It’s not easy to write anything about such giants as Daft Punk. Their influence is undeniably big and couldn’t even begin to describe how massive they are. I don’t even try to pretend that I could do a proper writeup contemplating their greatness, instead I will write about how I was influenced by them.
First and foremost I am not their greatest fan. I didn’t follow them at that detail. I merely was influenced and I am just grateful for it.
I remember around 1998 I was in a camp where the guys played a catchy song with some vocoder vocals, catchy melody, tasty drums and I had no idea what it was. When I asked they responded with “Don’t you know? It’s Daft Punk!” Of course the song was Around The World.
Later they appeared again in an MTV interview: two guys wearing helmets. I thought it’s a bit unusual but the music was great so I didn’t care. If anything, I felt sorry for them for wearing something stuffy and possibly heavy. The next song I remember of was One More Time. The distinctive style and the vocoder was like a signature. I immediately knew it was them. They showed that it’s not the tools that matter but what you do with them. It was around this time when I realized the impact of their appearance, style and use of tools as a whole, a manifestation of their art. it was awesome.
Next song I heard was Get Lucky this time with real vocals. Someone misinterpreted it that it’s about coding - and I totally went with it. Whenever I had long coding sessions and I was “up all night” I fondly remembered of this song.
I have some catching up to do. I haven’t heard latest songs and just heard that they’re splitting up. I had mixed feelings, like they did really well and it’s best to stop it when you’re on top - on the other hand I was sad, Daft Punk for me was forever. Rest assured I will listen to the songs I missed, most likely I did hear them from mainstream media just didn’s associate.
For me, they really showed how music can be expressed as an art form other than just a series of notes. They showed that tools are not everything, a personal ingredient is what makes your music unique - and unique they were for sure!
So long and thanks for your music. We will miss you.