As most of us have heard by now, Daft Punk—the iconic EDM duo from Paris—has called it quits after 28 years of making music. The split was officially confirmed by their publicist Kathryn Frazier, yet no information on the split and why it happened has been released yet. The duo formed in Paris in 1993 and the two members include Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. The two originally started a guitar band in 1992 called Darlin’, named after the Beach Boys song. According to Bangalter, they weren’t feeling the whole rock band thing. They both performed in their iconic robot costumes, which most of us recognize them by. Still, we don’t know what they look like and some even speculate that since they decided to split, they might have a reveal.
To honor the duo, I’m going to take it back to some of their hit songs, and some of their underrated songs. Of course, they are most recognized for two popular songs: “One More Time” and “Get Lucky,” featuring Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams. There is also “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,” which many likely recognize from Kanye West’s “Stronger,” since there are noticeable similarities. Some might even remember their song “Da Funk” which is featured on the game Just Dance 3 along with two robots dancing. In the end, several people know of the duo, even if it was simply from hearing a catchy song on the radio.
One of Daft Punk’s most beloved albums is their second released one titled “Discovery.” The album includes not only the two hits, “Get Lucky” and “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,” but also includes other great songs (and my personal favorites) like “Aerodynamic,” “Crescendolls,” “Nightvision,” “Veridis Quo” and “Face to Face.” If you haven’t listened to “Discovery,” I highly recommend that you listen to these hits.
“Aerodynamic” is the second song on the album, right after “One More Time.” The song opens with the sound of bells and then transforms into an electric beat that can be heard throughout the entire song. A little over a minute in, the song transitions into an electric guitar solo, which is eventually paired up with the original electric beat. About two and a half minutes in, the bell returns as a much more mellow beat, and then the song closes out with the bell one last time. “Crescendolls” is the fifth song on the album and it includes some different funky beats and sounds, which overall come together nicely.
The next song is “Nightvision,” and the beat is exactly what you’d expect from the title. In general, the song has a very peaceful and calming vibe to it, which is a very different feeling from the previous song “Crescendolls.” Later on, we have “Veridis Quo,” the eleventh song, which is a personal favorite of mine so I had to include it. This song is pretty much a pattern, the same opening beat throughout the entire song, yet over time accompanied by different beats. The song that closes out my personal favorites is “Face to Face,” the second to last song on the fourteen-song album. “Face to Face” is a simple, upbeat song accompanied by a few lyrics sung by Todd Edwards, which takes place a little over a minute into the song. All in all, “Discovery” is one of many classic albums produced by Daft Punk. If you haven’t checked it out already, I suggest you do so as a tribute to the duo’s goodbye.