Discovering Formations: Daft Punk's 'Discovery'

DAFT PUNK: DISCOVERY

SCORE: 100 - 10 - PERFECT SCORE

Despite not quite being their last lap, 'Discovery' feels like the farewell before it had even happened yet, with songs like 'One More Time' and 'Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger' defining the French House duo's discography in ways they had not yet pulled off. From the "Alive" mixes to their debut album that shot them into stardom, their third album feels like everything wrapped into one - sharp, robotic, lively. 

It feels like the party is set to continue for a little while longer - but you can't help but realize that it might be coming to a close soon - with their fourth and unfortunately final album, 'Random Access Memories' acting as a reminder of the eras the duo thrived in after 'Human After All' helped to shape their concept and personas to an even higher degree. Not only is this album highly recognizable and iconic, but it helped to define an entire definition of electronic music; acting as one of the best house acts and albums of all time with each song diving into new territories while still keeping a sense of class and consistency.

The project was recorded entirely in Thomas Bangalter's home, and the result is something sharply focused with a sense of concentration that could only be achieved by artists who were truly in their element. The aesthetics of the album take elements of sci-fi, robotics, and anime into consideration while mixing the things that interested and inspired both Bangalter and Homem-Christo. They managed to experiment and make everything they had in mind come to life while still being consistent through all of the variety - and there isn't a single album with this many different sounds that still comes together this well. There's slow and groovy alongside quick and danceable, and both sides of the coin are entirely unprecedented.

Daft Punk managed to transfer over to the 2000s after their debut in 1997 with one of their absolute best projects, and the highlights on this album are endless. It's a never-ending stream of quality - and it manages to have both quality and quantity with long songs that feel meant for the underground electronic crowd sat alongside more mainstream, palatable tracks that helped to shape an entire class of parties. It's bassy, loud, full of varying elements, and experimental enough to make it stand out from the rest when it comes to house music.

House is a genre that is typically repetitive and consistent in having the same sound - and despite the songs here having repetition, they experiment and add elements taken from other genres and use sampling alongside signature robotic vocal performances that make the album pop. It's something entirely unique, and no other house music has come close to replicating the sound of Daft Punk (with the exception of Justice in some cases). 

But they didn't want repetitive. 

They decided to go against the grain, not wanting to make an entire album of tracks that were strictly house. They wanted to try something different, incorporating new sound structures while working both together and apart - creating one of the most generational and important electronic albums of all time in the process. Inspiration from their childhood and growing up in the mid 70's and 80's shaped them, making the concept for the album something to take with an open mind. They wanted to show that listening to music can be an open and playful experience - inviting. Influences were taken from Aphex Twin's 'Windowlicker' in their desire to experiment with new forms of structure in their music, creating something new to both make a statement and make art. It feels as if they were making a project for the masses while still deeply catering to themselves, and it's one of the things that makes the album come together as well as it does in the end. 

"Homework [...] was a way to say to the rock kids, like, 'Electronic music is cool'. Discovery was the opposite, of saying to the electronic kids, 'Rock is cool, you know? You can like that.'" -Thomas Bangalter [Wikipedia]

It's less raw and gritty than their debut, shifting into a sound that was more influenced and rooted into dance music like disco and upbeat R&B - keeping the slow and sultry while swapping out for fast-paced and robotic in between. It's something that can be loving and adoring while still keeping the grooves going without interruptions, and even the songs that feel like they won't go together manage to come together with each other exceptionally well. It's a striking piece that leaves room for every turn it takes - and it's clear that the group still had a bit more to give even after this album was completed.

Songs like 'Digital Love', 'Something About Us', and 'Nightvision' are softer, more lo-fi, sweet, and sultry; showing the influences from disco and R&B that were taken from for the creation of this album. The duo wanted to distinguish themselves further from the crowd of other artists, as 'Homework' had led to a slew of other artists trying to replicate their sound any way they could - so they combated with robotic helmets with LED screens, using them to speak and show expressions, becoming a cultural phenomenon rather than just another duo. 

Samples from older records alongside clips made by the duo specifically give the album the fresh, fun, and futuristic tone that it keeps, with new and old elements coming together into one of the most unique and satisfying albums of all time. From the creative direction to the sheer amount of passion thrown into the project; 'Discovery is an album that is sure to please in every field. It's no wonder that this album helped to solidify their presence in the music scene as well as their image, and it feels like the most logical and careful expansion they could've taken after the largely success of 'Homework' despite its grit. 

"We're interested in making things sound like something other than what they are. There are guitars that sound like synthesizers, and there are synthesizers that sound like guitars." -Thomas Bangalter [Wikipedia]

'Discovery' is an album where it is impossible to choose just one thing that makes it stand out as much as it does. There's countless elements and sounds that make the album feel deeply futuristic - and it manages to keep it's futurism in tact over two-decades later; almost as if they were striving to make something utterly timeless.

Timeless.

Few albums feel truly worthy of being called "timeless" - as everything ages. Even older classics like Fleetwood Mac's 'Rumors' or Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' are still items of their time period, with sounds that show the decades they were from like a historical showcase of everything that made those times so great. And although dated albums that can manage to age just right like the aforementioned projects are exceptionally impressive and some of the most enjoyable cuts on the market, there's something truly special about albums that sound like they weren't from any time period at all. 'Discovery' doesn't have the signature sounds of the 2000's - instead, it has the signature sounds of Daft Punk. The album as a whole manages to feel like an anomaly from the future era of music, and it truly was a discovery for them to make an album this wildly impressive.