Get Shredded, Get Playful, Get Inspired, Get Lucky.

In the wake of this upcoming Daft Punk album (I trust you've already heard the single? If not, then I admire your skill at willfully staying away from music, entirely.)

Daft Punk are "going back in order to go forwards", according to Nile Rodgers, one of the main collaborators on the album. Trying to re-invent the magic of the 70s and 80s dance floor era. Personally, I think it's a noble (read: awesome) mission. Who doesn't like a bit of disco? Even though it might not be your genre of choice, one almost can't help but move, as if stirred on some unconscious, instinctual level.

Anyways, I have given Daft Punk and the upcoming album sufficient fawning hyperbole (reading my blog lately must be like watching an excessively infatuated couple who can't keep their fingers, tongues, and tentacles off each other. Somewhat sickening, but also enviable in the sense that having such euphoric feelings does feel fantastic). What I wanted to do was simply share some videos and music with you.

Here's a so-called 'shredded' version of the Get Lucky music video. Funny as hell! I expect this is what people will sound like when they're singing/humming along to the track through headphones.

Someone discovered that if you sped Get Lucky up to 128bpm, Pharrell Williams ended up sounding eerily much like Michael Jackson! Another guy made this version in which he kept the original bpm, but pitched it up and added some MJ trademark 'noises'. The result is quite remarkable. It makes you think that had Michael Jackson been alive...

Since Nile Rodgers is such an essential collaborator and source of inspiration on this album, I have listened to a lot of Chic's music lately. Through Youtube I found some very cool and true-to-the-original 'edits' made by a Norwegian electronic artist called Todd Terje.

Lastly, I'd like to share some rare 'memorabilia' from the Discovery album. The famous voice from the tracks "One More Time" and "Too Long" belongs to DJ/singer Romanthony. This is him improvising an unplugged version of Daft Punk's trademark hit, One More Time. It's so simple, unpolished, and soulful. I really really like it (and I know that doesn't surprise you). Hope you enjoy it too!

Someone's trying to be funny...

This little track popped up on my facebook feed... A supposed leak of Daft Punk and DJ Falcon's collaboration for the upcoming album, a track called "Contact". And in case you're thinking "Can it be...?" Then let me relieve your mind of unnecessary neuronal activity: No. Fake fake fake all over.



Daft Punk - Contact (Feat. DJ Falcon) by daftworld

We didn't Get Lucky, but these collaborators are worth the wait

So today was supposed to be the day that the French dance music radio channel Fun Radio allegedly would play Daft Punk's new single Get Lucky. Seems they 'trolled' us all. Instead they played a half-arsed remix of the soundclips that have been circulating the web for days already. Nothing but a cheap PR stunt on the expense of hordes of tormented and impatient Daft Punk fans.

The amount of hype this release is creating is incredible. Remember last time I wrote a blog post about the rumours of Daft Punk's new album being called "No End" to be released on the 13.03.13? The rumour was created by this little music blog whose poor servers crashed and burned as a consequence of all the traffic. Insane. But fun!

So while we wait I thought I'd give you a little presentation of the confirmed collaborators on the upcoming album. Just one look at the names of collaborators and you know that this album will be very interesting. Some of the collaborators have already had interviews released on Daft Punk's official website, including Giorgio Moroder, Todd Edwards, Nile Rodgers, and Pharrell Williams.

Giorgio Moroder is an Italian producer who revolutionised and 'electrified' dance and disco music in the 70s with his synthesizer production. Most famous and groundbreaking for the time was Donna Summer's "Love To Love You Baby". Here is another of his most iconic tracks, "Chase" from the movie Midnight Express.

If you have listened to Daft Punk's Discovery album, you might recognise the name Todd Edwards. An American house and garage producer who co-wrote and produced one of my favourite Daft Punk tracks, "Face to Face". He may not be a mainstream name, but here is one of his tracks that you might recognise if you have listened to a lot of house music.

If you haven't heard of Nile Rodgers you sure as hell have heard one or several of his songs. A legendary producer, the mastermind behind Sister Sledge's "We Are Family", Diana Ross "I'm Coming Out" and "Inside Out", Madonna's "Like A Virgin", Duran Duran's "Notorious", David Bowie's "Let's Dance", and many, MANY more. And not only that. He also co-founded the legendary disco band Chic, responsible for some of the most defining songs of the disco era, such as "Le Freak", and "Good Times". No wonder Daft Punk wanted to work with him on this album. A brilliant guitarist who masters that feeling of dance music played by dynamic, organic, and live instruments. So obviously I have to share with you one of his most famous hits (and most sampled tracks in music) "Good Times"

Another producer who appears on this album, who also deserves the status of 'legendary' in my view, is Pharrell Williams. Part of the producers duo The Neptunes who pretty much owned the hit lists in first decade of the 2000's, and vocalist and drummer in the hiphop band N.E.R.D. He does the vocals on the upcoming single "Get Lucky" and another track called "Lose Yourself to Dance". His collaboration interview of the Daft Punk website is definitely worth a watch. This is not the first time Pharrell has worked with 'the robots', as he calls them, as they co-produced N.E.R.D.'s "Hypnotize U" back in 2010.

And the last collaborator I shall tell you about is one of my favourite artists/frontmen, Julian Casablancas. A man who oozes of rock'n'roll and sex appeal. I'm absolutely buzzing about this collaboration, and although it might be a somewhat surprising one, it does make sense as Julian's solo album from a couple of years back had some great futuristic synthesizer sounds. Here is his most popular track, which also happens to be my favourite, "11th Dimension"

"It's been much too long, I feel it coming on..."

If you have read my blog in the past, you might have noticed that I am somewhat of a Daft Punk fan, and thus it may not come as a surprise to you that I'm all of a sudden 'blogging' again after a looong break. (A break caused apathy. Apathy and studies. They often go hand in hand. And I am sorry, for you must have missed me so! No?)

This timely reboot of humanafterall.net coincides with the much-longed for return of Daft Punk. The news, rumours, leaks, and teasers have offered that missing spark to my motivation, and these last few days in particular have turned that spark into a roaring fire.

As is often the case with the hyperactive rumour-factory of the internet, there will be many misleading and exaggerated whispers (or rather hysterical shoutings). But some surprising facts have been revealed.

1) The entire album will premiered in front of a 4000 strong crowd at an agricultural fair in Wee Waa, Australia, on the 17th of May (The official album release is on the 21st of May.). This fact is so bizarre, funny, and wonderful that I have no further comment. Sometimes art does not necessitate opinion. Good on you, Wee Waa, you lucky bastards.

2) Tomorrow (April 20th), Daft Punk will premiere their new single "Get Lucky", featuring legendary producers and artists Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams, on the French radio channel Fun Radio. In the meantime, I suggest you enjoy this teaser that fans all over the world have been going crazy over for a couple of days now, ever since it was sprung on an unknowing Coachella audience, with the Daft Punk guys and Pharrell Williams looking on in the background. The new single is going to be a summer hit by the sounds of it!

3) The rumour of Daft Punk's presence at Coachella, immediately led to rumours about Daft Punk making another surprise appearance with their French brethren in Phoenix, who headlined yesterday's lineup. I bet the live youtube stream from Coachella has never been so crowded as during their gig. I watched it live myself this morning:
Phoenix plays a brilliant and energetic set, the crowd is wild with both excitement from the concert but also with anticipation of the rumours...
The music ends and the lights go out on stage...
The crowd starts screaming, most likely from the assumption that THIS IS IT.
And then, who appears on stage? R. fucking Kelly... That's right. R. Kelly joins Phoenix on stage with a rendition of "Ignition" combined with "1901". The mixture of surprise, shock, disappointment, disbelief, and general what-the-fuck'ness can best be described by R. Kelly himself

Ah well, maybe it was unfair of everyone to expect such a thing from Phoenix. Are Phoneix never going to be able to play another show after the Madison Square Garden gigs in 2010 without people screaming from Daft Punk? I actually think it was rather cool, in that unexpected way, that they invited R. Kelly on stage. Maybe they did it as a joke? Maybe they were completely genuine? Either way, it was an amazing concert.

And no matter how you look at it, Daft Punk are achieving amazing and mind-blowing things by simply not doing much. A simple teaser here and there and the rumour mill will do the rest to create the craze and hype around them, thus strengthening the concept and idea of Daft Punk as anonymous, artistic, powerful robotic deities, rulers and lifters of dance music. I may be a sycophant, but I think you have all reason  to believe that this album will be something big.