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Watch A Rare Early '00s Video Interview With Daft Punk
“I don’t think its completely robot music, but it’s true that it’s really now a mix between the computer systems and the new chip we have in our brain.”
In 2001, Daft Punk released their second full-length album, Discovery. Its release occurred five years after their landmark record Homework first captivated listeners with its classy, pop-inflected disco and house, and coincided with the French duo’s aesthetic decision to efface their human personalities and instead take on the guise of robots. It’s this hybrid mix of robot and human—a dynamic that can be heard throughout the duo’s catalog—that brought a whole new level of intrigue to Daft Punk. It was music based on, as they say, “the new chip we have in our brain, mixed with the fact we have a heart and a heartbeat.”
So what catalyzed this change? What had happened in the five year interim between recording their seminal bedroom DIY record, Homework, and stepping up to produce one of the decade’s truly mega records? On the cusp of Discovery‘s release, the duo put together a rare feature on the making of the record. The 12-minute mini-documentary contains footage of the robots traveling through Paris and Tokyo, working in the studio and mucking around in the subway. More importantly, it also features an open discussion by the otherwise ultra-secretive duo about the ideas that went into the making of the record and their collaborative creative process. In short, it’s a must-see interview for any self-respecting Daft Punk fan. Check it out in full below.
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