Homework | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 20 January 1997 (Europe) 25 March 1997 (U.S.) | |||
Recorded | 1994–1996 | |||
Studio | Daft House (Paris) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 73:53 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | ||||
Daft Punk chronology | ||||
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Singles from Homework | ||||
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Homework is the debut studio album by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released on 20 January 1997 by Virgin Records and Soma Quality Recordings. It was released in the US on 25 March 1997. [3]
Daft Punk received attention from major labels after releasing several popular singles on Soma Quality Recordings, and signed to Virgin in 1996. Daft Punk initially planned to release the music as separate singles, but decided they had enough material for an album. According to the Daft Punk member Thomas Bangalter, the album title was a reference to the fact that it was recorded cheaply and quickly in their homes.
Homework charted in 14 countries, reaching number 3 on the French Albums Chart, number 150 on the US Billboard 200 and number 8 on the UK Albums Chart. "Da Funk" and "Around the World" became U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play number-one singles, and "Around the World" reached number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. By February 2001, Homework had sold more than two million copies worldwide and received several gold and platinum certifications. It was influential on dance music and brought worldwide attention to French house.
In 1993, Daft Punk, comprising Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, presented a demo of their music to the DJ Stuart Macmillan at a rave at Disneyland Paris. [4] The contents of the cassette, including the track "Alive", were released on the single "The New Wave" on 11 April 1994, by Soma Quality Recordings, a Scottish techno and house label co-founded in 1991 by MacMillan's band Slam. [5] In 1995, Daft Punk released "Da Funk" and "Rollin' & Scratchin'" on Soma. [6] [7]
We've got much more control than money. You can't get everything. We live in a society where money is what people want, so they can't get the control. We chose. Control is freedom. People say we're control freaks, but control is controlling your destiny without controlling other people.
The popularity of the singles led to a bidding war among record labels. Daft Punk signed to Virgin Records in 1996. [9] [10] Richard Brown of Soma said: "We were obviously sad to lose them to Virgin but they had the chance to go big, which they wanted, and it's not very often that a band has that chance after two singles. We're happy for them." [4] Virgin re-released "Da Funk" with the B-side "Musique" in 1996, a year before releasing Homework. Bangalter later said that the B-side "was never intended to be on the album, and in fact, 'Da Funk' as a single has sold more units than Homework, so more people own it anyways [ sic ] than they would if it had been on the album. It is basically used to make the single a double-feature." [11] The album was mixed and recorded in Daft Punk's studio, Daft House in Paris. It was mastered by Nilesh Patel at the London studio the Exchange. [12]
Bangalter stated that "to be free, we had to be in control. To be in control, we had to finance what we were doing ourselves. The main idea was to be free." [13] Daft Punk discussed their method with Spike Jonze, the director of the "Da Funk" music video, who said: "They were doing everything based on how they wanted to do it. As opposed to, 'oh we got signed to this record company, we gotta use their plan.' They wanted to make sure they never had to do anything that would make them feel bummed on making music." [14] Although Virgin Records holds exclusive distribution rights over their material, Daft Punk owns their master recordings through their Daft Trax label. [9] [15]
Daft Punk produced the tracks included in Homework without a plan to release an album. According to Bangalter, "We did so many tracks over a period of five months that we realized that we had a good album." [16] They set the order of the tracks to cover the four sides of a two-disc vinyl LP. [11] Homem-Christo said, "There was no intended theme because all the tracks were recorded before we arranged the sequence of the album. The idea was to make the songs better by arranging them the way we did; to make it more even as an album." [11] The name Homework, Bangalter explained, relates to "the fact that we made the record at home, very cheaply, very quickly, and spontaneously, trying to do cool stuff". [17]
"Daftendirekt" is an excerpt of a live performance recorded in Ghent, Belgium. [12] It served as the introduction to Daft Punk's live shows and was used to begin the album. [11] The performance took place at the first I Love Techno, an event co-produced by Fuse and On the Rox on 10 November 1995. [20] Homework's following track, "WDPK 83.7 FM", is a tribute to FM radio in the United States. [13] The next song, "Revolution 909" is a reflection on the French government's stance on dance music. [11] [21] "Revolution 909" is followed by "Da Funk", which carries elements of funk and acid music. [4] According to Andrew Asch of the Boca Raton News , the song's composition "relies on a bouncy funk guitar to communicate its message of dumb fun". [22] Bangalter expressed that "Da Funk"'s theme involved the introduction of a simple, unusual element that becomes acceptable and moving over time. [23] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine complimented the song as "unrelenting", [24] and Bob Gajarsky of Consumable Online called it "a beautiful meeting of Chic (circa 'Good Times', sans vocals) and the 90s form of electronica". [25]
"Phoenix" combines elements of gospel music and house music. [26] Daft Punk considered "Fresh" breezy and light with a comical structure. [27] "Around the World" carries influences of Gershon Kingsley's hit "Popcorn". [4] Chris Power of BBC Music named it "one of the decade's catchiest singles". He stated that it was "a perfect example of Daft Punk's sound at its most accessible: a post-disco boogie bassline, a minimalist sprinkling of synthetic keyboard melody and a single, naggingly insistent hook". [19] "Teachers" is a riff on the Parris Mitchell song "Ghetto Shout Out!!", released in 1995 on Dance Mania. [28] The track is a tribute to several of Daft Punk's house music influences, including future collaborators Romanthony, DJ Sneak and Todd Edwards. [29] "Oh Yeah" features DJ Deelat and DJ Crabbe. "Indo Silver Club" features a sample of "Hot Shot" by Karen Young. [12] The final track, "Funk Ad", is a reversed clip of "Da Funk". [11]
The artwork for the front cover and inner sleeve was conceived by Daft Punk and photographed by artist and film producer Nicolas Hidiroglou. He met the duo through a connection at Virgin Records, and recalled that it took a week to complete the artwork. Homem-Christo had previously designed the Daft Punk wordmark, which was the basis for the front image of the logo embroidered onto the back of a satin jacket. [30] Variations of the logo would continue to be the front cover image for all of Daft Punk's studio albums until Random Access Memories in 2013.
To create the inner gatefold photo, various items representing track titles were arranged by Bangalter on a table at his home. [30] He noted that many of the pieces reflect Daft Punk's influences, including: a DJ Funk audio cassette; a card with a logo of The Beach Boys; a Kiss tour poster; and a 1970s compilation record featuring Barry Manilow. Other mementos include a token from the Rex Club, the venue in Paris where Daft Punk first performed as DJs. The wall behind the table contains a photo of Homem-Christo singing as part of the duo's first band Darlin', as well as the Darlin' logo next to a portrait of Homem-Christo as a small child. [31]
The black and white image of the duo in the liner notes was photographed by Phillppe Lévy. [12] It was shot during an event in Wisconsin called Even Furthur in 1996, featuring Daft Punk's first live performance in the United States. [32] Additional artwork and the album layout were done by Serge Nicholas. [12]
The first single, "Alive", was included as a B-side on the single "The New Wave", released in April 1994. The next single, "Da Funk", was initially released in 1995 by Soma and was rereleased by Virgin Records in January 1997. [33] It was Daft Punk's first number-one single on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart. [34] The song reached number seven on British and French charts. [35] [36] The third single, "Around the World", was Daft Punk's second number-one single on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart, [34] and reached number 11 in Australia, [37] number five in the United Kingdom [38] and number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. [39]
The fourth single, "Burnin'", was released in September 1997 and reached number 30 in the UK. [38] The final single, "Revolution 909", was released in February 1998 and reached number 47 in the UK [38] and number 12 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart. [39] Prior to its inclusion on Homework, "Indo Silver Club" was released as a single on the Soma Quality Recordings label in two parts. [40] The single lacked an artist credit in the packaging [40] and was thought to have been created by the nonexistent producers Indo Silver Club. [41]
In 1999, Daft Punk released a video collection featuring music videos of tracks and singles from the album under the name of D.A.F.T.: A Story About Dogs, Androids, Firemen and Tomatoes . Although its title derives from the appearances of dogs ("Da Funk" and "Fresh"), androids ("Around the World"), firemen ("Burnin'"), and tomatoes ("Revolution 909") in the videos, a cohesive plot does not connect its episodes. [42]
Daft Punk wanted the majority of pressings to be on vinyl, so only 50,000 albums were initially printed in CD format. After its release, production was accelerated to meet demand. Homework was distributed in 35 countries, [9] reaching number 150 on the Billboard 200. [43] It charted on the Australian Albums Chart on 27 April 1997; it remained there for eight weeks and reached number 37. [44] In France, it reached number three and stayed on the chart for 82 weeks. By October 1997, Homework had sold 220,000 copies worldwide. [45] In 1999, it was certified gold in France for selling more than 100,000 copies. [46] On 11 July 2001, it was certified gold in the US for sales of 500,000 copies. [47] According to Virgin Records, two million copies had been sold by February 2001. [48] By September 2007, 605,000 copies had been sold in the US. [49]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [50] |
Robert Christgau | [51] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [52] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+ [53] |
The Guardian | [54] |
Los Angeles Times | [55] |
Muzik | 10/10 [56] |
NME | 7/10 [57] |
Pitchfork | 7.6/10 [58] |
Q | [59] |
David Browne, writing in Entertainment Weekly , described the "playful, hip-hopping ambient techno" and said Homework was "ideal disco for androids". [53] Darren Gawle of Drop-D Magazine wrote that "Homework is the work of a couple of DJs who sound amateurish at best". [60] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice identified "Da Funk" as a "choice cut", indicating "a good song on an album that isn't worth your time as money". [61] [62] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine wrote that "while a few tracks are more daft than deft", "Da Funk" had inspired acts such as the Avalanches. [24] Sean Cooper of AllMusic called the album "an almost certain classic". [50] [ when? ]
In 2003, Pitchfork named Homework the 65th-greatest album of the 1990s. [63] In the 2004 Rolling Stone Album Guide , Douglas Wolk awarded Homework three out of five, writing that "the duo's essential, career-defining insight is that the problem with disco the first time around was not that it was stupid but that it was not stupid enough". [64] In the 2005 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die , Alex Rayner wrote that Homework tied established club styles to the "burgeoning eclecticism" of big beat, and demonstrated that "there was more to dance music than pills and keyboard presets". [65] Ian Mathers of Stylus Magazine wrote: "There's a core of unimpeachably classic work on Homework, hidden among the merely good, and when you've got such a classic debut hidden in the outlines of the epic slouch of their debut, it's hard not to get frustrated." [66]
In 2009, Brian Linder of IGN said Homework was "groundbreaking achievement", praising the combination of house, techno, acid and punk. [67] Reviewing it in 2010 for BBC Music, Chris Power compared Homework's "less-is-more" use of compression as "a sonic tribute" to the FM radio stations that "fed Daft Punk's youthful obsessions". [19] In 2011, Hua Hsu of eMusic praised the "feeling of discovery and exploration" as a result of "years of careful study of the finest house, techno, electro and hip-hop records". [68] That October, NME named "Around the World" the 21st-best track of the preceding 15 years. [69] In 2012, Clash described Homework as an entry point of accessibility for a "burgeoning movement on the cusp of splitting the mainstream seam". [70]
In 2012, Rolling Stone named Homework the greatest EDM album of all time, describing it as "pure synapse-tweaking brilliance". [71] In a second review for Pitchfork, in 2018, Larry Fitzmaurice awarded it 9.2 out of 10, writing: "Homework remains singular within Daft Punk's catalog, the record also set the stage for the duo's career to this very day—a massively successful and still-going ascent to pop iconography, built on the magic trick-esque ability to twist the shapes of dance music's past to resemble something seemingly futuristic." [72] Homework's success brought worldwide attention to French house music. [63] [73] According to Scott Woods of The Village Voice, the album revived house music and departed from the Eurodance formula, and "[tore] the lid off the [creative] sewer". [74]
On 22 February 2022, one year after their breakup, Daft Punk updated their social media channels with cryptic posts leading fans to a newly created Twitch account. At 2:22pm UTC, a one-time only stream began of the duo's full Daftendirektour performance at the Mayan Theater. [75] At the same time, Daft Punk released an expanded 25th-anniversary edition of Homework. It includes remixes from DJ Sneak, Masters at Work, Todd Terry, Motorbass, Slam and Ian Pooley. The remixes were also simultaneously released as a separate remix album, Homework (Remixes) , [76] with a physical release on 25 November 2022. [77] [78]
All music is composed by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Daftendirekt" | 2:45 |
2. | "WDPK 83.7 FM" | 0:28 |
3. | "Revolution 909" | 5:26 |
4. | "Da Funk" | 5:30 |
5. | "Phoenix" | 4:57 |
6. | "Fresh" | 4:03 |
7. | "Around the World" | 7:10 |
8. | "Rollin' & Scratchin'" | 7:28 |
9. | "Teachers" | 2:53 |
10. | "High Fidelity" | 6:03 |
11. | "Rock'n Roll" | 7:33 |
12. | "Oh Yeah" | 2:03 |
13. | "Burnin'" | 6:53 |
14. | "Indo Silver Club" | 4:35 |
15. | "Alive" | 5:15 |
16. | "Funk Ad" | 0:51 |
Total length: | 73:53 |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Belgium (BEA) [108] | Platinum | 50,000* |
Canada (Music Canada) [109] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
France (SNEP) [46] | Platinum | 300,000* |
Netherlands (NVPI) [110] | Gold | 50,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [111] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [112] | Platinum | 345,009 [113] |
United States (RIAA) [47] | Gold | 674,000 [114] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Daft Punk is a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved early popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining elements of house music with funk, disco, techno, rock and synth-pop. They are regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music.
Discovery is the second studio album by the former French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released on 12 March 2001 by Virgin Records. It marked a shift from the Chicago house of their first album, Homework (1997), to a house style more heavily inspired by disco, post-disco, garage house, and R&B. Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk described Discovery as an exploration of song structures, musical forms and childhood nostalgia, compared to the "raw" electronic music of Homework.
Daft Club is the first remix album by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released on 1 December 2003 by Virgin Records. The album features numerous remixes of tracks from their second album, Discovery (2001), and one from their debut, Homework (1997).
Alive 1997 is the first live album by French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released on 1 October 2001 by Virgin Records. It contains a 45-minute excerpt of a live performance recorded during Daftendirektour at Birmingham's Que Club on 8 November 1997.
Human After All is the third studio album by French electronic music duo Daft Punk, first released on 14 March 2005 through Virgin Records. Unlike their previous studio album Discovery (2001), whose sound was inspired by disco and garage house and produced over the period of two years, Human After All was more minimalistic and improvisational with a mixture of heavier guitars and electronics, and was produced in six weeks.
Thomas Bangalter is a French musician, record producer, singer, songwriter, DJ and composer. He is best known as one half of the former French house music duo Daft Punk, alongside Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. He has recorded and released music as a member of the trio Stardust, the duo Together, as well as a solo artist. Bangalter's work has influenced a wide range of artists in various genres.
"Robot Rock" is the lead single from Daft Punk's third studio album Human After All. The single was released initially on 11 April 2005 with a music video, directed by and featuring the duo, preceding the single's release. While the single reached a moderately high chart position, many critics found the song overly repetitive when compared to songs from their other studio albums at the time. It features a sample of "Release the Beast" performed by Breakwater.
"Around the World" is a song by French electronic music duo Daft Punk. It was written by the duo and released in April 1997 by Virgin as the second single from their debut studio album, Homework (1997). The song became a major club hit globally and reached number one on the dance charts in Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It also peaked at number one in Iceland and Italy. The song's lyrics solely consist of the words "around the world", repeated on loop for a total of 144 times in the album version. The music video was directed by Michel Gondry and choreographed by Blanca Li. In October 2011, NME placed it at number 21 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
"Revolution 909" is an instrumental track from French electronic music duo Daft Punk's debut album, Homework (1997). The song was released by Virgin as the fifth and final single from the album in February 1998. The music video for the track was directed by Roman Coppola.
"Da Funk" is an instrumental track by French electronic music duo Daft Punk, initially released as a 12-inch single in May 1995 by Soma and Virgin and later included on their debut album, Homework (1997). Prior to its inclusion on the album, "Da Funk" received little attention and was limited to 2,000 copies. The song and its accompanying music video directed by Spike Jonze are considered classics of 1990s house music. It went on to sell 30,000 copies in 1997. A reversed clip of the song was also released on Homework as "Funk Ad", which is the final track on the album.
"Burnin'" is an instrumental track from French electronic music duo Daft Punk's debut album, Homework (1997). It was the fourth single released from the album. The accompanying music video for the track was directed by French photographer and video director Seb Janiak. The song later had a remix entitled "Extravaganza", created by Korean band BanYa for the dance video game Pump It Up. Elements of "Burnin'" were combined with the song "Too Long" in Daft Punk's live album Alive 2007.
"Music Sounds Better with You" is the only record by the French house trio Stardust, released on 20 July 1998. Stardust comprised the Daft Punk member Thomas Bangalter, the DJ Alan Braxe and the vocalist Benjamin Diamond.
Musique Vol. 1 1993–2005 is an anthology by Daft Punk released in Japan on 29 March 2006, in the United Kingdom on 3 April 2006, and in the United States on 4 April 2006. A special edition includes a bonus DVD with 12 music videos—two of which are new, "The Prime Time of Your Life" and "Robot Rock ". Due to time constraints on the audio CD, some of the tracks are shorter edits. The song "Digital Love" appears only in the digital release and Japan edition. The DVD edition was rated 15 by the BBFC, due to the content of "The Prime Time of Your Life" video.
French electronic music duo Daft Punk released four studio albums, two live albums, three compilation albums, one soundtrack album, five remix albums, two video albums, twenty-two singles and nineteen music videos. Group members Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo met in 1987 while studying at the Lycée Carnot secondary school. They subsequently recorded several demo tracks together, forming Daft Punk in 1993. Their debut single "The New Wave" was released the following year on the Soma Quality Recordings label. Daft Punk first found commercial success with the release of their second single "Da Funk", which peaked at number seven in France and topped the United States Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.
Alive 2007 is the second live album by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released on 19 November 2007 by Virgin Records. It features Daft Punk's performance at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy arena in Paris on 14 June 2007 during their Alive tour. The set features an assortment of Daft Punk's music, incorporated with synthesisers, mixers and live effects.
"Face to Face" is a single by French electronic music duo Daft Punk, featuring vocals and co-production by American house music producer Todd Edwards. It was released on their second studio album Discovery (2001) and as a promotional single on 10 October 2003. As part of Discovery, the song appears in the film Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, and the section of the film in which the song appears serves as its music video.
Tron: Legacy is the soundtrack album to the 2010 film of the same name, released by Walt Disney Records on December 3, 2010. It is the only film score by French music duo Daft Punk.
"One More Time" is a song by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released as the lead single from their second studio album, Discovery (2001), on 13 November 2000. It was shipped to radio in January 2001. It is a French house song featuring an auto-tuned vocal performance by Romanthony and a sample of "More Spell on You" by Eddie Johns. The music video forms part of the 2003 anime film Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem. "One More Time" reached number one on the French Singles Chart, number two on the UK Singles Chart, and number 61 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Random Access Memories is the fourth and final studio album by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released on 17 May 2013 through Columbia Records. It pays tribute to late 1970s and early 1980s American music, particularly from Los Angeles. This theme is reflected in the packaging and promotional campaign, which included billboards, television advertisements and a web series. Recording sessions took place from 2008 to 2012 at Henson, Conway and Capitol Studios in California, Electric Lady Studios in New York City, and Gang Recording Studio in Paris, France.