The book, first announced in 2021, is set to be released in 2024. “After Daft” will provide fans an insight into Daft Punk’s influence on the electronic music scene, giving a deep dive into their legacy and their process as a duo.

“After Daft” is set to include over 100 guest contributors, with Disclosure, Franz Ferdinand, Annie Mac and Porter Robinson named amongst the first 50 revealed this week. The book is said to encompass “250+ hours of new conversations with some of the 21st century’s most successful and groundbreaking artists” making it “an unparalleled resource for fans of dance & electronic music.”

Written by Gabriel Szatan, the book is set to be published by John Murray Press / Hachette UK.

Speaking on the upcoming publication, Szatan said, “Daft Punk sit in the pantheon of pop alongside Prince, Talking Heads, Kate Bush, Stevie Wonder, Kraftwerk, Missy Elliott, David Bowie or any visionary you’d care to name.”

He continued, “Beyond making joyous records, there are countless compelling sub-narratives which flow in and out of their career: Alive 2006-07 was as consequential for dance music as The Beatles’ 1964 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show was for rock ’n’ roll — what changed about the way we respond to concerts in the aftermath? Were the Teachers sufficiently recognised for their contributions? And how did Daft Punk retain anonymity at a time when the internet erased privacy for everyone else?”

“I’m excited to bring it all to light — as well as making the case for how, over 28 years, music really did sound better with them.”

The book will also give fans the insight of industry experts including producers such as Oneohtrix Point Never and Rostam Batmanglij.

Szatan said, “After Daft is artist-led, [telling] an authentic story through the eyes of those
who shaped it. [It reflects] musicians from different backgrounds and disciplines whose lives interacted in fascinating ways, undersung creatives who oil the industry machine, as well as countless artists that thrived as the ceiling was raised on dance & electronic music’s creative possibilities and immense global popularity.”

“After Daft” will also honour the Latin and Black roots of club culture that are inextricably linked with Daft Punk’s 28 year career as a duo.

The hardback edition of “After Daft: The Rewiring of 21st Century Culture” is set to be released in spring of 2024 and can be preordered here.

Daft Punk have also announced a 10th anniversary expanded edition of their final album, Random Access Memories, to be released 12th May 2023.

Random Access Memories 10th Anniversary Edition, May 12th 2023

pre-order now, https://t.co/5NbYQEMnHA pic.twitter.com/qf8xe3u2zn

— Daft Punk (@daftpunk) February 22, 2023

Stream Daft Punk’s expansive works here.

The event entitled “The Lyrics: Paul McCartney in Conversation” will be presented by the Southbank Centre in partnership with Penguin Live.  The London event venue and famous publishers will host the event on Friday 5th November 2017 at 7:30 pm within the venue’s Royal Festival Hall. The event will be chaired by British journalist and writer Samira Ahmed and will also be live-streamed globally by DICE, the stream will be available to watch on-demand for a week after the initial broadcast.

Southbank Centre took to their Instagram to announce the news of the upcoming event.

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A post shared by Southbank Centre (@southbankcentre)

The live theatre event’s tickets will go on sale on 17th September 2017 at 10 am but members of the Southbank Centre will be able to book tickets on Thursday 16th September 2021 at 10 am. With a seating capacity of 2,700 people, tickets are sure to sell out quick. General sales for the live-streamed event will commence on Friday 17th September 2021 at 10 am and are £10, ticket prices for the theatre event range between £35-£55. A discounted hardback edition of the book usually priced at £75 will be available to ticket-holders when booking for the event.

The event will be McCartney’s first live and in-person appearance in two years, ticket-holders and viewers will see McCartney discuss his new book and reflect on his personal and professional achievements. The former Beatle will also speak on his famed musical career whilst exploring his creative process, the celebrated musician will also discuss his creative partnership with Paul Muldoon, editor for the upcoming book. A powerhouse of creativity; Muldoon is a writer and poet has won a Pulitzer Prize as well as the T.S Eliot Prize.

The South Bank Centre’s website provides the following statement concerning the upcoming event. “Paul McCartney celebrates his new book, The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present, in a world-exclusive event with author Paul Muldoon, chaired by Samira Ahmed. Hear them discuss the extraordinary book in which, with unparalleled candour, McCartney recounts his life and art through the prism of 154 songs from all stages of his career The Lyrics encompasses his earliest boyhood compositions through the legendary decade of The Beatles, to Wings and his solo albums to the present. Arranged alphabetically to provide a kaleidoscopic rather than chronological account, it establishes definitive texts of the songs’ lyrics for the first time and describes the circumstances in which they were written, the people and places that inspired them, and what he thinks of them now. Presented with this is a treasure trove of never-seen-before material from McCartney’s personal archive – drafts, letters, photographs – which make this also a unique visual record of one of the greatest songwriters of all time. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to hear McCartney discuss his life, the creative process and the moments of inspiration.”

The state-of-the-art venue is home to many theatres and libraries and leads the way in arts and culture within central London. The Royal Festival hall includes features such as Speech-to Text transcribed and British Sign Language Interpreted. The live-streamed event will also be broadcasted to all viewers and will be captioned.

Click here to buy tickets.

The British rapper has worked on the publication with #Merky Books, the book publisher which he created with Penguin Books. The book’s premise and aims are to celebrate real-life superheroes, the figures chosen will be made up of 50 British icons, selected by Stormzy and #Merky Books. Those chosen will represent bravery, empowerment and individuality, and in turn, these icons and their stories will inspire and empower children. Proceeds from the book will also be donated to Stormzy’s charity #Merky Foundation. The charity promotes ways to battle racial injustice, last year the foundation donated £500,000 to fight racial inequalities.

#Merky Books took to their Instagram account to announce the news.

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A post shared by #Merky Books (@merkybooks)

The real-life superheroes included in the book include comedian Mo Gilligan, supermodel Jordan Dunn, mathematician and MBE holder Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, sprinter Dina Asher-Smith, celebrated author Candice Carty-Williams, Baker and presenter Liam Charles, former footballer and MBE Ian Wright, actor and presenter Reggie Yates and footballer Rinsola Babajide. Many more familiar faces and acclaimed icons will also be included, chosen from different fields of arts and entertainment , sport, film, music, fashion, food and culinary arts and literature.

Babajide had this to say regarding his involvement with the upcoming book. “It’s such an honour to be part of this project and I’m so proud to help inspire the younger generation … I’m hoping to reach mainly those who look like me and have doubt in their mind about being able to make it professional in whatever they love, whether that be sports or in the performing arts industry.”

Along with an introduction by Stormzy, the individual stories will be told by Sophia Thakur, an acclaimed author and award-winning poet. Thakur penned the celebrated 2019 release ‘Somebody Give This Heart A Pen’, it was her debut book and was featured in the BBC and Stylist Magazine. Every superhero will come with a powerful story and equipped with an actual superpower; each icon’s story will be powerfully described by Thakur’s words. Joining the team is unknown illustrator, Denzell Dankwah, a 21-year-old student from the University of Gloucestershire. Dankwah contacted #Merky Books directly, the student messaged the team through their Instagram account and showed the publishing group his comic book illustrations.

Thakur has provided the following statement concerning the new publication and emphasises the importance of the book. “The earliest seeds that are planted often influence the rest of the garden. If from a young age, we only really meet blackness from a position of weakness, of slavery and shootings … stereotypes and racist media … as children, we don’t get an opportunity to develop a healthy and confident outlook on what it means to be black. It was important to work on this book to plant a new seed of celebration. Of black excellence into our young minds who will hopefully bloom into their very own superheroes. Confident and powerful.”

The upcoming publication’s illustrator Denzell Dankwah has also described his excitement over the project whilst giving thanks to the team behind the book. “Working on this project has been an exciting experience as I grew up with a love for superheroes and cartoons. Since my illustrations are heavily influenced by comic books, this was a great opportunity to portray such huge figures and role models as heroes for young readers to look up to. This is a dream come true as I’ve always wanted to illustrate a book and I’m grateful to have collaborated with Sophia and the amazing team at #Merky Books.”

‘Superheroes’ was conceived to not just inspire but to also represent icons of colour, currently, the statistic of children’s books published between 2017 and 2019 that represent or personify characters of colour is only 7%. With the publication of Stormyz new project, we can hope that not only will be a percentage increase but also will bring a new chapter in the publishing industry.

Click here to pre-order the book.

His releases his humorous biography this week and thanks his twitter trolls for the inspiration behind his new book. He admits to ‘The List’ that, “Twitter brings out the worst in people.” He added that “Twitter allows me to reply to people as a human rather than a marketing team … in fact, I am just a vulgar idiot. Twitter brings out the worst in people and Instagram brings out a side in people to show off their life that doesn’t really exist. “That results in other people feeling inadequate about themselves.” 

With over 2 million twitter followers, James appears regularly on the news feed although he’s not modest about his success and he told Metro “I really don’t care, actually. I only reply once a month because I know the real world is a much more interesting and better place and I suppose it’s just not taking it seriously – or taking myself too seriously.”

His witty comebacks to his critics have made James a very popular person to follow. One woman who requested that “we take a moment to remember just how awful James Blunt was” to which James replied, “No need, I have a new album coming soon.” On another occasion when someone mocked him for only having 200,000 followers he replied, “Jesus only needed 12.” The Express

Metro noted that another critic tweeted, “I’m on the metro and drunk while listening to music, but I genuinely don’t know how @jamesblunt isn’t regraded as the best musician in the planet. You’re all asleep!” James Blunt’s comeback was, “Kids – this is why we don’t drink and tweet.”

Kids – this is why we don’t drink and tweet. https://t.co/eDX6OVnFWp

— James Blunt (@JamesBlunt) July 22, 2020

James has been through a difficult time recently due to his father’s ill health having suffered from a chronic kidney disease. He’s recently made a recovery having been donated a kidney by James’ cousin Charles Blount. James shows his appreciation towards his cousin and he told The Express, “My father is very well and has been given a new lease of life. My father and I are incredibly grateful to the generosity of my cousin, who’s now become a much closer cousin.” 

Having come through all this, James has a lot to look forward to with his new book being published on Thursday 5th November. He explains to Metro his reasons behind his book as the second lockdown is fast approaching, “The second wave of virus is with us now. People have been panic buying loo roll and there is a shortage. This book is designed to be read sitting on the loo and pages used as appropriate afterwards.” – 

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Never before has a book been published that is so perfect for you to read while sitting on the loo.

A post shared by James Blunt (@jamesblunt) on Oct 9, 2020 at 10:02am PDT