Daft Punk - Album Cover
Homework is the debut album by the French Electronic House duo, Daft Punk, (then only 21 and 22). The eclectic pair met when they were just 12 years old. They would hang out, watch movies and attend gigs - then craft music with whatever they had at home. In September 1993, they had created a demo tape with their raw aesthetic, a mishmash of tracks that they didn’t envision being an album at all - which they handed over to a music producer at a rave at EuroDisney. A moment of fate.
Driven by nostalgia of their childhood and boisterous enjoyment, their early tracks were an explosion of experimental glory, fiercely inspired by the ever-changing technological advances around them. The transcendence into the future world and the process of seeing what comes out of their play drove them hard and fast. Tracks like Da Funk transformed dance floors into a sanctuary of underground movement with their garage-like approach to getting their raw music heard. They were unapologetic in the clumsy fact it wasn’t at all polished. Producers of the time were convinced it had to be created using in vogue recording software, only to discover it was thrown together using an old Roland TR-909 drum machine, three samplers and an array of synthesisers. It was this process, crafting from scratch, with their electric guitars, keyboards and other at home instruments which gave them the burning expressive desire to push creative boundaries.
Homework pioneered a highly digital sensory experience of distorted, future world beats; wild, fun, bouncy and repetitive. Grimy house sounds weaved into compositions of nostalgic yet futuristic form was bold and empirical for the era. This concept album is set in the techni-coloured futuristic galaxy of the duo, a totally unique world where innovation was desirable, to rebel against established approach, to seek out the entirely new. They were imagining a vibrant and detailed future world in sound; a robotic world, an omnipresence of technology where conventional “rules” for house music were non-existent. Society was in a wonderland of rainbow holographic parties, sweating glitter, mesmerised by the catchy, infectious, persistently endless loops of anamorphic vocals.
A contemporary, mystical and noisy new sphere is constructed through the amalgamation of neon ink, metallic acrylics, oil, water, milk and glitter. Digital image manipulation conceived a 3D world that is dynamic, energetically noisy and eminently detailed. Adopting the same principals of Michel Gondry, who produced the “Around The World” video, each medium represents an instrument in the song. The minimalism of the repeating vocals, the high-pitched and low-pitched synth, bass and drums - together, in psychedelic, tinny sounding unison was genius in its simplicity. Flecks of foil shot with slow shutter speed photography allow the galaxy to glow in the background.
A contemporary, mystical and noisy new sphere is constructed through the amalgamation of neon ink, metallic acrylics, oil, water, milk and glitter. Digital image manipulation conceived a 3D world that is dynamic, energetically noisy and eminently detailed. Adopting the same principals of Michel Gondry, who produced the “Around The World” video, each medium represents an instrument in the song. The minimalism of the repeating vocals, the high-pitched and low-pitched synth, bass and drums - together, in psychedelic, tinny sounding unison was genius in its simplicity. Flecks of foil shot with slow shutter speed photography allow the galaxy to glow in the background.
The inner gatefold composition is a closer look at the surface, depicting the moment in which we arrive on this new planetoid. We are captivated by the crevasses, the ebbs and flows, the highs and lows of Daft Punks colourful, revolutionary vision. Finally, the mixed tape takes prime position on the record label.
A metaphorical expression of their humble beginnings, from its origins to the present day. In 2021 the band announced their split. This new album will be a revival to pay homage to die-hard Daft Punk fans and the 30 years of the bands love of the esoteric.
