Daft Punk - Discovery

  

Everybody has an album that on it's own crystallises the spirit of their youth; an album which never fails to lift the individuals emotions and bring them back to a happier way of life. 

Personally, Daft Punk's 2001 release, Discovery, is the album and sound of my youth. To this day, opening dance masterpiece One More Time remains one of my favourite all time tracks down purely to it's energy, and the power screaming out from it's anthemic refrain. Being a fan of Daft Punk, I also hold the album in high regard, yet still feel moved every time I re-visit it. I suppose that's the sign of a truly great album; it continues to educate and surprise. This incidentally is the exact quality that the French duo were attempting to capture when creating the album.

Two years after the release of their hugely influential debut Homework, Daft Punk set to work on a new album, which they hoped would sonically encapsulate the idea of discovering and exploring life, as a child. The resulting 14 track collection has a playful and more gentle feel to it then some of the more raw moments on Homework. Although the trademark Daft Punk traits can be clearly heard throughout, such as the crisp 4/4 rhythm on tracks like 'Face To Face' and 'Verdis Quo', a more synth heavy approach allows the album to gracefully flow through a number of themes and styles. 

For example, one minute the bombastic 'Aerodynamic' bursts into life in a myriad of instrumentation, the next, the listener is being carried by the lullaby of 'Nightvision', only to be awoken later by the high tempo 'Short Circuit'. One key track that displays this wide spectrum is 'Too Long'; a ten minute ride from soft rhythms and vocals, to a thumping gem of House music. The presence of vocals is another important element on this album, featuring 6 tracks with lyrical content, enhancing the overall impression as a stronger, and more commercial collection. This can certainly be said for nuggets such as the soulful 'Something About Us', the achingly infectious 'Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger', and most prominently, the highly accessible and joyful 'Digital Love'. As with Homework before it, Discovery relies heavily on sampled grooves from late 70's, early 1980's disco and funk, but does so with such a elegance which somehow makes the tracks here sound fresh and reborn.

However, it is easy to see how many core fans of the group's early work would be turned off by this 'new sound'. Despite it's grasp on youth and basic emotions, it leaves behind the rough, and raw sound found amongst the highlights of Homework. In comparison, Discovery is arguably over-produced in terms of the layering of noise and synth's. I'd argue that Discovery clearly marks an evolution, not only in the band's general trademark sound but also in sampled dance music all together. If Homework was influential for its bare musicality, Discovery must surely be more inspiring for it's visionary craft and grasp on what pure unifying dance music is all about, being young and carefree.

It's rare that an album has this effect of transcending to the individual, and moving them emotionally. Daft Punk's Discovery certainly has this power, even today, and I believe that it shall retain this charm to the end of time. Here's to eternal youth!