Daft Punk
By All Music Guide
By All Music Guide
Although the group had only released a trio of singles (The New Wave and Da Funk, as well as the 1996 limited pressing of Musique), in early 1996 Daft Punk were the subject of a minor bidding war. The group eventually signed with Virgin, with their first long-player, Homework, appearing early the following year (a brief preview of the album, Musique, was also featured on the Virgin compilation Wipeout XL next to tracks from Photek, Future Sound of London, the Chemical Brothers, and Source Direct). As with the earlier singles, the groups sound is a brazen, dancefloor-oriented blend of progressive house, funk, electro, and echno, with sprinklings of hip-hop-styled breakbeats and excessive, crowd-firing samples, similar to other anthemic dance-fusion acts such as the Chemical Brothers and Monkey Mafia. In addition to his role in Daft Punk, Bangalter operates the Roule label and has recorded under his own name (the underground smash Trax on da Rocks) as well as Stardust (the huge club/commercial hit Music Sounds Better with You). After four long years of eagerly awaiting a follow-up to their brilliant debut, Daft Punk finally issued Discovery in March 2001. The live record Alive 1997 followed near the end of the year, and a by now predictable four-year wait preceded the release of Human After All in early 2005. One year later, the duo released a compilation, Musique, Vol. 1: 1993-2005.
