While Daft Punk may have had a short discography (despite a career that spanned nearly three decades), they had an enormous impact on electronic music. They introduced new styles to the genre, revolutionized concerts, and left behind a catalog of timeless songs that will always be heard on the dance floor. Released on January 20, 1997, Homework marked the humble beginnings of Daft Punk.
Before Daft Punk became what we now know them as today, the duo Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo were two friends at school in France, who shared interests in Chicago House music and 1930s space operas. They joined their friend Laurent Brancowitz in the band Darlin’. The band had minor successes, including releasing their only album, Shimmies in Super 8. Thomas and Guy-Manuel eventually left the band to pursue their own musical endeavors, composing songs in Thomas’ home studio. Much of the material composed would be heard on Homework.
Immediately starting off the record, listeners get a taste of what would be Daft Punk’s signature sound: funky bass lines, catchy synthesizer and guitar riffs, punchy drums, and occasional vocals added texture to their songs. The most well-known track off the album, “Around The World,” has all of these elements perfectly blended together, with each new section of the song combining them in new ways. Other tracks that nicely put together the signature sound of Homework are “Revolution 909,” “Phoenix,” and “Burnin.’” Daft Punk also got help from the new and upcoming directors of the time, Michel Gondry and Spike Jonze, to direct music videos to accompany some of the tracks.
Several albums would be released following Homework, including Discovery in 2001 and Human After All in 2005, and Daft Punk would continue to push the boundaries of electronic music and collaborate with other artists all the way up to their retirement in February 2021.