Daft Punk – Random Access Memories

Label: ColumbiaScore: 9/10 

“Random Access Memories” (RAM) has been eagerly anticipated globally for quite some time now and over recent months clues have appeared, chiefly amongst social networks as well as other platforms. There have been futuristic videos leaked of the Punks unravelling the vinyl and playing it for the first time as well them taking Coachella by storm without even attending. Their collaboratory piece with Chic’s Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams was unquestionably a success and a sturdy springboard for the launch of the album. Opinions are however once again divided, as indeed they were for the “Tron Legacy” soundtrack (but not the “Human After All” album that preceded the Tron soundtrack and was generally considered somewhat drab). The position commanded by Daft Punk is based on a lengthy spell of pioneering new avenues within electronic music that many would later traverse and further evolve. The mere inimitability of the album release following on from a week’s free streaming of the album on iTunes is a clear nod to their legendary status. Sure, their reputation precedes them. This, rather unfortunately, is also the root from which stems the splitting of opinions surrounding the album. Following the release of the album’s first single “Get Lucky”, the duo garnered considerable criticism that centred around the notion that the release was not worthy of the degree of hype that it had accompanied. Predicating opinions on matters outside of the music or musicians in question is inequitable and in this case comes across somewhat contrived.

Having based a large proportion of their most notable endeavours to date upon samples, Thomas Bangalter and Guy Manuel de Homem-Christo set about producing “RAM” to the greatest level of sincerity possible. This is abundantly evident from even the first track “Give Life Back to Music” where the claps have almost ever so slight nuances and unquenchable guitar riffs abounds with vivacity. The first track is almost arrogantly named such and unlike the majority of the album, which may not present itself in its full glory until the fourth or fifth listen, “Give Life Back to Music” is catchy, flawlessly produced and timeless. They even manage to incorporate the melee between their 21st century identity and it’s predecessor, hailing from the late 20th century, within the first track. The fantasy of returning to a time when music was scrupulously recorded from scratch in an analogue format is introduced early on in the album as a key concept upon which “RAM” is based. Today it is something of an ideology financially and logistically for most, and although we are grateful for the accessibility of music production, this style of production lends itself to a very different calibre of final product altogether.

“Giorgio by Moroder” a nine minute homage to the man behind Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love” and “Love to Love You Baby” features a brief interview with Moroder himself where he describes his love for the Moog synthesiser and the honesty that underpins his contributions to music. The track is a journey within a journey, where up-tempo moog melodies are punctuated with easy-listening jazz interludes, snippets of the interview, a deep groovy bass guitar solo and to top it all a chilling chorus of strings.

In track five the Strokes’ lead singer Julian Casablancas is drafted in, amongst a long list of musical who’s who, for “Instant Crush”. Another superbly varied track that begins vocal-heavy and downtempo, with a gently protracted intro that builds into a rock inspired five and a half minutes of electronica.

A central segment to the album consists of three consecutive tracks all featuring Pharrell Williams of N.E.R.D. fame. The omnipresent Nile Rodgers thankfully at hand as chief purveyor of funk. The raw grittiness of the electric guitar married beautifully in “Lose Yourself to Dance” with Pharrell’s high pitch; the two in such harmony with one another above a series of claps and percussion. An elegant composition that thrives on its simplicity and really sings with the addition of a vocoder in the central portion of the track.

Amongst the more upbeat offerings, there is a smattering of equally merit worthy tracks, albeit on entirely different grounds, from entirely separate climes. “The Game of Love” and “Within” are electronic pop ballad types, a description that under normal circumstances would conjure up painful and nauseating emotions. “Within” begins with a stunning recording of a piano solo that transports you to the pianist, feeling the texture of the ivory and the pressure on each key as it sounds. Such a far cry from what is expected from Daft Punk are these two tracks that truly absorbing and appreciating “The Game of Love” and “Within” is a little slower than most of “RAM”, even for the most open-minded of Daft Punk fans.

Even as I write this article, elements that have previously been shrouded with indecision, ease into place. Tracks such as “Fragments of Time”, featuring Todd Edwards, that had previously felt a little too overpowering, a little too saturated with funk and retro tones, develop into exceptional quality recordings, arranged seamlessly and in the context of the album, perfectly fitting and meaningful. Such is the wizardry of the musical nous of the Punks that where previously the message was clear and loud, “RAM” displays an entirely different skill set that goes beyond beats and melodies but focuses equally on composition, organisation, recording quality and balance.

The penultimate track on “RAM” contrasts again the music that comes before it, “Doin’ It Right” featuring the dreamy vocals of Panda Bear, winds down the album into a hypnotic utopia. The relaxed uplifting mood is but a brief sojourn as you ease into the final track “Contact”. After an entire album, the sound that you longed for when you started out on “Random Access Memories” finally arrives. Like a final goodbye… a thank you. The archetypal Daft Punk stamp embellishes “Contact”, a tension filled climax to the album laced with arpeggios that builds for almost five minutes with an ever-growing intensity. The finale suggestive of contact with another life form. Just cementing the notion that despite the retro sound and return to analogue recordings Daft Punk remain forward thinking.

Variety is a central theme to this album. The live recordings of numerous instruments and vocals permits an entire spectrum of sounds to be possible. Some of the influences from which ideas are drawn in the album are distinct, with a firm nod to disco but also to rock and pop amongst others. It is this variety that underlies the album alongside the quality of the recordings. There are tracks that sound like music that you could physically grasp and hold in your hands. A stark contrast to the over-polished studio recordings of today, and it is this basal background noise that gives the music meaning and makes it more compatible with human life, that is seldom itself free of imperfection.