If there's one highly-anticipated album this year that almost everyone can agree on, it's Daft Punk's first original release in 8 years. There was that soundtrack they did for Disney's Tron in 2010, which was also fantastic to say the least. May 21 is finally approaching, and Columbia Records has gone to great lengths so far to make sure Random Access Memories doesn't leak. In the mean time however, we have this record-breaking single to hold us over until then.
I would say Get Lucky is indicative enough of what to expect, but I'm here to tell you that the rest of the album will more than live up to the overwhelming hype. That's because Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter are not your stereotypical DJ's, they're virtuoso musicians who go to painstaking lengths to achieve their own brand of perfection.
They do things their way, the hard way, in order to create something that can stand the test of time... choosing to collaborate with only the best as well. Notable artists like Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers, Panda Bear, and Julian Casablancas, among others have all lended their own unique talents to Random Access Memories.
Funny story about Williams by the way, at a promotional concert for HTC in New York City on April 20, he made the conscious decision to perform Get Lucky three times in a row! "You know we have to do it again right," he said before beginning the second rendition. As it came to a close and the third was about to begin, the N.E.R.D. front man gave his audience permission to leave... reasoning that this was first chance to perform the song live. I highly doubt anyone was upset.
They do things their way, the hard way, in order to create something that can stand the test of time... choosing to collaborate with only the best as well. Notable artists like Pharrell Williams, Nile Rodgers, Panda Bear, and Julian Casablancas, among others have all lended their own unique talents to Random Access Memories.
Funny story about Williams by the way, at a promotional concert for HTC in New York City on April 20, he made the conscious decision to perform Get Lucky three times in a row! "You know we have to do it again right," he said before beginning the second rendition. As it came to a close and the third was about to begin, the N.E.R.D. front man gave his audience permission to leave... reasoning that this was first chance to perform the song live. I highly doubt anyone was upset.
In a rare interview with Billboard's Kerri Mason recently, Bangalter confirmed just how much time and effort has gone into making the record. Responding to a question about the modern-day landscape of EDM, he expressed some dismay about the direction it's taken. Laptops are constantly being relied upon almost entirely now, which is nothing compared to instrumental accompaniment.
I think they might be missing the tools. The problem with the way to make music today, these are turnkey systems; they come with preset banks and sounds. They’re not inviting you to challenge the systems themselves, or giving you the ability to showcase your personality, individuality. They’re making it as if it’s somehow easier to make the same music you hear on the radio. Then it creates a very vicious cycle: How can you challenge that when the system and the media are not challenging it in the first place? We really felt that the computers are not really music instruments, and we were not able to express ourselves using a laptop.As I said before, there is no way this album won't live up to expectations. It's not like they've released anything that is remotely sub par anyway. Rest assured as I'm sure you know, Daft Punk knows exactly what they're doing!
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