
Daft Punk | Random Access Memories | The Collaborators
Return of the Music
- 2013
- Ended
- Documentary
- ~58m / ep
- 1 season
From The Creators Project, a look at the collaborators behind Random Access Memories, the new album from Daft Punk.
Latest: Season 1 · 2013
View all seasonsE1. Giorgio Moroder
Apr 3, 2013 · 7m
The first episode features disco pioneer Moroder speaking about his experiences with the genre such as his records with Donna Summer and experimenting with synthesizers. Moroder also talks about his visit with Daft Punk in their recording studio. When asked how he first found out about the duo, he replied that he first heard their 2000 single "One More Time" and especially liked the breakdown middle section. He concluded that he views Daft Punk as "perfectionists" and described the album's style as "something [...] different. Still dance, still electronic; but [they] give that human touch back".
E2. Todd Edwards
Apr 8, 2013 · 7m
Episode two revealed that Edwards had contributed to the album; he expressed that it was difficult keeping his involvement a secret. Edwards had previously collaborated with Daft Punk to create the song "Face to Face" on the 2001 album Discovery. He summarized his experience in the studio recording "Fragments of Time" as being life-changing, as the sessions inspired him to move from New Jersey to California on a permanent basis. Edwards also pointed out the irony of "two androids [...] bringing soul back to music".
E3. Nile Rodgers
Apr 11, 2013 · 7m
The third episode features Rodgers, who spoke of his background as a founding member of Chic, as well as his numerous collaborations with other artists throughout his career, such as David Bowie, Madonna, and Duran Duran. He expressed that working with Daft Punk "[felt] like [...] working with contemporaries" and that they motivated each other to excel when collaborating on the album. At the end of the episode, Rodgers played a portion of a then-unspecified song in which he participated, which was later identified as "Lose Yourself to Dance", and remarked that the duo's style has evolved whilst simultaneously exploring music's past, suggesting that "they went back to go forward."
E4. Pharrell Williams
Apr 15, 2013 · 7m
Pharrell Williams participated in the fourth episode in which he elaborated on his experience with the creation of the album. Pharrell remarked upon the organic sound of the album, surmising that it "feels like the only click track they had was [...] the human heartbeat". He felt that the record can be enjoyed by people of all ages due to the accessible nature of music, and concluded that Daft Punk "could just get back on the spaceship that brought them here and go, and leave us. But they're gracious, they're nice robots. They chose to stay".
E5. Panda Bear
Apr 24, 2013 · 7m
Episode five features Noah Lennox, better known by his stage name Panda Bear, who spoke about his contribution to the album as well as his history with the band Animal Collective. He had first heard of Daft Punk through the music video of the song "Around the World", which introduced him to many aspects of electronic dance music. He added that Homework was one of the few albums he and his older brother both enjoyed. Regarding Random Access Memories, Lennox remarked upon the approach of having live musicians, but structuring their performances in a minimal, sample-like fashion.
E6. Chilly Gonzales
Apr 30, 2013 · 8m
For the sixth episode, Gonzales spoke about his contribution to the album. He recalled Daft Punk's visible joy in listening to the raw session recordings made early in the production of the album, as well as the impending years-long challenge that would be faced in completing the record. Gonzales expressed that the duo were aware of how the keys of each song would contribute to the emotional progression of the album as a whole. He therefore performed the piano in the song "Within" to accommodate the cycle. Gonzales concluded by pointing out that Daft Punk rarely collaborate with others, and thus felt that they did so on Random Access Memories to "make the work be transcendent"
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