Daft Punk - Alive 2007
Record Label: Virgin Records
Release Date: December 4, 2007
The French techno-pop duo of Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter who form Daft Punk are known for creating digitally pixelated sound cinemas using their synthesizers and masterboards loaded with showy effects. Their recent release Alive 2007 from Virgin Records is a live recording of their concert which took place at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy on June 14, 2007. Their tracks boggle the mind with bangles of digital beats juxtaposed by robotic impulses and club music dynamics that are synonymous with artists like Ladytron, LCD Soundsystem, Junior Boys, and Datarock. The incessant repetition of trippy electro-hop phrases, dazzling sonic splurges, and acid-house buzzing on tracks like “Robot Rock/Oh Yeah,” “Around the World/Harder Better Faster Stronger,” and “Television Rules the Nation” have nu-disco atmospherics and course some industrial freestyle nuances and impulses.
Many of the numbers are embossed in euro-dance electronica and illbient mutations mixing an urban flavoring in the club music deliveries like on “Touch It/Technologic” and “Burnin’/Too Long.” Notes sound robotic, vocals streamed through a vocoder sound robotic, processed beats sound robotic, so essentially much of the music is wrapped in robotic movements. One exception is their commercial hit “One More Time,” originally from their album Discovery in 2001, featuring the R&B vocalese of Romanthony. The nu-disco spins are surrounded in rhythmic acid beats as the duo creates waves of swirling digital impulses which seem arbitrary and drunk most of the time imbibed on electronica. There is a time and a place for every style of music and Daft Punk’s music is nectar for dance club audiences.
The lyrics are often one or two lines that are robotically repeated like “Harder, better, faster, stronger / All around the world” and “Television rules the nation” with an undertow of vocals resounding “Around the world.” The singers' voices are usually electronically manipulated, but then Daft Punk pulls out some solid lyrics on the track “Face to Face” and the singer’s voice is left real as he intones, “I turned away because I thought you were the problem / Tried to forget until I hit the bottom / But when I found you in my blank confusion / I realized you weren’t wrong, it was a mere illusion / It didn’t make sense just to leave this unresolved / It’s not hard to go the distance when you finally get involved face to face.” The introspective thoughts and self-analysis came out of left field, but the lyrics make this song a lot more personable than the others.
Daft Punk’s music is like digitally processed punk with accessories that include nu-disco and illbient-hop. Different pieces in the tracks show euro-dance sensibilities and digital kinks that share a bond with Kraftwerk, The Chemical Brothers, Paul Oakenfold, and DJ Pierre. Daft Punk’s scope of electroncia is a match for certain settings, one where cinematic sonic waves enhance the visual experience. It’s music that compliments large live productions like for a laser light show or background music for a team of acrobats. The compositions suit live action which is why a live album from Daft Punk fits their music, and their Alive 2007 tour was their largest production to date and is now immortalized in a live album.
word man, people are just so dumb. this was a great album and they are amazing at what they do. nothing can touch the daft punk. kill the review get the album.
this is a very badly written review. it makes barely any sense. nu-disco?
i agree.
personally, i think this album is a good introduction for people who have never listened to daft punk. the live aspect of the album keeps it a little more interesting than their normal lps, which can tend to become repetitive and boring.
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