Daft Punk

France, 1993–2021

French duo of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, performing in robot helmets. Homework, Discovery and Random Access Memories moved filtered French house from club records to a mass audience.

MusicRoots documents 8 artists who influenced Daft Punk and 6 artists Daft Punk influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Daft Punk?

• Nile Rodgers — Rodgers wrote and played the guitar on Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky', the centrepiece of Random Access Memories and a direct homage to his Chic disco language.
• Cerrone — Cerrone's French disco productions are a cornerstone of the 'French touch' sound Daft Punk drew on, sampling and citing his grooves.
• Giorgio Moroder — Daft Punk enshrined Moroder as their founding father on Random Access Memories — 'Giorgio by Moroder' is built around his spoken life story.
• Kraftwerk — Kraftwerk's man-machine aesthetic — robot personas included — is the acknowledged foundation of Daft Punk's whole concept.
• Chic — Nile Rodgers' Chic grooves are the rhythmic DNA of French touch; Daft Punk brought Rodgers in to co-create 'Get Lucky'.
• The Beach Boys — The Beach Boys were a documented early influence: Bangalter and de Homem-Christo's pre-Daft Punk band Darlin' was named after a Beach Boys song and covered it — the melodic warmth that later surfaced on Discovery.
• Frankie Knuckles — French house is Chicago's child — Daft Punk built on the house foundation Knuckles laid, and honoured the lineage in 'Teachers'.
• Wendy Carlos — Daft Punk name Carlos as an influence, and scored Tron: Legacy in deliberate answer to her score for the 1982 Tron.

Which artists did Daft Punk influence?

• Justice — Justice openly owe a debt to Daft Punk — the fellow Parisians' filtered French house was the direct model Augé and de Rosnay built on (and scaled up into rock bombast).
• Phoenix — Phoenix came up in the same Versailles scene as Daft Punk — French-touch electronic dance is woven into their pop, and the acts share deep personal and musical ties.
• Disclosure — Daft Punk's polished, pop-crossover dance music is a clear model for Disclosure's radio-friendly house.
• ODESZA — Daft Punk's euphoric, melodic electronic dance music is among ODESZA's major inspirations.
• Avicii — Avicii's way into electronic music, and he was clear it came before the genre did: he was listening to Daft Punk before he knew what house was.
• Swedish House Mafia — The record that decided it for Steve Angello, and the career model the trio worked from afterwards — album, tour, disappear, return with a new sound.