It was in 1993 when sampling, electronic music, and funk found a place in the «boiler rooms» of Paris, allowing these talented producers, DJs, and artists to create one of the most iconic and beloved bands and concepts by millennials and all those who consider themselves fans of current pop culture.
Random Access Memories: The track-by-track review
«Give Life Back to Music»
At 119 beats per minute (bpm), the pulsating rhythm grabs you in the first few seconds of this track, which opens the fourth and final album release from the French duo. It just celebrated its 10th anniversary since its release on May 17, 2023. «Daft Punk», meaning «Deaf Punk,» is the iconic name of the duo formed by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel Homem-Christo, baptized by a French media outlet in the ’90s as a kind of «critique» and later embraced by the duo themselves.
This opening track, filled with rhythm and funk-style guitars from the ’70s, is performed by the legendary guitarist from the band Chic, Nile Rodgers, famous for hits like «Good Times» or «Le Freak». The lyrics are simple and repetitive, almost like a mantra inviting us to let the music back into our lives, becoming the premise of this iconic album that travels between the past and the future.
«The Game of Love»
Love is a universal and motivating theme, but sometimes getting close to love can be dangerous. This song feels more intimate, not only because of its message but also due to its solid and groove-filled foundation. This is partly thanks to drummer Omar Hakim, renowned for his work with Sting, Weather Report, Mariah Carey, Madonna, David Bowie, Miles Davis, Chic, Everything but the Girl, and Marcus Miller, who contributes the groove on drums.
Precisely, this is the goal of this album: to rescue music from the past, specifically from the ’70s, which they listened to in their childhood. Although they come from the future, this album is recorded by the musicians and composers who inspired them. In this sense, the wonderful work of Austin Kleon, «Steal Like an Artist,» comes to life. We all «steal» or draw inspiration from other artists and eras.
«Giorgio by Moroder»
This is an extreme case, as the main character and title of this song is the famous Giorgio Moroder, a pioneer in electronic music. This track is a tribute to the moment that changed electronic music forever when the future producer of Donna Summer narrates how he came up with connecting an arpeggiator to a synthesizer, thus laying the foundations for electronic disco music. The song functions as a narrative that evolves and embraces, with a very expansive instrumentation full of strings and rhythmic elements, Giorgio’s story and journey; a narrative that evolves.
The climax of Random Access Memories
«Within»
This track is a much-needed and unexpected nuance on the robots’ album, as it begins with a relaxed piano played with tonal expertise by Canadian pianist Chilly Gonzales, known for his more classical and theoretical profile.
«The robots asked me to help them find the most subtle and natural way to modulate the harmonies of the songs and make them feel much more like part of something like a single piece, and not so much like a bunch of songs.»
An almost romantic ballad, full of textures and universal statements.
«There are so many things that I don’t understand»
«Instant Crush»
If you’ve never seen the video for this song, you need to do so and come back to read this later. A romantic story between two pieces of art that find a place in a museum. An impossible love in the voice of Julian Casablancas, who is, by the way, the lead singer of «The Strokes».
And to some extent, that’s the magic of the French duo. They don’t need to be the protagonists in the songs to shine on the album.
This album won the «Record of the year» category at the 2014 Grammy Awards. I’m sure that comes from the tremendous success and the lesson of sharing and adding. Music is beautiful, but it’s better when shared.
«Touch»
When the French decided to don helmets, it was not just to create an identity but to protect it in a unique way. Few people could recognize them on the street without the helmets. The robots managed to achieve worldwide fame and respect without losing their privacy and anonymity.
This idea was directly taken from the movie «The Phantom of Paradise», a 1974 film that tells the story of a composer who hides his face and identity with a disguise.
One of the main characters in that film, the powerful «Swan,» was played by composer and actor Paul Williams.
After taking that inspiration, the most special way no one could have known was that «Touch,» for me the heart of this album, is a song written and performed by Paul Williams himself. A journey that starts in the future and suddenly takes you to the music of the past, like the Charleston under the motto «Love is the answer.» The piece lasts just under 7 minutes, which can feel as fast or slow as the attention and dedication you give to it.
In my case, every time I hear it, it makes me want to cry. The mastery in the use of words, melodies, and sounds makes this song Daft Punk’s masterpiece.
«Get Lucky»
After composing the music for the movie Tron (2006), the French duo had the opportunity to stay in Los Angeles. Coincidentally, while there, Madonna invited them to a party where they would connect with Pharrell Williams, one of the most versatile artists and important composers of the time.
«Get Lucky» carries the feeling not just of «getting lucky and keeping the girl» but rather staying up talking to her and watching the sun rise, painting the sky in shades of orange and purple in the early morning hours.
That’s the feeling they wanted to portray, but what they didn’t know is that this song would become one of our generation’s anthems, as well as one of the most important of the decade.
A basic «four on the floor» rhythm that leads us to dance as the bassline and synthesizers like the Juno, Jupiter, and Moog envelop us in a funk-filled atmosphere that nobody can resist.
A master piece
«Fragments of Time»
One of my favorites, for sure.
In fact, there’s a video where they’re composing the song, and suddenly you realize it was simply inevitable that this song would come to Todd Edwards’ mind, almost like a miracle.
All the elements were on the table, and Todd’s feeling was trying to capture those fragments of time for a lifetime, almost like photographs portraying those palm trees and sunny days, those colorful sunsets, and that experience that definitely changed not only the life of the person who produced this album but also the lives of each of us who listened to it and adopted it as part of the soundtrack of our lives.
It’s challenging to pigeonhole Daft Punk into a single genre or era, as this album will continue to be a topic of conversation for a long time. Today, 10 years after its release, they continue to release music, videos, and stories. Such is the case with the mini-documentaries produced by Intel and Vice, where they interview the guest artists of this album, such as DJ Falcon, Todd Edwards, or Paul Williams.
Moreover, they released an unreleased track called «Infinity Repeating» with a video that narrates the same human evolution and gives a symbolic cycle to our own existence.
In 2022, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel Homem-Christo announced the end of the «Daft Punk» project, stating that music made by artificial intelligence was far from music made by robots and no longer motivated them. No one told us that they were going to release this final song or that they are the composers and producers of «Overnight» by the Australian band «Parcels.» There will be time to analyze them, but what is a fact is that the French duo revolutionized, transformed, and enhanced the music of our time, and I’m sure they impacted many lives, including yours and mine.
