It’s Daft Punk’s world — we’re just living in it, at least until they reveal themselves to be ACTUAL harder, better, faster stronger robots and kill us all. ANYWAY. Ever since Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo announced their forthcoming album, Random Access Memories, they’ve been on a mysterious promotional blitz. First, there was the Ron Swanson-approved SNL ad, followed by a video series, suit designs, and teaser trailer at Coachella. Now, finally, we have something concrete, in the form of a lengthy Rolling Stone interview which tackles a little bit of everything, including their thoughts on the current EDM craze:
The album’s move away from computerized sounds reflects Daft Punk’s “ambivalence” about the EDM craze they helped to inspire. “Electronic music right now is in its comfort zone and it’s not moving one inch,” Thomas says. “That’s not what artists are supposed to do.” He adds that the genre is suffering “an identity crisis: You hear a song, whose track is it? There’s no signature. Skrillex has been successful because he has a recognizable sound: You hear a dubstep song, even if it’s not him, you think it’s him.” (Via)
…Kanye West
While recording, Daft Punk found time in their schedules to jam with Kanye West for his next album. At their Paris studio, they laid down a combination of live and programmed drums while Kanye worked out rough vocals on the fly. “It was very raw: he was rapping – kind of screaming primally, actually,” Thomas says. “Kanye doesn’t give a fuck,” Guy-Manuel adds. “He’s a good friend.” Director (and longtime Daft Punk compatriot) Michel Gondry says that Kanye recently played him “two songs” that sprang from the session. “One of them, I told him it sounded solid and powerful – I envisioned a cube when I heard it,” Gondry says. “He told me, Chris Cunningham’s already directing the video!” (Via)
…and whether they’ll tour.
They say there are no current tour plans to promote the album. Their “Alive 2007” world tour, in which they played within a giant steel pyramid covered in screens, was a marvel of pop stagecraft, but Thomas says “we have no current plans” to tour the new record. “We want to focus everything on the act and excitement of listening to the album. We don’t see a tour as an accessory to an album.” When they do finally hit the road, he added, it will be with a career-encompassing set list, not one overly focused on the new material. (Via)
Read the rest here. Random Access Memories is out May 21.
