Listen: Daft Punk – Computerized (Ft. Jay Z)

So here is a random surprise the came up today…Co-produced by Kanye West, is an unearthed track by Daft Punk featuring JAY Z, entitled “Computerized”. Of course the tune might be fake as there are dozens of counterfeit tunes attached to the Daft Punk name floating around the internet but you never really know until someone officially confirms it to be one or the other. The newly surfaced track supposedly did not make the cut for Random Access Memories or Magna Carta Holy Grail but thanks to the internet nothing stays hidden for long! 

Video: Daft Punk – “Behind The Helmets” & "Instant Crush"

A handful of Daft Punk goodies to share this morning starting off with a five minute documentary of sorts presented by Mixmag and Olmeca Tequila that looks at the conception, design and development of Daft Punk’s iconic helmets. Special effects guru Tony Gardner of Alterian Inc. goes into quite a bit of detail about what it took to get the helmets together  generously sharing original concept art, insight into  inspirations, and some of the technical obstacles encountered along the way. Like many long time Daft Punk fans I’ve read my fair share about how the helmets came about and how they run but this is easily the most informative and fun one out there at the moment.

We follow things up with the latest set of visuals from the Random Access Memories LP. The Julian Casablancas fronted “Instant Crush” see's a tragic love story taking place after hours at a museum bringing back memories of 80’s film Mannequin or perhaps even more recently Night At the Museum.

 

Video: Daft Punk - "Lose Yourself To Dance"

Daft Punk  released a proper video for their good time anthem “Lose yourself to Dance” featuring Pharrell, Nile Rodgers, the robots themselves, lots of shiny sequined blazers and a bunch of folks stepping to the beat who probably first learned of the duo only half a decade ago when this state side madness first started at the Frenchmen's Coachella performance.

Video: Kanye West - "Black Skinhead"

Kanye West drops his first video from his recently released Yeezus LP in the form of "Black Skinhead." The clip features an animated Kanye doing his thing as well as the barking Doberman’s that opened his SNL performance of the same song.

Listen: Giorgio Moroder's Red Bull Music Academy DJ Set

Disco legend and recent Daft Punk collaborator Giorgio Moroder played his first live dj set ever last night at Brooklyn’s Output as part of the Red Bull Music Academy's series of New York events. The seventy-five minute set  is a retro-future trip down dance floor history including  Donna Summer's "I Feel Love", "Bad Girls", "On the Radio" and "Hot Stuff." The recent Daft Punk collaboration, "Giorgio by Moroder," of course also makes an appearance.

Listen: Daft Punk - "Horizon" Random Access Memories Japan Bonus Track

Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories is officially out and we have the Japanese bonus track titled “Horizon” to share with you in celebration! The track is currently only available on the Japanese retail cd and is a mellow affair. Enjoy it below…

Listen: Daft Punk - ”Random Access Memories”(Full LP) + Collaborators Series Paul Williams

Daft Punk's highly anticipated new album, Random Access Memories, is out in one week via Columbia. We have shared the first single “Get Lucky” along with videos under the Collaborators series project including Nile Rodgers, Pharrell, Giorgio Moroder, Todd Edwards, Panda Bear, Chilly Gonzales and DJ Falcon.

Now, you can finally hear the album itself, in full, streaming over on iTunes. (Go to Daft Punk's artist page on iTunes to hear it.) After the first listen I’m initially surprised to hear how mellow it is, ith the easy favorite being "Doin' It Right" what says you? Be sure to also check out the latest in the series of Collaborators videos below with the legendary Paul Williams who discusses his views on anonymity and fame amongst other things and who 's collaboration on R.A.M. track"Touch" is an album highlight .

Video: Daft Punk Random Access Memories Video Series Episode 7 – DJ Falcon

Another day and another episode of Daft Punk’s Meet The Collaborators series. Episode 7 features child hood friend of the robots DJ Falcon. Of course Stéphane has a long rich history with French house music and more specifically Daft Punk having worked with Thomas Bangalter when they formed their band Together. Coincidentally Stéphane is also a cousin of Onomatopoeia favorite Alan Braxe. Falcon discuss' this rich history and his work on Random Access Memories track “Contact” which is due out on May 21st. Check out the video below as well as a decade old “demo/prototype” version of the song which centers around a sample of Australian band the Sherbs' "We Ride Tonight."

Video: Daft Punk Random Access Memories Video Series Episode 6 – Chilly Gonzales

Episode 6 of Daft Punk’s Meet The Collaborators series was released this morning and features Canadian musician Chilly Gonzales who’s work you most certainly know from his collaborations with Peaches, Fiest and Buck 65 to name but a few . In the nine minute video Jason speaks of his love of Harmony, the type of work he did on the upcoming Daft Punk LP, and his chosen approach when doing collaborations. Jason even goes on to actually play some of the piano pieces that will appear on Random Access Memories which is due out on May 21st.

Video: Daft Punk Random Access Memories Video Series Episode 5 – Panda Bear

Episode 5 of Daft Punk’s Meet The Collaborators series was released this morning and features Animal Collective’s Panda Bear, aka Noah Benjamin Lennox. In the eight minute video Noah talks about trying to collaborate with the robotic due on several occasions only to be shot down over the years, until that is they contacted him and let him know the time was finally right.  Noah comes from of a space where he composes his music from a very rhythmic place so his contributions to the new LP should be both interesting and a natural fit, although thinking of both bands' musical output one might not arrive at the same conclusion. Random Access Memories drops on May 21st.

Listen: Daft Punk - "Get Lucky"

More Daft Punk news and this time it’s in the form of an actual song! By now if you are a fan of the robotic duo you have heard and seen the teaser trailers for Random Access Memories tune “Get Lucky” featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers. SONiC 102.9 — a rock music station from Edmonton — has shared the entire track albeit stating that it is not the official mix but that it “sounds pretty damn close.” We usually try not to highlight unfinished material but felt this time is was very close to the final product. Enjoy  courtesy of Dancing Astronaut.

UPDATE: 4-19-2013 Here is an audio of the official single.

Video: Daft Punk Random Access Memories Video Series Episode 4 – Pharrell Williams

This blog is rapidly turning into an all Daft Punk all the time type of place and we are more than ok with that. “Meet The Collaborators” returned today with episode 4 this time featuring Pharrell Williams who goes on to speak about meeting Daft Punk at a Madonna party which eventually lead to his working with the Parisian duo on the tracks "Get Lucky" and "Lose Yourself To Dance" off their forthcoming LP, check it all out below. Random Access Memories drops on May 21st.

Video: Daft Punk Random Access Memories Video Series Episode 3 – Nile Rodgers

Daft Punk's “Meet The Collaborators” series is picking up steam having already dropped an episode on Monday, focusing on Todd Edwards, we get a second one not four days later, featuring Chic guitarist and disco legend Nile Rodgers. Rodgers talks about his own legacy, some of his famous collaborations (of which there are many,) working with “the robots” and even treats us to a little piece of music that he seemingly might have contributed to Random Access Memories which of course drops on May 21st.

Video: Daft Punk Random Access Memories Video Series Episode 2 – Todd Edwards

We got the second episode of Meet The Collaborators Behind Daft Punk's Random Access Memories and this one features Todd Edwards who you may recall collaborated with Daft Punk on their second LP, Discovery with “Face To Face.” Todd talks about working in California with Daft Punk and their desire to draw influence from the sound of 1970’s LA rock and Sound City.  On a side note it’s worth noting that Todd is wearing an After Dark 2 shirt which of course is not out yet and only leads me to believe it’s got to be coming fairly soon. 

Video: Daft Punk Random Access Memories Video Series Episode 1 - Giorgio Moroder

With the HIGHLY anticipated release of Daft Punk‘s new album Random Access Memories coming out on May 21 we are starting to see and hear more and more info about the project. With that the robotic duo, along side the Creators Project, have announced a new video series which will shine a light on some of the big names they’ve collaborated with on the LP including Chic frontman Nile Rodgers, legendary songwriter/actor Paul Williams, Animal Collective’s Panda Bear, and Chilly Gonzales to name but a few. The first episode features disco legend Giorgio Moroder talking about his own early work, the evolution of house, his admiration for Daft Punk, and their time in the studio together. Watch the video above. And prepare to get even more excited than you already where for this release if that’s even possible.

Listen/Download: The Avalanches – DJ Set @ Splendour in the Grass 2006

A "new" mix popped up today on the Avalanches mix tape club, the mix isn’t actually a new mix in that it was recently recorded but rather in that it was made available to members of the club. This one hails from 2006 and was performed live at Splendour in the Grass in Belongil Fields, outside of Byron Bay, Australia. The mix is somewhat 80’s centric in it’s vibe but features artists from artists beyond the 1980’s including Prince, Def Leppard, Daft Punk, Gnarls Barkley, Salt N’ Pepper, The Gossip, David Bowie, Midnight Juggernauts, Bon Jovi, Mylo, The Rapture, The Rolling Stones, The Sound Of Music and more. The 45-minute mix is a total blast and is yet another reminder of why we desperately need a new LP from the collective, maybe 2013 will be the year.

Download the mix below and check out two short clips of footage of the set being performed at the festival.

DOWNLOAD

Listen: Daft Punk - "Saint Laurent Fashion Show Soundtrack"

Fashion Week is wrapping up in Paris and on Monday the Saint Laurent show was the main focus. The high profile event is increasingly drawing more and more big name artists to provide the backing track for the top collections with groups like the Chromatics having preformed live there only a few days ago. Parisian due Daft Punk put together a mix for the aforementioned YSL show featuring music by the late blues artist Junior Kimbrough. Of course the robotic two themselves are no strangers to being involved with the industry in one form or another. 

Listen: Lost Daft Punk Track "Drive"

On Friday the internet blew up when the unheard Daft Punk track from 1994, "Drive", surfaced on the web. I’m a huge fan but opted to wait as I felt the preview would be doing the robotic duo and their fans an injustice, especially since we have all been waiting for this track for 17 years essentially, what was two more days to get a nice proper full version?  So here we are two days later and Soma Records, who are releasing the track in their 20th Anniversary Compilation, have let loose this 7 minute and 21 second version of the track. Hit play below …

Video: Co Spring/Summer 2012 Directed by Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter

One half of Daft Punk, Thomas Bangalter, has directed a short film in promotion of the Spring/Summer 2012 collection from luxury fashion brand Co. The video features Bangalter's wife, actress Élodie Bouchez, strange stuff.

Co SPRING / SUMMER 2012 directed by Thomas Bangalter from Co Collections on Vimeo.