Are You Daft?

“Work it, Make it, Do it, Makes us, Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”: nonsensical words perhaps, or the words of commercial geniuses who know how to please the fans. By adding a catchy beat to their infectious hook, Daft Punk has taken the world by storm. The French electronic band Daft Punk has become one of France’s most successful music groups and has proven to be pioneers in their genre. There is no question that Daft Punk has gained staggering fame in the electronic music industry by using their innovative musical style along with an original persona and a rapidly growing fan base. Daft Punk, while at first glance seems to be just another techno group, actually holds a far greater significance in not only the techno culture of youths around the globe, but also in the music scene at large and the politically-charged debate concerning raves. By exploring their growing popularity and commercial appeal as well as the fascination of their fans the following essay will analyze Daft Punk’s path to global recognition, the origins and transformation of electronic music, and the ironic outcome of the techno culture’s raves and the ensuing political ramifications; in an attempt to illustrate that what is seemingly a nonsensical song/band can produce a world of meaning and irony for a generation of fans.

Daft Punk started out much like any other band in the music industry. Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter were young teenagers, both with a passion for music and a flair for the dramatic. Thomas’s father Daniel Vangarde, a wealthy songwriter and producer during the 1970’s and 1980’s provided the duo with everything they needed, including a fully equipped studio. As is the case for many musicians, Thomas and Guy-Manuel did not make it big with their first band. The two actually started out as a rock and roll band called Darlin, which lasted only about six months with just a few recordings. “However, Darlin’s only release did have one enduring legacy,” says Matthew Collin, a music journalist for Mixmag Magazine, in his article “Do You Think You can hide from Stardom?” “It was reviewed by rock weekly Melody Maker, which damned it as ‘a bunch of daft punk,’ giving their next incarnation its name—a name that’s humorous, ironic, and just about perfect for a couple of smart young operators” (5). It was not long after the creation of their band Darlin that Thomas and Guy-Manuel were old enough to start going to clubs, and as a result the pair soon became obsessed with electronic music. It was at Euro Disney in 1993 where the band’s “destiny hurtled closer.” At Nicky Holloway’s “rain-soaked rave” Thomas approached Stuart Macmillan of Slam Records and “pressed a demo tape of their new music into his hands. Shortly afterwards, ‘Alive,’ one of the tracks from that cassette would become Daft Punk’s first single on Slam’s independent Soma label” (Collin 2). Daft Punk’s potential was soon realized as they quickly rose up the charts as a
world-wide sensation in electronic music.

Daft Punk, disputably, could be seen as the “poster child” band for the electronic music industry as we know it today. The common view of this musical genre is of its European form of musical expression which is due in part to its concentrated popularity in European nations. It is little known, however, that electronic music “…began in the late 1980’s as a new form of musical expression in the dance clubs of Detroit and Chicago…” says Nigel E. Smith, a scholar who writes for The French Review, in his article “And the Beat Goes On: An Introduction to French Techno Culture.” (713). Despite its underground significance in America, electronic music managed to penetrate the clubs of France with its distinct auditory patterns and rhythmic beats. Upon further analysis of electronic music, specifically Daft Punk’s song “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,” many distinct forms of musical distortions are seen. Through the technology known as a Spectrogram, software that provides a visual representation of the density of sound waves, Dr. James Walker, a professor of mathematics at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire and an expert in the application of mathematics in music, provides a response to the spectrogram in a personal interview saying “It shows the auto tuning they are using:  mapping the vocal tracks into some electronically synthesized instrument—which has straight harmonics like a piano would. So the harmonics of the vocals appear more instrumental, and you get the auto-tuned synthesized quality to them. Also you can see somewhat how the vocal notes are matched with the background rhythm.” It is this quality in electronic music that has brought something new to the music world, and has since attracted a staggering amount of fans.

Despite the growing popularity of electronic music within France, it was not until recently that there has been commercial success among French electronic musicians. In a Rolling Stones interview titled, “Daft Punk” writer Anthony Bozza, a New York-based author who has written numerous books on musicians in various genres, asked Thomas Bangalter what Daft Punk’s philosophy is. His response shadowed that of many techno musicians; “We are just trying to raise some questions with the music and art we do” (110). With Daft Punk’s goal being to raise difficult questions and express a philosophy centered on the self it is no wonder that their commercial success can be attributed to a young generation of fans seeped in the consumerist culture. In regards to electronic music, scholars say that “…during the 1990’s, a new breed of French musicians…have managed to challenge the cultural and commercial hegemony of the United Kingdom and the United States in the realm of popular music” (Smith 732). Daft Punk, whose second album released in April 2001 became one of the most recognized and best selling French CD’s of all time and gave the band even more content in which to create from. Because Daft Punk sets out to question the very culture its success depends upon, their ever-increasing fame ensures that there is no end to the cyclical nature of their creative process.

Drawing from all that we now know about the cycle of creation in electronic music it can be assumed that the enhancement of one’s musical experience relies on the moment, the location, and the crowd. The commercial success of electronic music has cultivated its own culture beginning with the rave. To the outside viewer a rave might look like a disorganized mishmash of young people, but to the members of this techno culture it is a pivotal way to experience and mimic the free spirit of Daft Punk’s music. And one cannot talk about Daft Punk’s music without first mentioning their loyal fan-base and how the rave has shaped the music they create. In his article “Pleasure Beats,” Ben Neill, a composer, performer and the designer of a unique electro-acoustic instrument—the Mutantrumpet, says,

"One of the key ideas to come out of recent electronic pop culture is the ‘rave’ sensibility in which the traditional notions of performer and audience are completely erased and redefined. In this type of event, the artists are not the center of attention; instead it is the role of the artist to channel the energy of the crowd and create the proper backdrop for their social interaction. The audience truly becomes the performance…" (4).

The elaborate performances which Daft Punk is known for only add to the hype of the rave and techno culture; and without that culture Daft Punk’s music would not be as provocative as it is today. Raves are made up of many tangible components such as moving and gyrating bodies, rhythmic beats and pulsing lights; the intangibles during these live performances are the driving force behind the mystery of Daft Punk and the allure of the rave itself. Even a physical object, such as Daft Punk’s pyramid can be considered a source of mystery. Fans wonder ‘why a pyramid?’ Some believe that the pyramid represents a sound wave, others think maybe it’s just aesthetic, or it could just be that the members of Daft Punk like that shape a lot; the mystery heightens the fascination and leaves fans wanting to know more. And the robot-like nature of Thomas and Guy-Manuel removes any shred of humanity in the performers and engages fans to objectify them as materials made for the creation of musical enjoyment rather than individuals with their own feelings. The ownership factor this creates may be one of the forces behind this particular band’s commercial appeal. We may never uncover the true reasons for their actions and the mystery may outlive the band itself; this being said, Daft Punk’s performance persona could just be all in good fun with no intention of causing cranial overload. Daft Punk themselves have explained to reporters that they don’t take their music too seriously.

Iain Stasukevich, a writer for American Cinematographer, in his article “Daft Punk's Sci-Fi Vision” quotes Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo as saying, “We just wanted to make something experimental and weird” in regards to their film Electroma (24). And the aforementioned music critic Matthew Collin, says that,

"Their bone-shaking, genre-splitting ‘Daft Mix’ DJ sets have already attracted superlatives … they haul bits of their studio up on stage and literally rip their album into shreds, taking the constituent parts and remodeling them into a new whole … EQing the cymbals into a shrill fizz of white noise, jamming the bass so low the bowels quake – but with the urgent velocity of the techno freak..." (1)

It is this carefree attitude of Daft Punk’s philosophy in music and improvisational live performances that has created a disconnect between the band’s message and the political ideologies surrounding the rave and techno culture, causing a system fraught with irony and contradiction. While Daft Punk purports to bear no political message, due to the popularity of the band in this consumer culture, the ensuing raves have become the subject of one of the most politically charged aspects of French popular culture in decades (Smith 731). The rave, to some fans could be considered an apathetic middle ground with no political tie and a momentary escape from the problems of the real world (Smith 737). This escape however has become, the French government feels, a danger to some of the fans.

In an attempt to “protect” fans of techno culture French Minister, Jean-Louis Debre, announced a ban on raves in May 1996. As to be predicted, the government’s intervention failed in its attempt to nullify the enthusiasm of ravers and instead only reinforced their resolve. Because of the charged debates following this issue the attitude of the French government, to some extent, came to defend techno music in order to encourage young voters to be attracted to certain political parties. Veronique Mortaigne, a writer for the French publication Le Monde sees techno as a “reaction by young people to the problems of modern society and to the globalization and the homogenization of culture” (1). Mortaigne claims that techno music is linked to the environment in which it is heard; the rave as a result becomes the cultural space where those who do not wish to be a part of a global culture can meet. The official position of the French government was reduced to a stalemate in 2001 and must still cope with the issue of regulating raves and the safety of individuals attending—from dangers such as drugs, violence, and injury (Smith 740 & Montaigne 1). There has been no conclusive end to raves and techno culture and it seems to only grow with increased commercial value.

Daft Punk, being one of France’s most successful music groups has gained incredible fame in the electronic music industry by using their ground-breaking musical style along with a unique persona and a large fan base. This band though at first glance seems to be just another techno group, actually has a large significance in not only the techno culture of a generation, but also in the music scene at large. The politically-charged debate concerning raves gives testament to the importance of techno culture’s fans and the impact they have on their country. Daft Punk’s popularity and commercial appeal as well as the fascination of their fans was analyzed in terms of their path to global recognition, the origins and transformation of electronic music, and the ironic outcome of the techno culture’s raves and the ensuing political ramifications. This essay attempts to exemplify that what is seemingly an illogical band can in fact produce a world of perceived meanings and an entire culture for a generation of fans. Have you ever wondered how your music’s culture affects the intellectual sphere in your world?

Works Cited

Collin, Matthew. “Do You Think You Can Hide From Stardom?” Mixmag (1997) http://www.techno.de/mixmag/97.08/DaftPunk.a.html

Bozza, Anthony. “Daft punk.” Rolling Stone 86.6 (2001): 110.

Mortaigne, Véronique. “Eloge de la techno, nouvelle écologie.” Le Monde (1998): 1.

Neill, Ben. “Pleasure Beats: Rhythm and the Aesthetics of Current Electronic Music.” Leonardo Music Journal, 12 (2002): 3-6.

Smith, Nigel. “And the Beat Goes on: An Introduction to French Techno Culture.” The French Review 77.4 (2004): 730-741.

Stasukevich, Iain. “Daft Punk's Sci-Fi Vision.” American Cinematographer 89.2 (2008): 20, 22, 24-5.