When Daft Punk released Human After All back in 2005, the rocking robotic duo from Paris seemed to be utilising the title of said album almost as an excuse as to why, you know, it wasn’t very good.
OK, don’t get me wrong, I liked it, but it was undoubtedly not in the same league as the juggernaut white knuckle ride that was their debut, Homework, or the spaced out funk odyssey of Discovery. There was something missing; the French touch had disappeared, and we were left with washed up beats stuck in the relegation zone, with a couple of tracks kind of seeming a bit out of place (Technologic anyone? Bit too good for that album perhaps?).
Either way, it thrust the state of Daft Punk’s career into a bit of a ooo-err, if you know what I mean. If you know what I mean then you’re probably also aware of the overwhelming surge of french electronic artists who are dropping beats like a ludicrously well timed Nike basketball advert, if you know what I mean. If you know what I mean then you probably won’t be surprised that those pyramid lurking robots are back to show everyone who the fucking daddies are.
Alive 2007 is a melee of everything fantastic about these illustrious producers. A non-stop barrage of head banging funk, which sees Bangalter and the other fellow with the absurdly long name, tweak those tunes we are so familiar with into a totally new experience. Songs that may have sounded unfinished on Human After All, are amplified to the extent we knew they were capable of, and old classics like the relentless head nodder, feet tapper deluxe, Da Funk, sound timeless amongst an array of perfectly mixed samples and beats.
This is where the duo belong, pounding their fists like a disgruntled judge on top of their neon thrones. The crowd love it. I love it. And you should to. In the player is a mind blowing mash up of Around The World and Harder Better Faster Stronger. What was that you said Kanye? Bow down in the presence of greatness? Gobble up your own words boy and proceed to do so. Suckerrrrrrrr.
Joe Moynihan