR BEFORE ME?

Track 10 - Motherhood
BONGOS! ACTUALY BONGOS! There’s no instrument left unturned. This one doesn’t have any singing even after two minutes, it’s all flute trills and swelling strings. Kinda into it. It’s what I’d want to listen to on like a jungle hike. Just have this and my machete on a voyage of discovery. Oooh then there’s a weird, Hitchhikers Guide space ship noise. No one was expecting that. It sounds like a metal bug getting squished by a religious overlord. The instruments have stopped now it’s all getting creepy. NO WAIT HERE COMES A SYNTH. AND BONGOS. AND A SHAKER. Oh now it’s raining. Not IRL, just on the record.

Track 11 - Fragments of Time feat. Todd Edwards

One of the other journalists has already started doing a little bob to this one and I’m right behind her. It’s all about driving this road to paradise. It’s very soulful but of course of it is because it’s Todd the bloody God Edwards on vocals. Frankly the thought of this being a single and being on Radio 1 a few times a day fills me with sunshine and great vibes. It’s nice that they can go from the huge orchestral bits to (relatively) simple four to the floor soul here.

Track 12 - Doin’ It Right feat. Panda Bear

Ooh this is the first one to sound a bit UK bass, some soft bass and harsh hand claps but the vocals are almost like Animal Collective. Oh it is, it’s Panda Bear. Cool.

Track 13 - Contact feat. DJ Falcon

There’s another spoken sample at the beginning. Sounds like a moon landing or something. There were off with another fuck off drum sample and loads of space launch synths. And some delicious mid 00s distortion, hold tite Kissy Sell Out. I feel like they might be inventing a new genre here. The key characteristic is a screech that just gets higher and louder and more like it’s going jump out the speaker and murder you with each passing moment. I’m going to call it homocyde. No that's crap, I'll think of something better later.

For more Daft Punk reading check out:

We had The Kid Mero Review the 15-Second Daft Punk Snippet

Meet The Collaborators Behind Daft Punk's 'Random Access Memories': Episode 4 - Pharrell Williams

Giorgio Moroder Discusses Collaborating On Daft Punk's New Album ' Random Access Memories'

All the Daft Punk Collaborators videos in one place