Influences... Daft Punk!

I know this may seem like an obvious influence to point out, seeing as loads of people reference these French guys but there really is no getting away from the fact that DAFT PUNK really set the standards back in 1997 with the debut album, Homework!!

Not only were each of the tunes great, from the loopy techno, to the building swirly house and then the down right slow, groovy and funky numbers, the accompanying videos were just as good!!  How cool was that video for "Around The World"?! or the one for "Da Funk"?!  I remember seeing them and being hypnotised, not only by the groove of the music but also the repetitiveness and oddness of these videos.



Adding to the complete package, at a time when underground house needed some inspiration after the vast amounts of commercially friendly vocal/handbag house music that had been doing the rounds for several years, the Daft Punk duo avoided getting their faces in the press, preferring to let their music be the center of our attention.

This ploy has lasted for the rest of their career and lead to the introduction of their famous helmets in 2001 with the upcoming release of their second album Discovery.  It took on a slicker and distinctly synthpop-oriented style, with a heavy use of samples from the late 70s to early 80s. The album was a success in the UK and reached No. 2 in the charts.  Standout singles included: "One More Time", "Digital Love", "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" and  "Face to Face".




Not content with producing 2 amazing albums, Daft Punk decided to show a different side to the personally and this time only spent 6 weeks producing their 3rd studio album - Human After All, released in 2005!

This not only came at a time when everyone was realising that producing could be something done by all, quickly and in the comfort of their own home but also showed that music did not need to be perfect, in order to still sound good.

The album received mixed reviews from the press and fans but time has shown that it actually perfectly pre-empted the change in mood among the underground scene and desire for the dancefloor to hear beats that sounded a little rougher, rockier and with a more electronic feel, paving the way for acts such as Justice, Digitalism and Simian Mobile Disco!




Having played out all over the world as DJs, along with smaller scale live club based performances, in 2006 and 2007, die hard Daft Punk fans got what they had been waiting - a big scale tour!

Daft Punk brought the material from their 3 albums to life via live mixed/mashed-up versions of themselves, all whilst stood at the controls of a huge futuristic pyramid, that had a light show to die for!!  To say they set the standard for stage production with the current crop of EDM artists, would be an understatement...


Finally, after releasing the soundtrack to the film Tron: Legacy in 2010 (which had them working with full orchestras and sounded great, as always!!), they came back in 2013 with their 4th studio Album - Random Access Memories.

Although their previous album received mixed reviews, their latest one really divided the camp, with some fans loving the new direction they took and others calling it boring and very "un-Daft Punk like"...  In my eyes, I loved it!!

Unlike previously where fans felt Daft Punk were setting the trend, with this album, they have perfectly encapsulated the current trends!  The disco sound from the 70s/80s had been making a revival on the underground scene for the past few years, whilst a fare amount of the clubbing world have felt the need to get away from all these over produced, big stage shows and go back to original sounds of good quality music!

And Random Access Memories provided this by the bucket load!!

Either way, whether you like their 4th album or not, there is simply no denying how influential Daft Punk have been over the years!!

Disko Trooper x