The French Connection Pt. II: Thomas Bangalter, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, & Daft Punk

Anyone who knows me knows I love Daft Punk. I mean, who HASN'T heard of Daft Punk? Even if you aren't familiar with the French house duo, you've most definitely heard their 2001 hit "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" sampled by Kanye West for his own hit "Stronger" off of 2007's "Graduation". Or maybe you've heard their nu disco megahit "One More Time", which has been played at countless proms, homecomings, and annual dances the world over. Here are a few of my personal favorite, and less well known, Daft Punks tracks off of both their stellar 1997 debut "Homework", and 2001's "Discovery", which happens to be one of my favorite albums of all time.









Now that we got THAT out of the way, let's get to the main topic of discussion: Daft Punk as parts.

One of these parts is Thomas Bangalter. The taller of the two, Bangalter is most well-known for Daft Punk and for running his own amazing French house label, Roule. Here, he spouted a whole ton of glittering, sparkling house gems in a style that would be echoed in his creation as one half of Daft Punk. His personal tracks are all about soul samples, rippling, funky bass, catchy synth riffs, and dynamic, one-of-a-kind grooving drums. Like Fred Falke, but a little heavy and a bit more funky. Enjoy! Here are some of his best:



With DJ Falcon (fellow labelmate) Bangalter takes a typical soul sample and slingshots it headlong through his signature boppin' synths, and thumping, bouncing kicks and snares.











That last one is one of my favorites. I absolutely love the synth riff and the happy-go-lucky refrain!!



Alright, Bangalter is absolutely amazing (here's one of his best remixes (or edits rather))...



BUT

Guy-Maunel deserves just as much credit for what he did before the birth of Daft Punk. With fellow Frenchman, producer, and label co-owner Eric Chedeville (under the alias Le Knight Club), Homem-Christo released his own French house gems, with a similar feel to Bangalter's tracks: soul samples, synths, laidback drumwork, the works. His are some of the best hits, off the label, Crydamoure (a variation of the French phrase cri d'amour or "cry of love"):







And together, they formed Daft Punk, which we all know and love. I will follow up to this post with a little more info on the two individuals, but for now, enjoy and as always, the music sounds better with you!!! Bop out.

-RBGK