Random Access Memories

by Daft 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. ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date:	05/21/2013
Label:	Columbia
UPC:	0888837168625
Rank:	10801

Tracks

1. Give Life Back to Music
2. The Game of Love
3. Giorgio by Moroder
4. Within
5. Instant Crush
6. Lose Yourself to Dance
7. Touch
8. Get Lucky
9. Beyond
10. Motherboard
11. Fragments of Time
12. Doin' It Right
13. Contact

Album Credits

Performance Credits

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

Technical Credits

Paul Jackson, Jr.   Composer,Lyricist,Musician
Bob Ludwig   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Kevin Mills   Assistant Engineer
James Genus   Musician
Daniel Lerner   Engineer
Greg Leisz   Musician
Thomas Bloch   Musician
Garth Porter   Composer
Chab   Mastering Engineer
Nile Rodgers   Musician,Composer,Lyricist
Alana Da Fonseca   Engineer
Omar Hakim   Musician
Mick Guzauski   Mixing,Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Daryl Braithwaite   Composer
Todd Edwards   Producer
Eric Weaver   Assistant Engineer
David Channing   Music Editor
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo   Concept,Arranger,Composer,Lyricist,Musician,Producer,Art Direction
Derek Karlquist   Assistant Engineer
Thomas Bangalter   Concept,Arranger,Composer,Lyricist,Musician,Producer,Art Direction
Eric Eylands   Assistant Engineer
Jason Beck   Composer,Lyricist
DJ Falcon   Producer
Noah Lennox   Composer,Lyricist
Jean-Pierre Janiaud   Producer,Consultant,Audio Consultant
Pharrell Williams   Composer,Lyricist
Nathan East   Musician
Julian Casablancas   Composer,Lyricist,Musician,Producer
Paul Hahn   Concept,Management,Art Direction
Paul Williams   Lyricist,Composer,Composer
John "J.R." Robinson   Musician
Mike Larson   Assistant Engineer
Phil Joly   Engineer
Bill Rahko   Assistant Engineer
Chilly Gonzales   Musician
Sam Cooper   Production Coordination
Kyle Stevens   Assistant Engineer
Florian Lagatta   Engineer
Stephane Queme   Composer
Cory Brice   Assistant Engineer
Giorgio Moroder   Composer
Doug Tyo   Assistant Engineer
Seth Waldmann   Producer,Mixing Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Chris Caswell   Arranger,Composer,Lyricist,Musician,Orchestration
Charlie Pakkari   Assistant Engineer
Cedric Hervet   Concept,Cover Art,Art Direction,Creative Director
Peter Franco   Engineer,Mixing Assistant,Assistant Engineer
Tony Mitchell   Composer
Miguel Lara   Assistant Engineer
Jackie O'Brien   Production Coordination
Nicolas Essig   Assistant Engineer
Warren Fu   Concept,Cover Art,Art Direction,Illustrations
Guillaume Le Braz   Engineer
Gus Koven   Sound Design
Joseph Solido   Contractor
Todd Imperatrice   Composer,Lyricist