Infinity Repeating (2013 Demo)

Last updated
"Infinity Repeating (2013 Demo)"
Single by Daft Punk and Julian Casablancas + The Voidz
from the album Random Access Memories (10th Anniversary Edition)
Released12 May 2023 (2023-05-12)
Recorded2010 - 2012 [1]
Genre
Length
  • 4:00
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Thomas Bangalter
  • Julian Casablancas
  • Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
Daft Punk singles chronology
"GLBTM (Studio Outtakes)"
(2023)		"Infinity Repeating (2013 Demo)"
(2023)		"Within (Drumless Edition)"
(2023)
Music video
"Infinity Repeating (2013 Demo)" on YouTube

"Infinity Repeating" is a demo written, produced, and performed by French electronic music duo Daft Punk and American musician Julian Casablancas, along with Casablancas' band The Voidz handling additional instrumentation. Included as part of the 10th anniversary edition of Random Access Memories , it was released the same day as the reissue on 12 May 2023. It is considered by Daft Punk to be their "last song ever." [2]

Contents

Production

Daft Punk first met Casablancas in 2010 during their work on the soundtrack to Tron: Legacy through their mutual friend Warren Fu. [3] While working on tracks for Random Access Memories, Casablancas heard the instrumental demo for "Infinity Repeating," which Daft Punk said they had no intentions to finish. After Casablancas expressed a desire to write to the song, he recorded vocals thinking that another collaborator like Stevie Wonder might sing in his place. [4]

The song was not included on the original release of the album, but Casablancas revealed the song's existence in several interviews. [5] Casablancas called the song "weird" and "not one tenth as pop-u-licious" as "Instant Crush," his other collaboration with the duo. When describing it, Casablancas said the song was "like four half-steps up, moving as that on cycle, on repeat," saying he thought it was more bizarre than any song that had released on the finished album. [6]

Release and promotion

Backstage after finishing a concert from the Voidz in 2014, Casablancas met with Thomas Bangalter and urged him to release the song. [7] In 2020, Casablancas expressed he had tried to collaborate with Daft Punk again, but that they were not working on music as a duo at the time. [8] On 22 February 2021, Daft Punk announced they had split. [9] Exactly two years later, on 22 February 2023, Daft Punk announced a 10th anniversary edition of Random Access Memories would be released later that year. [10] The track was confirmed to be included in the weeks after the reissue's announcement. [11]

The week before the reissue's release, coordinates and the date of 11 May 2023 appeared in Spotify visualizers for specific songs off the original album, teasing a global event happening in ten cities: Berlin, Buenos Aires, London, Mexico City, New York City, Paris, Santa Monica, São Paulo, Sydney, and Tokyo. [12] [13] Attendees at the ten cities were able to participate in a geolocated scavenger hunt, using Snapchat to reveal Monoliths playing portions of the music video for "Infinity Repeating," along with snippets of the song. [14] [15] [16]

In promotion of the reissue, Daft Punk released an eight-part video series called Memory Tapes, featuring many of the album's collaborators discussing the duo's work, legacy, and split. [17] Casablancas discussed the song and "Instant Crush" in the first episode of the series, saying "Infinity Repeating" was a fitting song to "end Daft Punk on forever," while also joking that the idea was "dramatic" as he did not believe in the permanence of the split. [18] [19]

Music video

Daft Punk approached regular collaborator Warren Fu about directing a video to the song. They gave him creative freedom and recommended using animation as the duo were officially split and thought it would not be right for them to appear in the video themselves. [20] The video for the song premiered on 11 May 2023 at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France. [21] [22] The video was produced from Partizan Studio in association with Daft Life and features work from dozens of animators from Picnic Studios, H5 Studio, and Light Studios. The music video and the song are both based on an infinity loop. [23] [24] After showing a circle slowly develop into an animated walk cycle of a humanoid, the humanoid becomes more advanced, self-destructs, and returns to the starting image of a circle. The video contains many references to Daft Punk's previous work. Fu called the project "especially dear" to him, saying: “Like a lot of the robots’ music, I wanted to create something simple and hypnotic on the surface, that reveals more upon repeat listens and viewings.” [3] A four-part video series on the making of the video was released by Partizan Studio and Daft Life in December 2023. The series contains interviews with the animators from the three studios, as well as with director Warren Fu. [25] [26]

The video won the UK Music Video Award for "Best Animation in a Video" at the 2023 ceremonies. [27] [28] The video competed in the music video competition at 2024 SXSW Film & TV Festival. [29] At the 28th Annual Webby Awards, the video won the People’s Voice Award for Animation in a General Video. [30]

Collaborator DJ Falcon in an episode of Memory Tapes specifically praised the thematic choice to end Daft Punk with the song and the imagery of the video. He called the duo sampling their favorite artists and ending by working with them a closed loop, stating "there's nothing you can add to this; this is it." [31]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daft Punk</span> French electronic music duo

Daft Punk were 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. The duo garnered further acclaim and commercial success and are now regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Casablancas</span> American singer (born 1978)

Julian Fernando Casablancas is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band The Strokes, with whom he has released six studio albums since their founding in 1998. Casablancas released a solo studio album, Phrazes for the Young, in 2009, and has released two albums with the experimental rock band The Voidz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daft Punk discography</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DJ Falcon</span> French DJ, record producer, and photographer

Stéphane Quême, known as DJ Falcon, is a French DJ, record producer and photographer. He is the brother of Delphine Quême (Quartet) and a cousin of Alan Braxe.

<i>Random Access Memories</i> 2013 studio album by Daft Punk

Random Access Memories is the fourth and final studio album by the French electronic 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 album's packaging, as well as its 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Get Lucky (Daft Punk song)</span> 2013 single by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers

"Get Lucky" is a song written and performed by French electronic music duo Daft Punk featuring American singer Pharrell Williams and American guitarist Nile Rodgers. Daft Punk released the song as the lead single from their fourth and final studio album, Random Access Memories, on 19 April 2013. Before its release as a single, "Get Lucky" was featured in television advertisements broadcast during Saturday Night Live, after which Rodgers and Williams announced their involvement in the track. "Get Lucky" is a house-inspired disco, funk, and pop track with lyrics that, according to Williams, are about the good fortune of connecting with someone, as well as sexual chemistry. "Get Lucky" has since received acclaim from critics, with a number of them praising Williams's vocals and Rodgers's guitar riffs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lose Yourself to Dance</span> 2013 single by Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams

"Lose Yourself to Dance" is a song by French electronic music duo Daft Punk and American musician Pharrell Williams. Like their previous collaboration with fellow American musician Nile Rodgers, "Get Lucky", the song was written for Daft Punk's fourth studio album Random Access Memories (2013).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Give Life Back to Music</span> 2014 single by Daft Punk

"Give Life Back to Music" is a song written and recorded by French electronic music duo Daft Punk for their fourth studio album, Random Access Memories. It is the opening track on the album. The song features lyrics performed by Daft Punk using vocoders. "Give Life Back to Music" also features album collaborators Nile Rodgers on guitar and Chilly Gonzales on keyboards. The song includes guitar work by Paul Jackson, Jr. and additional keyboards by Chris Caswell, with drums by John "J.R." Robinson and bass by Nathan East. The song was distributed to radio stations on 31 January 2014 as the album's fifth overall single and the final single from the album in 2014. Before this, it charted in France, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

"Giorgio by Moroder" is a song written and recorded by French electronic music duo Daft Punk for their fourth studio album, Random Access Memories (2013). It is the third track on the album. The song features a monologue by Italian musician Giorgio Moroder, who speaks about his early life and musical career. "Giorgio by Moroder" charted in France and Sweden due to downloads of the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darkside (band)</span> American electronica band

Darkside is an American band based in New York City. The band was formed in Providence, Rhode Island in 2011 by electronic musician Nicolás Jaar and multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington, both of whom were students at Brown University at the time. Their debut studio album, Psychic, was released in 2013 and was followed up by Spiral, released in 2021 after a hiatus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Instant Crush</span> 2013 single by Daft Punk featuring Julian Casablancas

"Instant Crush" is a song written, produced, and performed by French electronic music duo Daft Punk featuring American musician Julian Casablancas. It was released as the fourth single from Daft Punk's fourth studio album, Random Access Memories (2013), on 22 November 2013. It was number 58 on Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Best Songs of 2013 list.

Warren Fu is an American music video director, illustrator and designer. He has directed videos for artists such as the Weeknd, Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams, The Strokes, the Killers, Hayley Williams, Mark Ronson and Julian Casablancas. Fu is signed to Partizan Entertainment worldwide for commercials and music videos, and Creative Artists Agency for feature films. He was also responsible for designing the concept art for General Grievous, one of the main antagonists in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

"Fragments of Time" is a song by written, produced, and performed by French electronic music duo Daft Punk and American musician Todd Edwards. It is included in the duo's 2013 album Random Access Memories. "Fragments of Time" charted in France and the United States due to digital downloads of the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Voidz</span> American rock band

The Voidz are an American rock band. They consist of Julian Casablancas (vocals), Jeramy "Beardo" Gritter (guitar), Amir Yaghmai (guitar), Jacob "Jake" Bercovici, Alex Carapetis (drums), and Jeff Kite (keyboards).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Kite</span> Musical artist

Jeff Kite is an American musician, composer, producer and member of the band, The Voidz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human Sadness</span> 2014 single by Julian Casablancas + The Voidz

"Human Sadness" is the debut single by American rock band Julian Casablancas + The Voidz. It was released on September 2, 2014 via Casablancas' indie record label Cult Records and is from their debut album Tyranny. The song is nearly eleven minutes long.

"Touch" is a song written and recorded by French electronic music duo Daft Punk and American singer-songwriter Paul Williams. "Touch" serves as the seventh track from the group's fourth studio album, Random Access Memories (2013). The song was featured in the American thriller TV series, Mr. Robot, and Daft Punk's farewell video, "Epilogue".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Voidz discography</span>

This article presents the complete discography of The Voidz.

<i>Random Access Memories (10th Anniversary Edition)</i> 2023 compilation album by Daft Punk

Random Access Memories is the third compilation album by French electronic duo Daft Punk. It is an anniversary reissue of the duo's final studio album Random Access Memories containing an extra disc with 35 minutes of bonus content, including unreleased demos and outtakes. The reissue was released on 12 May 2023.

References

  1. ↑ Ghosn, Joseph; Wicker, Olivier (18 April 2013). "Daft Punk Revient Avec Random Access Memories". Obsession. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  2. ↑ "Listen to the last Daft Punk song ever, "Infinity Repeating"". The FADER. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  3. 1 2 Cohen, Jonathan (12 May 2023). "Watch Daft Punk Evolve Through The Ages In 'Infinity Repeating' Video". Spin. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  4. ↑ Grow, Kory (2023-05-12). "See Video for Daft Punk Rarity That Julian Casablancas Hoped Stevie Wonder Would Sing". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  5. ↑ Reed, Ryan (2014-03-31). "Casablancas Reveals Second Daft Punk Collab". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  6. ↑ "Julian Casablancas Says His Second Daft Punk Song Is "Super Bizarre"". Pitchfork. 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  7. ↑ "Julian Casablancas Details Weird Second Daft Punk Collaboration He Wants Released". Stereogum. 2014-11-13. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  8. ↑ Skinner, Tom (2020-12-03). "Julian Casablancas reveals he's been "trying to do something" with Daft Punk". NME. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  9. ↑ "Daft Punk Break Up". Pitchfork. 2021-02-22. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  10. ↑ Harris, Rachel (2004-12-23), "Memories of Music, Memories through Music", Singing the Village, British Academy, doi:10.5871/bacad/9780197262979.003.0004, ISBN   978-0-19-726297-9 , retrieved 2023-09-01
  11. ↑ "The Voidz and Daft Punk Announce Infinity Repeating (2013 Demo) (feat". Cult Records Store. 2023-04-26. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  12. ↑ "Sur Snapchat, les fans de Daft Punk peuvent découvrir un titre inédit". ladepeche.fr (in French). Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  13. ↑ Davis, Sam (2023-05-05). "Daft Punk Teases Fans with Mysterious Spotify Update | Merca2.0". Revista Merca2.0. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  14. ↑ Shaul, Brandy (2023-05-10). "Snapchat Celebrates Daft Punk With Worldwide AR Experiences". www.adweek.com. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  15. ↑ "Daft Punk unleashes a series of unique AR experiences around the world". Mixmag Asia. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  16. ↑ "AR Studio Workshop: "Daft Punk: Memories Unlocked" by the AR Studio Team". Snap. Retrieved 2023-10-05.
  17. ↑ "Daft Punk launch 'Memory Tapes' YouTube series". faroutmagazine.co.uk. 2023-08-01. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  18. ↑ "Daft Punk Presents "Memory Tapes" Video Series to Celebrate Random Access Memories' 10th Anniversary". INDIE THIRST. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  19. ↑ Daft Punk - Memory Tapes - Episode 1 - Julian Casablancas (Official Video) , retrieved 2023-09-01
  20. ↑ Daft Punk - The Making of Infinity Repeating - Part 1 , retrieved 2023-12-16
  21. ↑ "Daft Punk Share Previously Unreleased Julian Casablancas Collab "Infinity Repeating": Listen". Stereogum. 2023-05-12. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  22. ↑ "Daft Punk to premiere unreleased track, 'Infinity Repeating,' in Paris this week · News ⟋ RA". Resident Advisor. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  23. ↑ "Daft Punk Premiering Unreleased Song at Paris' Pompidou Center". Pitchfork. 2023-05-09. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  24. ↑ Meadow, Matthew (2023-05-12). "Daft Punk release 10th anniversary 'RAM' album with "last song ever" -- "Infinity Repeating"". Your EDM. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  25. ↑ "Daft Punk share 'Infinity Repeating' creation video: Watch". DJMag.com. 2023-12-15. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  26. ↑ Uitti, Jacob (2023-12-16). "New Song Saturday: Hear New Tracks from Killer Mike, Daft Punk, Noel Gallagher, and More". American Songwriter. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
  27. ↑ "UK Music Video Awards 2023: Nominations Revealed Ahead of Awards Ceremony | LBBOnline". www.lbbonline.com. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
  28. ↑ Promonews. "UK Music Video Awards 2023: all the winners announced at ceremony tonight | News". Promonewstv. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  29. ↑ Complex, Valerie (2024-01-10). "SXSW Lineup Sets 'The Fall Guy', '3 Body Problem' Among Fest's 2024 World Premieres As First Titles Revealed". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  30. ↑ Tinoco, Armando (2024-04-23). "Webby Awards Winners List: Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Ryan Gosling, Keke Palmer, Shannon Sharpe & Julia Louis-Dreyfus Among Honored". Deadline. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  31. ↑ Daft Punk - Memory Tapes - Episode 4 - DJ Falcon (Official Video) , retrieved 2023-09-01
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.