Daft Punk

• Breakdown


  • The section from about 1:05 to 1:35 in 'Aerodynamic' by Daft Punk, in which there is an extended electric guitar solo section based on a repeated riff
• Daft Punk is a French electronic music duo consisting of Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter
• Daft Punk's career


  1. 1987: Guy-Manuel and Thomas met at secondary school in Paris and formed a rock band

  2. 1993: Guy-Manuel and Thomas formed a new duo partnership, taking their name from a poor review they had received, which referred to 'a daft, punky thrash'

  3. 1994: Their debut single 'The New Wave' was released, followed the next year by the much more commercially successful 'Da Funk'

  4. 1996: The duo went into partnership with Virgin Records. A period of international performances to a small but growing fanbase in Europe and the USA began

  5. 1999: In public performances, the duo started to wear helmets and costumes designed to make them appear robotic, to match their heavily electronic musical style

  6. 2001: Their second album 'Discovery' was released; its slightly more straightforward pop style won them many new fans

  7. 2005: 'Human After All' released. The duo became an increasing presence at major festivals

  8. 2009-10: Daft Punk wrote most of the music for the science-fiction film 'Tron: Legacy'

  9. 2013: The album 'Random Access Memories' was released, featuring much more use of acoustic instruments and collaborations with many major artists such as Nile Rogers and Pharrell Williams
• Daft Punk's studio albums

  • Homework (1997)
  • Discovery (2001)
  • Human After All (2005)
  • Random Access Memories (2013)
• Homework (1997)


  Key singles: 'Da Funk', 'Around the World'; influenced by the French House scene
• Discovery (2001)


  Key singles: 'One More Time', 'Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger'; much use of samples from '70s and '80s music
• Human After All (2005)


  Key singles: 'Robot Rock', 'Technologic'
• Random Access Memories (2013)


  Key singles: 'Get Lucky', 'Lose Yourself to Dance'; a multi-award winning album, featuring collaborations with many acclaimed artists
• Research suggestions for Daft Punk

  • Genres: Disco; House; Electronic Dance Music (EDM)
  • Instruments/production: sequencing; vocoder; drum machine
• Commentary on 'Instant Crush' from 'Random Access Memories' (2013)


  1. 0:00-0:29 Intro: Drum machine with constant alternation between bass drum and snare; bass guitar line in repeated quavers; quiet synth riff using syncopated rhythm, circling around G flat in a stepwise motion, transposed to fit with chord changes; 4-chord pattern Gb major – Eb minor – Bb minor – Ab major; higher synth melodic line added in groups of 3 arpeggiated quavers

  2. 0:29-1:30 Verse: Voice enters half way through the repetition of the intro's chord sequence, using a quiet, 'deadpan', almost expressionless tone in a relatively high register for male singer; vocal melody structured as a rhythmic riff/sequence, always starting on the 2nd quaver of the bar

  3. 1:30-1:48 Chorus: More active rhythmic groove with constant semiquavers in shaker; bass moves in parallel with the synth melody; chords change every bar, with a descending scalic bass: B flat minor – G flat major – E flat minor – A flat major (feels like vi-IV-ii-V in D flat major but with a constant B flat pedal); voice melody much more rhythmically active, featuring several repeated semiquavers and descending lines