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Formed: 1992, Paris, France
Genres: Electronica
Representative Albums: "Discovery", "Alive 1997", "Musique, Vol. 1: 1993-2005"
Representative Songs: "One More Time", "Around the World", "Face to Face"

Biography

In similar company with new-school French progressive dance artists such as Motorbass, Air, Cassius, and Dimitri from Paris, Parisian duo Daft Punk quickly rose to acclaim by adapting a love for first-wave acid house and techno to their younger roots in pop, indie rock, and hip-hop. The combined talents of DJs Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, the pair's first projects together included Darling, a voiceless indie cover band; their current recording name derives from a review in U.K. music weekly Melody Maker of a compilation tape Darling were featured on, released by Krautrock revivalists Stereolab (their lo-fi D.I.Y. cover of a Beach Boys song was derided as "daft punk"). Subsequently ditching the almost inevitable creative cul-de-sac of rock for the more appealing rush of the dancefloor, the pair released their debut single, "The New Wave," in 1993 on the celebrated Soma label. Instantly hailed by the dance music press as the work of a new breed of house innovators, the single was followed by "Da Funk," the band's first true hit (the record sold 30,000 copies worldwide and saw thorough rinsings by everyone from Kris Needs to the Chemical Brothers).

Although the group had only released a trio of singles ("The New Wave" and "Da Funk," as well as the 1996 limited pressing of "Musique"), in early 1996 Daft Punk were the subject of a minor bidding war. The group eventually signed with Virgin, with their first long-player, Homework, appearing early the following year (a brief preview of the album, "Musique," was also featured on the Virgin compilation Wipeout XL next to tracks from Photek, Future Sound of London, the Chemical Brothers, and Source Direct). As with the earlier singles, the group's sound is a brazen, dancefloor-oriented blend of progressive house, funk, electro, and techno, with sprinklings of hip-hop-styled breakbeats and excessive, crowd-firing samples, similar to other anthemic dance-fusion acts such as the Chemical Brothers and Monkey Mafia. In addition to his role in Daft Punk, Bangalter operates the Roule label and has recorded under his own name (the underground smash "Trax on da Rocks") as well as Stardust (the huge club/commercial hit "Music Sounds Better with You"). After four long years of eagerly awaiting a follow-up to their brilliant debut, Daft Punk finally issued Discovery in March 2001. The live record Alive 1997 followed near the end of the year, and a by now predictable four-year wait preceded the release of Human After All in early 2005. One year later, the duo released a compilation, Musique, Vol. 1: 1993-2005, and in 2007 their second live record, Alive 2007. ~ Sean Cooper, Rovi

lectronica group

Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo are longtime friends, but in terms of their public personas, the French duo prefer to keep their identities secret by donning sci-fi costumes and wearing masks to let their music speak for itself—and fans have listened. Daft Punk's debut album, Homework, "probably the greatest electronic disco record ever made," according to an Entertainment Weekly critic, has sold more than two million copies, 400,000 of those in the duo's native France.

The duo met at a Paris school as teenagers in 1987 and shared their passion for music, which four years later led to the formation of Darling, an instrumental indie pop band. Joined by Phillipe Zdar, who later created the similar-sounding Cassius, Darling found fleeting fame with a Beach Boys-style tune that was included on a compilation tape released by Stereolab's United Kingdom label, Duophonic. When Darling disbanded in 1993, Bangalter and Christo began exploring techno and house clubs, along with the rock-based techno of 1980s deejay Andrew Weatherall. Instead of experimenting in an expensive big-name studio, they purchased recording equipment and, according to the English music newspaper New Musical Express (NME), "began producing heavy house music based on big hip-hop beats and boasting strange sounds, sirens and guitar-driven samples."

After hearing Daft Punk's music, the Glasgow, Scotland-based Soma Records quickly signed the group and in 1994 released its debut single, "New Wave," called an "acidic mix of beats and basslines" by NME. The following year, the song "Da Funk" hit BBC Radio 1 airwaves, capturing the attention of breakthrough electronica/trance deejays the Chemical Brothers, who played the song during their sets. Three more singles—"Rollin' and Scratchin'," "Indo Silver Club," and "Alive"—followed, and the Chemical Brothers recruited Daft Punk to remix its song "Life is Sweet."

Banking on Daft Punk's future success, Virgin Records inked a deal with the duo in 1996. As a teaser to the first record, Bangalter and Christo offered the track "Musique" to Virgin Records' Source Lab 2 compilation CD. While recording its debut, Daft Punk spread its musical wings. The duo remixed singer Gabrielle's song "Forget About the World," and rejoined Zdar for regular club appearances at Paris's Respect.

Released Successful Full-Length Album
In 1997 Daft Punk released its debut album, Homework, on Virgin and started a "U.K. invasion of French club music," according to NME. The pre-release hype helped push Homework into the top ten in the United Kingdom, but the album was largely ignored in France. Furthering the mystery of the duo's identities, Daft Punk did not appear in its videos, instead opting for young directors such as Spike Jonze, Michel Gondry, and Seb Janiak to create the pieces. In April, the single "Around the World" hit radio and clubs and found success in the United States by August of 1997, when it rose to number eight on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts.

The group spent 1998 creating and releasing the DVD D.A.F.T.: A Story About Dogs, Androids, Firemen and Tomatoes, as well as a compilation of six videos from Homework, and they also explored a variety of side projects. The best known of these was Bangalter's Stardust, which produced the club hit "Music Sounds Better With You" in 1998. For the next two years, the duo worked on its sophomore effort Discovery. The album proved to be a success even before its release in March of 2001. The first single, "One More Time," which was similar musically to Stardust's "Music Sounds Better With You," was added to pop radio station and nightclub playlists around the United States in November of 2000. The song, which featured the vocals of New York house deejay Romanthony, debuted at number one in France, number two in the United Kingdom, and number one on the Eurosingles charts. As with the first album, Daft Punk hired Japanese artist Leiji Matsumoto to design the animated video.

In an interview with Peter Gaston for CDNow, Bangalter said that Daft Punk had tried to avoid the rules about club music as strictly dancefloor or electronic, in order to create a unique mix on Discovery: "We wanted to destroy those rules," and find a gap where "there would be maybe a place for electronic music that … could mean something different, with a lot of emotion and dynamics and energy."

Career Slowed in Early 2000s
In 2001 Daft Punk decided not to tour, in order to better concentrate on Daft Club, an interactive Web site that allowed fans who purchased Discovery to access new content and hear remixes, "and in order for people to read art [and] listen to music in a more exciting way, because it's not down to just the CD itself," Bangalter told CDNow.

However, another option was soon available to fans who wished to experience a Daft Punk performance: the 2001 live release Alive 1997. This album, called "easily the best live non-DJ electronic record ever released" by John Bush of the All Music Guide, captured the excitement and musicality of the duo's performances and helped solidify their position as a leader of the contemporary electronic movement.

A lengthy hiatus elapsed before Daft Punk returned in early 2005 with its third studio album, Human After All, a time period punctuated only by 2003's widely panned remix album Daft Club, which Pitchfork Media's Nick Sylvester compared to "watch[ing] a loved one be physically decimated." Also less well-received than predecessors Homework and Discovery, Human After All displayed a more minimalist approach to music making than had the group's earlier recordings and failed to make any significant critical or popular impact. A greatest hits collection, Musique Vol. 1 (1993-2005), followed in 2006.

Revived with Alive 2007
Despite weak critical response to Human After All and the group's directorial debut in the art film Electroma, Daft Punk proved their continued sonic relevance through their strong live performances. With their music complemented by a lavish visual display and the duo themselves wearing robot costumes, Daft Punk stole the show from such big names as Kanye West and Madonna at the 2006 Coachella music festival, and the following year anchored one night of the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago. Fittingly, Daft Punk's live act provided the material for Alive 2007, their most acclaimed release in over five years. Barry Walters of Spin noted that Alive 2007 was "the rare synth-based concert album to capture and transcend its creators' studio-bound essence." The album garnered two awards at the 2009 Grammys, with "Harder Better Faster Stronger" winning for Best Dance Recording, and Alive 2007 taking the trophy for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Daft Punk's music also contributed to another hit in 2007, when Kanye West's smash "Stronger" sampled the duo's "Harder Better Faster Stronger."

In 2009 Disney Studios selected Daft Punk to compose an entirely new score for the film Tron 2.0, an update of the studio's 1984 sci-fi classic. The group soon began writing and recording for the project at their studio in Los Angeles. Tim Smith, director of Daft Punk's publishing rights, commented in an interview with Music Week, "We see this as a really key breakthrough for Daft Punk because it's an area they want to do more work in. … [The Tron project] is something that, if done in isolation, might not mean anything, but alongside everything else we have going on with their music at the moment can open up new opportunities."

Selected discography
Homework, (includes "Around the World"), Virgin, 1997.
Discovery, Virgin, 2001.
Alive 1997, Virgin, 2001.
Human After All, Virgin, 2005.
Musique Vol. 1 (1993-2005), Virgin, 2006.
Daft Club, Virgin, 2006.
Alive 2007, Virgin, 2007.

Sources
Periodicals
Entertainment Weekly, May 23, 1997, p. 64; March 30, 2001, p. 68.
Music Week, March 21, 2009, p. 12.

For The Record...

Members include Thomas Bangalter; Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo.

Group formed in France, c. 1993; signed with Soma Records, 1994; signed with Virgin Records, 1996, released debut album, Homework, 1997; released Discovery and live album Alive 1997, 2001; returned after long hiatus with Human After All, 2005; released Alive 2007, 2007.

Awards: Grammy Awards, Best Dance Recording for "Harder Better Faster Stronger," and Best Electronic/Dance Album for Alive 2007, 2007.

Addresses: Record company—Virgin Records, 138 North Foothill Rd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210; 304 Park Ave. South, 5th Fl., New York, NY 10010. Web site—Daft Punk Official Web site: http://www.daftpunk.com.