Random Access Memories

Random Access Memories

by Daft PunkDaft Punk

Overview

When Daft Punk announced they were releasing a new album eight years after 2005's Human After All, fans were starved for new material. The Tron: Legacy score indulged the duo's sci-fi fantasies but didn't offer much in the way of catchy songs, so when Random Access Memories' extensive publicity campaign featured tantalizing clips of a new single, "Get Lucky," their fan base exploded. But when the album finally arrived, that hugely hyped single was buried far down its track list, emphasizing that most of these songs are very much not like "Get Lucky" -- or a lot of the pair's previous music, at least on the surface. The album isn't much like 2010s EDM, either. Instead, Daft Punk separate themselves from most contemporary electronic music and how it's made, enlisting some of their biggest influences to help them get the sounds they needed without samples. On Homework's "Teachers," they reverently name-checked a massive list of musicians and producers. Here, they place themselves on equal footing with disco masterminds Nile Rodgers and Giorgio Moroder, who shares his thoughts on making music with wild guitar and synth solos trailing behind him on one of RAM's definitive moments, "Giorgio by Moroder." Elsewhere, Daft Punk celebrate their close relationship with indie music on the lovely "Doin' It Right," which makes the most of Panda Bear's boyish vocals, and on the Julian Casablancas cameo "Instant Crush," which is only slightly more electronic than the Strokes' Comedown Machine. And of course, Pharrell Williams is the avatar of their dancefloor mastery on the sweaty disco of "Lose Yourself to Dance" and "Get Lucky," which is so suave that it couldn't help but be an instant classic, albeit a somewhat nostalgic one. "Memories" is the album's keyword: As Daft Punk celebrate the late '70s and early '80s with deluxe homages like "Give Life Back to Music" -- one of several terrific showcases for Rodgers -- and the spot-on soft rock of the Todd Edwards collaboration "Fragments of Time," they tap into the wonder and excitement in that era's music. A particularly brilliant example is "Touch," where singer/songwriter Paul Williams conflates his work in Phantom of the Paradise and The Muppet Movie in the song's mystique, charm, and unabashed emotions. Daft Punk have never shied away from "uncool" influences or sentimentality, and both are on full display throughout Random Access Memories. It's the kind of grand, album rock statement that listeners of the '70s and '80s would have spent weeks or months dissecting and absorbing -- the ambition of Steely Dan, Alan Parsons, and Pink Floyd are as vital to the album as any of the duo's collaborators. For the casual Daft Punk fan, this album might be harder to love than "Get Lucky" hinted; it might be too nostalgic, too overblown, a shirking of the group's duty to rescue dance music from the Young Turks who cropped up in their absence. But Random Access Memories is also Daft Punk's most personal work, and richly rewarding for listeners willing to spend time with it.

Product Details

Release Date: 05/21/2013
Label: Sony
UPC: 0888837168625
catalogNumber: 371686
Rank: 2156

Tracks

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Daft Punk   Primary Artist,Synthesizer,Guitar,Keyboards,Vocals
Omar Hakim   Percussion,Drums,Musician
Marty Krystall   Clarinet
Nile Rodgers   Guitar,Musician
Giorgio Moroder   Vocals
Chuck Berghofer   Bass
Gene Cipriano   Clarinet,Bass Clarinet
Mark Converse   Percussion
Earl Dumler   Oboe
Nathan East   Bass,Musician
Chuck Findley   Trumpet
James Genus   Bass,Musician
Gary Grant   Trumpet
Greg Huckins   Flute
Paul Jackson   Guitar,Musician
Angie Jaree   Conductor
Roland Kato   Viola
Brian Kilgore   Percussion
Greg Leisz   Pedal Steel Guitar,Lap Steel Guitar,Musician
Charles Loper   Trombone
Warren Luening   Trumpet
Andy Martin   Trombone
Bob McChesney   Trombone
Larry McGuire   Trumpet
Charlie Morillas   Trombone
Cynthia Moussas   Violin
John "J.R." Robinson   Drums,Musician
Harry Shirinian   Viola
Miwako Watanabe   Violin
Paul Williams   Vocals
Margaret Wooten   Violin
Christina Soule   Cello
Drew Dembowski   Bass
Assa Dori   Violin,Concert Master
Todd Edwards   Vocals
Lisa Sutton   Violin
Thomas Bangalter   Musician
Thomas Bloch   Musician,Ondes Martenot,Cristal Bachet
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo   Musician
Steve Kajala   Flute
Johana Krejci   Violin
Calabria McChesney   Violin
Andrew Picken   Viola
Rafael Rishik   Violin
Pharrell Williams   Vocals
Irina Voloshina   Violin
Olivia Tsui   Violin
Jody Rubin   Viola
Timothy Loo   Cello
Julian Casablancas   Guitar,Vocals,Musician
Chris Caswell   Keyboards,Musician
Carolyn Riley   Viola
Sara Perkins   Violin
Stephanie O'Keefe   French Horn
Lisa Dondlinger   Violin
Songa Lee   Violin
Rodney Wirtz   Viola
Audrey Solomon   Violin
Neel Hammond   Violin
Panda Bear   Vocals
Craig Gosnell   Bass Trombone
Danielle Ondarza   French Horn
Jessica Rotter   Choir, Chorus
Judith Farmer   Bassoon
Joel Pargman   Violin
Kathleen Sloan   Violin
Alma Fernandez   Viola
Justin Hageman   French Horn
Rita Weber   Violin
James Atkinson   French Horn
Armen Ksajikian   Cello
Nina Evthuhov   Violin
Donald Ferrone   Bass
Charles Berghofer   Bass
Douglas Walter   Conductor
Ray Tischer   Viola
Paula Hochalter   Cello
Mariah Britt   Choir, Chorus
Joshua Britt   Choir, Chorus
Jeffrey Gunn   Choir, Chorus
Mary Sloan   Violin
Sara Andon   Flute
Chilly Gonzales   Piano,Keyboards,Soloist,Musician
Kevin Connolly   Violin
Victor Pineschi   Choir, Chorus
Carrie Kennedy   Violin
Chelsea T. Diblasi   Choir, Chorus
Alycia Grant   Choir, Chorus
Alissa M. Crenshaw   Choir, Chorus
Alexandra Gunn   Choir, Chorus
Shirley Koesnadi   Choir, Chorus
Nathan Campebll   French Horn
Emma S. Gunn   Choir, Chorus
Elaina S. Crenshaw   Choir, Chorus
Vanessa F. Smith   Cello
Sam Fischer   Violin

Technical Credits

Daryl Braithwaite   Composer
Nile Rodgers   Composer
Giorgio Moroder   Composer
Mick Guzauski   Engineer
Paul Jackson   Composer
Tony Mitchell   Composer
Garth Porter   Composer
Todd Edwards   Producer
Paul Williams   Composer
Thomas Bangalter   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Art Direction,Concept
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Art Direction,Concept
Pharrell Williams   Composer
Alana Da Fonseca   Engineer
DJ Falcon   Producer
Julian Casablancas   Producer
Chris Caswell   Arranger,Composer,Orchestration
Paul Hahn   Art Direction,Concept,Management
Daniel Lerner   Engineer
Cédric Hervet   Art Direction,Concept,Cover Art
Noah Lennox   Composer
Peter Franco   Engineer
Warren Fu   Art Direction,Concept,Illustrations,Cover Art
Jason "Gonzales" Charles Beck   Composer
Phil Joly   Engineer
Florian Lagatta   Engineer
Stéphane Quême   Composer
Gus Koven   Sound Design
Guillaume Le Braz   Engineer

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