After literally going into hiding for two years, Daft Punk emerges from their secret lab ready to conquer the world once again with a new breed of funky and innovated electronic beats appropriately entitled Discovery. Radiohead may have released one of the best rock/art records of the early millennium, but the duo of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo have accomplished a record that is ahead of the game with a unique pop/art formula. Their critically acclaimed Homework, released in ’97, is a significant contribution to music because it gave Generation X a reason to stop moshing and start dancing to “Da Funk”. On Discovery, the twosome picks up where they left off by pushing the boundaries of house, disco, and funk.
Since November of 2000, DJs have been teasing audiences with a sneak preview of the album by playing “One More Time” into their sets. During an average club night, DJs have been taking numerous demands to play the song quite a few times. The genetic makeup of “One More Time” is part “Celebrate” by Kool And The Gang and part “Staying Alive” by The Bee Gees mechanically being fed through a computer to artificially spawn the party song of the future. For the album, Daft Punk looked to vocalists Romanthony and Todd Edwards to give instant pop identification to the tracks. Romanthony is the featured vocalist for “One More Time” and the ten- minute housey “Too Long”. “Face to Face” from top to bottom is layered with pure genius. The sample that these two French madmen cooked up is just memorizing. In about a microsecond between verses, you hear a synthesizer, guitar riff, a vocal sample, what sounds like a radio dial being flipped fast, and then before you know it you’re back into the bass beat.
Daft Punk does use their voice on Discovery, but of course they disguise their singing through electronic filters. What is up with these guys that they don’t show their faces in public and never use their real voices to sing? Oh, well, it’s the music that matters, right? If the robotics and radiating joy of “Digital Love” don’t make you happy, you must be evil.
Discovery is skewed away more in the direction of electronic disco and pop with “High Life” and “Voyager” leading the charge. The only shortcoming of Discovery is the lack of dynamic beats of “Alive” or “Revolution 909” that made Homework the complete classic. I suggest giving this record a little time to wear on you before you give up hope.
+sarzyniak
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