French Dance Superstars Bow Out

It's testament to their standing and legacy that Daft Punk could release a video of themselves self-destructing without ridicule and disdain. If 'art is everything that you don't have to do' as Brian Eno succinctly defined it, this was the artiest thing I've seen in a long time and the coolest way for Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo to sign off, a marked difference from most groups:

And they were different, from the moment they did a u-turn and exchanged guitars for synths - and Darlin' became daft punk - from the moment they swapped ad hoc partial face covers for futuristic robot helmets, to the moment they raised the spectacle of what dance music could look like; these differences coupled with a huge passion and respect for their musical heroes - Teachers lists early inspirations - meant as Bangalter said their music could always be "honest and true and naive".

But why did Daft Punk strike a chord with so many? What made them stand out from the crowd amidst the huge growth in Dance and electronic music that started in the nineties? Below I've tried to explain why in 7 points, chronologically listed to show what made them so good.

7 eulogies

1 - Da Funk: that bounce, that beat, that video! Whilst All Around The World would give us a clue on where their sound would go post-Homework, it was Da Funk that put them on the map - via Scottish label Soma - and would set dance floors across Europe alight with it's acid-house whine and bass heavy g-funk beat. Alas the dog look was not a keeper though:

2 - Alive: their ability to deliver thrilling live sets was legendary and their classic live albums Alive 1997 and Alive 2007 capture how these changed, not just musically but aesthetically too.

(a) The US live debut of Daft Punk, filmed in 1996 it finds them unmasked, in a small club showcasing their love of hard techno, chicago and acid-house:

(b) Their first live album was a thrilling continuous 45min mix and a masterpiece which took tracks from Homework and ripped them up, reworking them into something new and almost unrecognisable:

(c) Alive 2007: their last world tour in 2007 was perhaps the peak of the modern electronic live experience as we know it and frustratingly I never got to see it; I would trade a leg to swap my Chemical Brothers tickets to see these guys. In hindsight it was the beginning of the end as EDM took over, gigs got bigger and the tunes (and connection to the crowd) got worse. The encore below is one of their 'wow' moments, starting with a remix of Human After All and slowly mixing in their other tracks from Stardust and Together before building and building the beat until it drops. Genius:

3 - One More Time: voted the greatest dance track of all time by readers of Mixmag this was the lead single and opening track to their classic Discovery album and an absolute pounding ray of sunshine which amazingly sat recorded and finished on the cutting table for 2 years before being released in 2000 sending Daft Punk's profile from cult DJs to dance superstars:

4 - Interstellar Discovery: they declared themselves "dead" and replaced by "robots" which in turn paradoxically made them easier to market even though the original intention was to protect their privacy (and negate the attention from joining a big major in Virgin). But the album was a huge hit with it's anthemic disco grooves and more palatable synth sound - led by above lead single One More Time - and whilst they lost some hardcore house fans, they gained millions of new ones as they had hit after hit, won awards and even released an animated feature film Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem. It also had fewer instrumentals as it developed the idea of dance tracks as songs with groups such as Supertramp and Chic big inspirations.

5 - Trend setting: they were astonishingly influential. Firstly they were impactful in France although they did not themselves create a club scene per se; this had already happened. Moreover whilst they were commercially successful, they along with fellow French groups such as Air, Cassius and Phoenix, were seen as unFrench with jealousy and uneasiness over the sound getting in the way of any patriotism. Indeed for Daft Punk, Da Funk was originally on a Scottish label, whilst early success was greater in the UK. That said they did pave the way for French artists as recording companies took notice. Now they're part of French modern pop narrative as this extraordinary clip below shows:

6 - Get Lucky: dance groups are lucky to get one hit single, let alone a single as massive as Da Funk or One More Time but Daft Punk weren't finished yet. Enter Get Lucky which was everywhere for a few years and despite its ubiquity, still retains a place in my heart as the soundtrack to the summer of 2013 and in particular my wedding:

7 - Fresh: incredibly influential and with a number of huge hits (see #1, #3 and #6 in this list) but my own personal reason is simple, I think they're the most enjoyable dance act to listen to. No group is able to make you dance but also make you relax, make you sing and make you hope; it's best summed up by the following album track entitled Fresh from their stellar debut Homework:

To conclude, what stands out is the theme of connection, between the artist and listener which was built on the 5 years from 1997 to 2001 where everything they did turned to gold. They got people on board, took them on a journey and ultimately rewarded them, much like the best artists do and in doing so transcended their world of house as a result. Daft Punk we salute you.