Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo met on the
grounds of their lycée in Paris in 1987. The two became good friends and later
recorded demo tracks with others from the school. This eventually led to the
formation of the guitar-based group Darlin' with Laurent Brancowitz in 1992.
Bangalter and de Homem-Christo played bass and guitar, respectively, while
Brancowitz performed on drums. The indie rock trio
had branded themselves after The Beach Boys song of the same name, which they
covered along with an original composition. Stereolab released both tracks on a
multi-artist Duophonic Records EP and invited the band to open for stage shows
in the United Kingdom.Bangalter felt that "The rock n' roll thing we did
was pretty average, I think. It was so brief, maybe six months, four songs and
two gigs and that was it." A negative review in Melody Maker subsequently
dubbed the music "a bunch of daft punk." Instead of dismissing the
review, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo found it to be amusing.[4] As the latter
stated, "We struggled so long to find [the name] Darlin', and this
happened so quickly." Darlin' soon disbanded, leaving Brancowitz to pursue
other efforts with Phoenix.Bangalter and de Homem-Christo formed Daft Punk and
experimented with drum machines and synthesizers.In 1993 Daft Punk attended a
rave at EuroDisney, where they met Stuart Macmillan of Slam, co-founder of the
label Soma Quality Recordings. The demo tape given to Macmillan at the rave
formed the basis for Daft Punk's debut single, "The New Wave", a
limited release in 1994. The single also contained the final mix of "The
New Wave" called "Alive".Daft Punk returned to the studio in May
1995 to record "Da Funk". It became their first commercially successful
single the same year. After the success of "Da Funk", Daft Punk
looked to find a manager. They had no trouble finding one at the time as they
chose Pedro Winter, who regularly promoted them and other artists at his Hype
night clubs. The band signed with Virgin Records in September 1996 and made a
deal through which they licensed their tracks to the major label through their
production company, Daft Trax. "Da Funk" and "Alive" were
later included on Daft Punk's 1997 debut album Homework. The album was regarded
as an innovative synthesis of techno, house, acid house and electro styles, and
is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential dance music albums of the
nineties. The most successful single from Homework was "Around the
World", which is known for the repeating chant of the song's title. Daft
Punk also produced a series of music videos for Homework directed by Spike
Jonze, Michel Gondry, Roman Coppola and Seb Janiak. The collection of videos
was released in 1999 and titled D.A.F.T. - A Story about Dogs, Androids,
Firemen and Tomatoes.By 1999 the duo were well into the recording
sessions for their second album, which had begun a year earlier. 2001's
Discovery took on a slicker and distinctly synthpop-oriented style, initially
stunning fans of Daft Punk's previous material in Homework. The group states
that the album was conceived as an attempt to reconnect with a playful, open
minded attitude associated with the discovery phase of childhood.[8] This
accounts for the heavy use of themes and samples from the late '70s to early '80s
era on the album. It reached #2 in the UK, and its single "One More
Time" was a major club hit, creating a new generation of fans mainly
familiar with the second Daft Punk release. The singles "Digital
Love" and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" were also very
successful in the UK and on the U.S. dance chart, and "Face to Face"
hit #1 on the U.S. club play charts despite a limited single release. A
45-minute excerpt from a Daftendirektour performance recorded at Birmingham, UK
in 1997 was also released in 2001, entitled Alive 1997.Listen song here:YouTube
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