The first LP from Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter since their split in 2021 has just been released.
Many were surprised to hear that one of the members of the robotic electronic duo Daft Punk would be releasing a solo album not under the dance music genre, but as a composition for the ballet Mythologies choreographed by Angelin Preljocaj at the Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux in Bordeaux, France.
But classical music has always been in the Frenchman’s blood as his mother was a ballet dancer and father was a producer, influencing Bangalter’s early years taking piano lessons at the Paris Opera.
And now he’s tapping into his early inspiration as the full album is finally out, introducing Daft Punk fans to a less electronic version of the artist.
Speaking about the new venture to The New York Times, Bangalter said, “With electronic music, it’s so hard and it takes so much time to infuse emotion in the machines. So to write a chord or a melody and have the performers — human beings — play it and have this instant emotional quality to it, is really quite exhilarating. It’s not the fight you have against machines.”
And for those wondering about Bangalter’s former Daft Punk partner Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, the two still share a studio and equipment, and Homem-Christo did attend the ballet performance in Bordeaux.
Listen to Thomas Bangalter’s score for the ballet Mythologies below:
Featured image from NPR, credit Jean-Claude Carbonne/Biz 3
