DAFT PUNK
OF AND THE
EVOLUTION
The 70s was an incredibly fertile era for music. Within the many revolutions capsuled in this decade, there lies the baby steps and popularisation of punk, hip-hop and disco. All three were born from aggravated minority cultures, creating something to put their struggles into, and channel into a vigourous energy. Punk derived from the working class in England and America, hip-hop from African-Americans in New York, and disco from ethnic minorities and LGBT communities along the East Coast of the US. All three birthed from the frustration towards higher powers and mainstream culture. All three would be the deep roots of a musical project that, through cultural osmosis and continuous reinvention of their genre, has become dance music’s greatest contributor - Daft Punk. Hip-hop is a subtle influence on Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo. Not only do both parties champion boombap and 808-based beats, but DP also took on board the practise of shifting parts from an existing song, and repurposing it in their own - sampling. Producers and DJs from the Bronx were involved in developing this art form even in its inception, preserving and rejuvenating records that are potentially lost to history, while injecting their own creativity and self-identity in and around the sample. Not only does it provide an aural reference point for listeners, it can also demonstrate what music exactly inspires the artists they enjoy, such as when The Roots
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DISCO HIP-HOP & PUNK
flipped Afrobeat originator and human rights activist Fela Kuti on the aptly-styled “I Will Not Apologise”. The use of vocal effects in Daft Punk’s music was also nabbed from elite hip-hop producers, particularly the ever-innovator Dr. Dre, and enhanced the stylistic poinience of the duo’s vocals as classic tracks like “California Love” did before them. Punk had a short history, but through the process of evolution, has enjoyed a lifetime of ascendancy, and is a close species to electronic/dance music. One can look at the similarly independent, DIY mantra, an energy which coursed through both genres to influence culture through sheer force of will. The most poignant example of the convergence of punk and electronic music is Joy Division - a band that evolved punk by bringing its unfiltered emotion to outside inspirations, notably synthesized projects like Kraftwerk and Bowie’s Berlin trilogy, to create post-punk. After the suicide of frontman Ian Curtis, the remaining members would go on to regroup as New Order, the frontrunners of new wave, incorporating elements of dance and electronic music. Thomas and Guy-Man are certainly descendants of the punk timeline, even starting out in an indie-punk band called Darlin’.
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