random accessIt begins with a statement of intent: Give Life Back To Music. Having revolutionised an entire genre, French duo Daft Punk now embark on a mission to save it. The problem is, in the eight years since their last studio album, the world has caught up with Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. Sure they can pull out their old bag of tricks and release another ‘Discovery’ – they have the talent – but that’s not going to change anything. So how do they do it?

Start by looking back – to past innovators like Giorgio Moroder, Nile Rogers and Paul Williams. “Once you free your mind about a concept of harmony and of music being correct, you can do whatever you want” says Moroder on the third track of the album.  That’s how!

‘Daft Punk should make dance music’, you say? ‘We’re Daft Punk! We do what we want’, they reply. It’s an album that traverses multiple genres. Opener Give Life Music and Lose Yourself To Dance follow Get Lucky down the disco path, with Nile Rogers’ unmistakable guitar leading proceedings. Instant Crush sounds like an early Strokes track, and not just because of Casablanca’s crooning vocals. Want some vocoder infused soft rock? Check out The Game of Love, or the Chilly Gonzalez led Within. At times these collaborations work brilliantly (Doin’ it Right, Lose Yourself To Dance, Get Lucky). At times they can feel vapid (Within, Fragments Of Time). Nevertheless, every track on this album offers something fresh and redefines how you think of genre and composition.

In Touch, Paul Williams sings of a longing to achieve a human connection (which is pretty poignant considering some of his finest work was performed by Muppets). His vocals are stirring – a musical juggernaut at his most vulnerable, trapped somewhere between HAL 9000 and Pinocchio. When it breaks, jazzy horns and keys flourish before a choir joins the vocoder vocals. It’s totally over the top – terribly cheesy, almost garish – but the more you listen, the more you’re struck by the sheer emotion of the song. You’d almost call it the centerpiece of the album, but that honour belongs to track 3. 

Giorgio By Moroder begins with the legendary Italian composer discussing how his career started in the discothèques of Germany – how he wanted to create an album with the sound of the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s, and hence create a sound of the future. The soft disco music underneath takes you to that time and place. A click track interrupts proceedings and as Moroder finishes his story a fantastic, classic Giorgio-esque synth takes over. From here it builds and builds, augmented by jazzy piano and horns. After the second monologue, the music stops for a split second and suddenly the strings invite you to look out over some brave new world, where anything is possible. Then back come the synths and you’re transposed to an epic space laser-battle, with synths, drums and guitars, all fighting for your attention. It’s breathtaking – the most intense music history lesson you’ll ever have the pleasure of attending.

It’s not a disco record. It’s not a pop record. It’s an album about music – about what it was, where it is now and what it can be. And once you accept that, it all makes sense. Suddenly, Get Lucky isn’t some disco infused pop anthem about late night necking. It’s about finding that sound – that fusion of man and machine – to create something truly original.

It’s bound to be polarizing. It’s overblown and completely self-indulgent, but ‘Random Access Memories’ oozes ambition. It’s bold, uncompromising and like all great albums, it takes you on a journey. It may not be like previous Daft Punk records, but for a band always seeking to challenge the status quo and defy expectations – this is their masterpiece.