daft punk
The world of electronic music is currently coming to terms with news of an international ruse which has seen former Kraftwerk member Wolfgang Flür reportedly tricked into a false collaboration with Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter.
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Flür, who rose to fame as part of Kraftwerk between 1973 and 1987, issued his third solo album, Times, on Friday (March 28). Early reports of the record indicated the effort was a star-studded affair, featuring collaborations with the likes of Yello’s Boris Blank, New Order’s Peter Hook, and more. One of the most notable collaborations was with Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter, who was to be credited on the record under the name Thomas Vangarde.
According to a recent interview with Flür, the apparent collaboration began innocently enough when Bangalter got in touch with the veteran musician via social media to request a signed copy of Flür’s 2022 album, Magazine 1. “He said, ‘It’s so wonderful. Can I have a signed album? I collect albums but it must be signed personally from you. We love you guys. Without Kraftwerk we would not find our own robot style, being on stage with the helmets, you know. And I love you Wolfgang. And please, can you send me [an album]?’”
After the signed record landed at Bangalter’s house, Flür explained that he suggested the two work together on a track. Following some technical alterations to ensure Bangalter’s contributions fit the key of the initial musical ideas, his work was combined with Hook’s bass line, and both Flür and musical partner Peter Duggal completed the track. The final record actually features two songs credited to Bangalter/Vangarde; “Über_All” and “Monday to the Moon.”
However, following the release of Flür’s Times album, Daft Punk archivist Luke Perez took to their blog to confirm the collaboration was in fact a hoax, outlining the chronology of events that led up to the release of the final product.
According to research conducted by Perez, Flür had spoken about being contacted by Bangalter via Facebook back in 2023, admitting he was unaware of the Daft Punk member or his influence at the time.
Though initially suspicious of the news, given the reclusive social media presence of Daft Punk and its members, Perez further noted that something seemed amiss when Thomas Vangarde was credited on the record instead of Bangalter. Further compounding the mystery was the fact that Bangalter’s father had reportedly used the surname as a moniker during his own musical past, providing a reasonable explanation for the different name.
Ultimately, Perez concluded by mentioning that an individual in close contact with Daft Punk’s management had confirmed that Bangalter was not behind the collaboration with Flür, and that the former Kraftwerk musician had been duped by an as-yet-unknown individual on social media.
“I’m assuming the fake Bangalter must have convinced Flür’s camp that he was now going by Thomas Vangarde in some sort of effort to cover their tracks,” Perez concluded in their post. “Bizarrely, it seems no one in the real Thomas Bangalter’s sphere found out about this or brought this up to him until after the tracks released despite over two years of this being known about. It’s equally bizarre that at no point did Cherry Red Records (or any other involved party) question or debunk this bold claim that Thomas Bangalter was involved.”
Daft Punk officially announced their split in 2021, having not released new music since their fourth and final studio album, 2013’s Random Access Memories. The record was their first to top the Billboard 200, and earned the group five Grammys, including album of the year and best dance/electronic album, while lead single “Get Lucky” took out record of the year and best pop duo/group performance.
Since their dissolution, Bangalter has been active musically, curating scores for ballet, film, and other art projects, while fellow Daft Punk member Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo has remained active in the world of production.
You can add ska-punk legends Fishbone to the increasingly lengthy list of musicians who are not fans of Donald Trump. The veteran band released a pointed broadside against convicted felon Trump on Thursday (Oct. 31), just days before the Nov. 5 presidential election.
“Proud to have this new song out… it was actually written back in 2017, but never got on tape until now. Sad part is that it’s only gotten worse,” the band wrote on Instagram about the bubbling verbal takedown “Racist Piece of S–t” (also tagged as “RxPxOxS” to seemingly beat censors.)
“Here’s the thing, this song pulled no punches… if you are a fan of this band from the start, you know we have never been shy of speaking our truth,” they wrote on Instagram of the track whose lyric video features a cascade of news headlines about the deadly January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
And, indeed, the lyrics to the two-tone takedown are precise and concise. “I see you coming down the street/ With tiki torches and hate speech/ You’re not a proud boy/ You’re just a F$@k Boy/ Drinking the kool aid Of a mad orange king,” singer Angelo Moore spits in reference to the white supremacist rally Charlottesville in 2017 in which neo-Nazis spewed antisemitic and racist hates speech at an event where Trump said there were “very fine people on both sides.”
The song continues with lyrics aimed at one of the celebrity supporters of the former reality star, before getting to the pointed chorus. “Another Kid Rock/ With all the hate talk/ Murder Sickness global crisis coup d’état vanilla isis/ Ohhhh.. you’re just a racist piece of s–t,” Moore sings, adding, “The Power zombies said/ Let’s put this lie to bed/ Here’s an ignorant pillow for your empty racist head.”
“As artists, this is our platform, be it music, art or words. If you don’t agree, that’s fine,” Fishbone said in their statement. “Just don’t come in here telling us to shut up and dribble, you are talking to the wrong brothers. We speak our reality and if you are still “undecided” well, maybe this song and perspective will open you up with a straight up call out of what is at stake.”
The Los Angeles group has long made standing up to racism and fascism part of their brand, mixing uptempo party jams with conscious lyrics on their beloved 1988 second album, Truth and Soul, including on the punk blitz “Subliminal Fascism” and funk rocking “Ghetto Soundwave.”
In an email interview with Rolling Stone, founding keyboard/trombone player Christopher Dowd said he knew he had to write a song about Trump a decade ago when Trump announced his first run for the White House. “The timing of this release couldn’t be more perfect,” Dowd told the magazine. “With Election Day five days away, maybe hearing this song, if you are ‘undecided,’ will trigger your subconscious to think about who could win and what that would look like to the country and the world. One person in a leadership position can automatically make you guilty by association. So will you want to be associated and represented by a person with non-apologetic racist tendencies or a person that doesn’t?”
The post ended with an urgent plea to vote on Tuesday (Nov. 5)in the election that pollsters continue to say is a near dead-heat between Vice President Kamala Harris and twice impeached Trump.
Listen to “Racist Piece of S–t” below.
Daft Punk‘s critically acclaimed album Random Access Memories is getting a 2023 re-release in honor of the project’s 10-year anniversary, the duo announced via Twitter on Wednesday (Feb. 22).
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The new edition of Random Access Memories — which won the Grammy for album of the year in 2014 — will include 35 minutes of additional material across nine tracks, including unreleased demos and studio outtakes. Fans will have their choice of two different formats for the project: a double CD or a vinyl set with three LPs. The CD set will include a 20-page digital booklet, while the vinyl set will include a special Lose Yourself to Dance poster and 16-page booklet. For the first time ever, an Atmos mix of the original album will be made available on streaming.
Tracks on the album include the singles “Get Lucky” (Grammy winner for record of the year in 2014) and “Lose Yourself to Dance,” both featuring Pharrell Williams, as well as “Instant Crush” with Julian Casablancas of The Strokes, “Doin’ It Right” and “Give Life Back to Music.”
Released in May 2013, Random Access Memories spent a total of 54 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, including two weeks in the No. 1 spot. Lead single “Get Lucky” spent five weeks at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The 10th-anniversary edition of Random Access Memories is available to pre-order now; the LP will begin to ship on May 12. See Daft Punk’s announcement and the album’s official track list below.
Random Access Memories 10th-anniversary track list
“Give Life Back to Music”“The Game of Love”“Giorgio by Moroder”“Within”“Instant Crush”“Lose Yourself to Dance”“Touch”“Get Lucky”“Beyond’”“Motherboard”“Fragments of Time”“Doin’ It right”“Contact”“Horizon” (Japan CD)“GLBTM”(Studio Outtakes)“Infinity Repeating” (2013 Demo)“GL” (Early Take)“Prime” (2012 Unfinished)“LYTD” (Vocoder Tests)“The Writing of Fragments of Time”“Touch” (2021 Epilogue)
The Daft Punk camp has been as quiet as an empty nightclub since the French icons officially announced their breakup in February 2021. But Tuesday (Jan. 24) offers tangentially related Daft Punk news by way of the group’s Thomas Bangalter.
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This April, the producer will release his first solo album, an orchestral project called Mythologies. The work comes with a predictably high-pedigree backstory, having been commissioned by French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj for the ballet of the same name. The show premiered in Bordeaux at the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine.
A press release on this project states that the 90-minute score “reveals a love of Baroque music and hints to traces of American minimalism, its brief phrases subjected to a process of progressive variation.” The orchestral work does not incorporate any electronic elements. See its cover art below.
The project, out April 7 via Erato/Warner Classics, began in fall 2019 when Preljocaj invited Bangalter to write the music for a new work. Preljocaj advised that this piece was intended for 10 dancers from the Opéra National de Bordeaux’s ballet company, 10 others from Preljocaj’s own company and the house’s resident orchestra.
“This invitation,” the press release continues with a wink to kismet, “arrived at the very moment that Bangalter was itching to write for a full orchestra.”
The resulting 23-scene production and its corresponding music do nothing less than “delve into the legacy shared by all of humankind by embracing the ancient and modern myths that reflect and shape us.”
“I think all artists should have freedom,” Bangalter’s father Daniel Vangarde told Billboard last November. “I helped Thomas, Guy-Man and their friends as much as I could to allow them to release without barriers. They were only 20 years old and the industry could have squeezed them — a normal contract generates interference between your work and the time it’s released… My input was to help create a good environment that allowed them to produce freely.”
Thomas Bangalter, “Mythologies”
Stephane Manel
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