22/06/2022
Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
Comfortably my favourite DP album and one for me that is actually underappreciated by the wider music community. More of a journey than their previous albums, it has far more of a disco-funk feel, leaving behind the EDM that had made them such cult heroes previously. The detail of production is outstanding, and world-class musicians such as Nile Rogers on guitar and Omar Hakim on drums, as well as the use of orchestras and choirs in places, give this album greater levity.
The opening of the first track ‘Give Life Back to Music’ signifies DP's arrival in a "stand up and take notice" sence, building and drawing you in before dropping beautifully into a supple funk guitar riff intro. "OK...I'm in."
‘Game of Love’ is a very notable track, but I'm going to speed ahead to ‘Giorgio by Moroder’. This third track contains a near enough 2-minute spoken word intro by Giorgio Moroder talking about his discovery of the synth and how important he felt it would be for dance music, before again dropping into a super funky rhythm and building into a medley of chaos between drums and old-fashioned vinyl scratching sounds, giving the listener the impression dodging meteors in a space shuttle at breakneck speed. An orchestral build finally closes the track, a tactic that will see this album hit on different levels than the duo's previous work.
A couple of softer tracks in ‘Within’ and ‘Instant Crush’ (both stunning) proceed another disco-funk classic ‘Lose Yourself to Dance’, again with Nile Rogers and this time joined by Pharrell Williams on vocals.
This is followed by what I can only describe as an electro-pop, swing ballad, “Touch,” with Paul Williams, a world-renowned composer, singer and songwriter, on vocals. For me it is the emotional highpoint of the album. Another extra-terrestrial influence drifts through the nearly 2-minute-long intro, giving that feeling of initial caution on first visiting a newly found planet. Dropping into William’s emotional vocals before getting into full throttle. The swing sounds provide visualisations of a 1950s American dance hall, or a playground fair. It doesn’t take itself too seriously but is emotionally powerful at the same time. A consistent monotonous drum beat underscores another vocal verse before a choir backs it all up adding a grandeur. Everything cuts off momentarily before returning to that techy spacey feel, this time more uplifting, like having found that the newly found planet can support human life. It culminates in a powerful orchestral build with the choir returning along with more uplifting tech accompaniments, and a powerful but short-lived space-travel build. With everything sharply cutting off, Williams offers a couple of strong a ca****la vocal lines before he is joined by a simple piano melody for a final couple of lines. Although silly and fun in places, you cannot escape the powerful emotional overall feel of this track.
Next up is the funky hit single, ‘Get Lucky’ again with Rogers on guitar and Pharrell on vocals. It is an absolute out-and-out disco banger, no doubt about it, and the radio edit doesn’t do it justice. Produced to perfection, it is melodic fun and soulful, with funky guitar riffs and fun-as-hell vocals. After a second chorus, it drops into a Robo-vocal bridge, overlaying the hook from the verse with the hook from the chorus. It is a supreme moment of production, and not on the Radio Edit for some reason. Beyond is another centrepiece for me. I’m no musician, but what Omar Hakim is doing on drums in this track defies logic. It is astonishing. He is right on top of the bass building an elastic tension with his partner for the track, and pulls some crazy s**t with his cymbols. I won't try and pretend to know what I am talking about by attempting an explanation, as I may have done earlier, just go and check it out.
‘Motherboard’ proceeds ‘Fragments of Time’, probably the sexiest track on the record, with some super-hot guitar cries partnering up with a saucy funk riff before being joined by some smooth-ass vocals by Todd Edwards. The album culminates with two tracks. First ‘Doin’ it Right.’ There isn’t much to it, but it utilises some trip-hop beats splendidly and is a bit of fun and melodically pleasant. It's one of my favourite songs, and probably one of the more accessible on the album. Finally, ‘Contact’ offers probably the most traditional Daft Punk sounding track, along with much of ‘Giorgio by Moroder’. It opens with a recording of a NASA astronaut dialling back to HQ discussing his observation of a flashing object from his window. “I don’t know if that does you any good but there’s something out there.” Kind of encapsulates what the whole album is about. You can't really describe it but it’s a hella summin. This takes place before the only musical sample on the album is used, ‘The Sherbs’’ ‘We Ride Tonight’. It works perfectly in tandem with everything DP are about. From there synth riffs take over and are joined by some chaotic yet defined drumming by that man Hakim. Finally, an elasticated guitar riff draws out the outro bringing us back to that chaotic meteor dodging space travel sound to finish off the album.
Drawing from info I have literally just taken from the Daft Punk fandom site, Thomas Bangalter emphasised the use of astronaut, Eugene Cernan, to close the album as he was the last man to have left the surface of the moon during the Apollo 17 mission. DJ Flacon, who produced this final track, recalled that the speakers blew out after playback of Contact due to the sounds ending the track, comparing it to the end of a rock concert where guitars are smashed. NME compared to a huge pyramid blasting into space as a reference to the stage visuals on Daft Punks only ever live tours in 06 & 07.
Overall, this is one of the most emotionally powerful, deliciously produced, vibrant and diverse electronic albums I have heard and one that is worth any music lover's time.
I have copied in a link below to a video review from YoutTube channel "Turning the Tables," a channel where a lad shows his Dad different albums and they review them. They offer some insightful comments and are a fun watch. I really enjoyed their review on this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLVSaZU6RYo
Enjoy!