Daft Punk: Thomas Bangalter, Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo.
Producers: Thomas Bangalter, Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo.
Recorded at Daft House, Paris, France.
"Da Funk" was nominated for a 1998 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.
"Around The World" was nominated for the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, the two French twenty-something DJs who make up Daft Punk, are relentless dance-music aficionados and historians. And unlike many of their contemporaries, their interests don't just lie in the electronic beats that have been rockin' the clubs since the mid-80s. The two knob-twiddlers are just as well-versed in Giorgio Moroder's Eurodisco grooves, Chic, and the old-school rhythms of Afrika Bambaata and the Sugarhill Records catalog, as they are in the Chicago house and Detroit techno traditions.
When they're not assembling catchy-as-hell bits of electro-pop ("Around The World"), throwing down slabs of minimalist funk ("Da Funk"), or marrying Miami bass to Kraftwerkian blips ("Oh Yeah"), Homem-Christo and Bangalter try to impart a little knowledge. On "Teachers," they use a Ween-esque distorted vocal line to name-check a broad list of influences that includes Brian Wilson, Dr. Dre, and Armand Van Helden. Their broad focus, utopian determination and, of course, their way with a beat earn Daft Punk's HOMEWORK a well-deserved "A".
What the critics say...
Spin (9/99, p.158) - Ranked #76 in Spin Magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s."
Spin (1/98, p.87) - Ranked #16 on Spin's list of the "Top 20 Albums Of The Year."
Entertainment Weekly (5/23/97, p.64) - "...Daft Punk never forget to let their playful, hip-hopping ambient techno keep turning the beat around, making HOMEWORK ideal disco for androids." - Rating: B+
Q (1/98, p.112) - Included in Q Magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1997."
Q (4/97, p.120) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...Weirdo-funk, then, with lashings of trash-culture, cool and crunchy breakbeats. Daft Punk always sound original, inventive, exciting and dangerous..."
Melody Maker (12/20-27/97, pp.66-67) - Ranked #17 on Melody Maker's list of 1997's "Albums Of The Year."
Village Voice (2/24/98) - Ranked #35 in the Village Voice's 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll.
NME (Magazine) (12/20-27/97, pp.78-79) - Ranked #11 in NME's 1997 Critics' Poll.
