Daft Punk

Daft Punk has left a huge impact on today's electronic music scene. They are true innovators and have managed to hit the mainstream market in ways that few other electronic musicians have been able to. They have innovated by taking sampling to another level by messing with sounds from other songs and meshing them together with their own sounds to create undeniably catchy songs. The French duo keeps a somewhat of a mysterious image, choosing to always perform with costumes and helmets on. Daft Punk first saw success in France and they have often been accredited for helping shape the sound of the 'French House' music genre by many other successful artists.

After trying out the whole guitar-driven band with a couple of rock tunes and becoming bored with the concept, the duo disbanded their rock band, 'Darlin' and went onto to trade in their guitars for drum machines and synths. They wanted to go beyond making music that everyone had already heard. Daft Punk was able to take old songs that had already run their course and bring them back to life in a completely new light. Their highly successful "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" was a direct sample off of Edwin Birdsong's 1979 song, "Cola Bottle Baby". While many people haven't even heard of Edwin Birdsong, Daft Punk was able to take the hook of the song and make it highly successful. Something Edwin Birdsong wasn't able to do as well as Daft Punk did.

Some may argue that sampling is cheap. Some may argue that it isn't even real music. The proof is in the numbers, however. People really liked what Daft Punk had to offer. They were taking songs that didn't do entirely too great in the past and giving them a second chance. Daft Punk has had a huge influence on the electronic music scene and all sorts of musicians are drawing creativity from their music. Daft Punk was even asked to create the entire soundtrack to Disney's latest blockbuster film, "Tron". Being asked by Disney to create a soundtrack in an industry where composers have to work hard for years to even be considered to create the soundtrack for a half decent movie is not an easy feat. Clearly, Daft Punk has something innovative going on for them.

As a musician, listener and recording engineer, Daft Punk definitely speaks to me on many levels. They are both musicians and producers in the sense that they can take old songs and bring them to life in a totally different perspective. They really know how to sample a song without stealing it. They make the song theirs. Their production value is like ear candy and just gives you something fun to listen to the entire ride through the song. Daft Punk is definitely a milestone in electronic music.