Daft Punk and the album that was a Hollywood blockbuster

The revelation came from actress Elodie Bouchez, wife of Thomas Bangalter, in March, in Le Monde: "We mustn't forget that he got into music because he was rejected from l’Ecole Louis-Lumière." For someone whose ambitions as a filmmaker seemed to have been thwarted, Bangalter has done pretty well. In 2011, he directed S/S 2012, a short advertising film for clothing brand Co, starring his then-girlfriend. One has to conclude his time as one half of Daft Punk, an entity of both sound and images, had a hand in his success in this sphere.

"Daft Punk is a global project, and we see ourselves more as producers than musicians," said Bangalter, again in Le Monde, in March 2001. Of the duo's four studio albums, Random Access Memories is the one that most closely resembles a film project: a musical blockbuster with a mostly American but diverse cast, with Daft Punk tasked with the script, direction and editing.

Their longterm strategy of concealing themselves from the public eye is reflected in the fact that they took back seat when it came to acting in the project. The lead roles went to Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams, also associated as guitarist and singer. There were two 1970s throwbacks: composer Paul Williams and Italian disco producer Giorgio Moroder. The more contemporary figures of Julian Casablancas, the voice of the Strokes, and Panda Bear (Animal Collective) embodied the revival of punk-rock and psychedelia. Daft Punk did not cut itself off from its electronic roots either, as two house DJs, Todd Edwards and Frenchman Falcon, completed the line-up.

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