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.

“I first got a car when I was 17, and I remember driving from north Wales to Manchester quite a lot – someone made me CDs for the drive and there was a shit load of Daft Punk on there,” Lee Owens told NME. “I was a bit of an indie kid at the time and I listened to that first album, ‘Homework’ and remember being like, ‘Huh – there’s something in this’. It was like a door opening for me that allowed me to step into another place, where everything is new and sounds weird and interesting. I just felt this raw energy that these people, or robots, were creating; and the mystery shrouded around them was super intriguing.”

fuck.
thank you.
i love you. pic.twitter.com/7clbag4nP4

— Kelly Lee Owens (@kellyleeowens) February 22, 2021

Born in Flintshire, Wales, Lee Owens dropped her career as an auxiliary nurse in a cancer ward to pursue musical ambitions in 2009. In 2017, she released her eponymous debut album via indie label Smalltown Supersound, with the follow up ‘Inner Sound’ arriving last year.  “They (Daft Punk) were signed to major labels and doing a licensing deal, and that really informed me in terms of what I should do with my music – I now have licensing deals with my independent label Smalltown Supersound,” she told NME. “They showed that you don’t need to give your masters away and play all these games: you can make great music and people in the industry will want to work with you anyway. That spirit is really needed more than ever. And it’s not about being ‘controlling’, it’s being protective of their creativity and not allowing that to be exploited.

“The real beauty of Daft Punk’s music is that it’s not pretentious at all. They would want to make something and just do it…there’s some magic that comes from pushing and fusing different worlds together just because it excites them and because that’s what they feel like they need to do. There’s that classic thing of creating and then destroying yourself as an artist to keep yourself creatively open; Daft Punk have done that over and over again.”

Mxdwn UK have recently announced The Weeknd’s 2017 UK arena tour: read the article here and see the below dates as a reminder:

05/03 – Arena – Manchester
07/03 – The O2 – London
08/03 – The O2 – London
10/03 – The SSE Hydro – Glasgow
11/03 – Metro Radio Arena – Newcastle
13/03 – Barclaycard Arena – Birmingham
14/03 – First Direct Arena – Leeds

Earlier this month Lana Del Rey paid tribute to the late Leonard Cohen who passed away on November 7, aged 82. Del Rey said:

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t kind of break my heart that I never got to tell you how much you changed me. Not that it would’ve mattered to ya. It’s just that other than Bob [Dylan] and Joan [Baez] you were the only person I ever really felt spoke my language.”
“I love you as a real fan and I always looked for a little bit of you in all of my future friends. God bless.”

Cohen – and outstanding lyricist – was also a prolific poet and was taught by his muse the legendry poet Irving Layton who passed away in 2006.
Lana Del Rey’s last album was Honeymoon, released in 2015. 2016 saw her touring the festival circuit. Both artists demonstrate how powerful their influences are and prove an apt collaboration.  The lyrics have been described as ‘creepy': judge for yourself.

Festivals website eFestivals has released a statement with “well-sourced information”, suggesting that these will be the three acts to top the Pyramid Stage in 2017. Tickets for the festival sold out within an hour, despite the line-up having not been revealed.

Radiohead’s guitarist Ed O’Brien was on 6Music yesterday, interviewed by Matt Everitt. When asked about performing at the famous festival, he replied: “I would love to, I mean I go to Glastonbury every year, it’s my carnival, to be asked to play at Glastonbury again would be magic.

“And I also think that Glastonbury for us is kind of like our spiritual home. It is the mother of all festivals, we’ve been very lucky we’ve been asked to play festivals all over the world, and there’s some many great ones, but there’s nothing like that one.

“Everyone who leaves that Festival you’re with our tribe and that’s what I feel like. Being in Shangri-La at 3 o’clock in the morning, it doesn’t get better than this.  When we leave our faith is restored in humanity. You leave, and it’s like ‘people can be great can’t they, people can be absolutely amazing.’ So, yeah it will be great to play there.”

Along with Radiohead, rumours for The Stone Roses to perform are in talks. The band headlined T in the Park earlier this year at Strathallan Castle. The official statement from eFestivals states: “We also strongly believe The Stone Roses are the front runners to top the bill on Sunday, and while we are less certain on the third headlining act, we have had what should be well-sourced information several months ago, that it’s supposedly Daft Punk topping the bill on the Friday.”

Notably, the website has been correct in predicting the Glastonbury headliners in the past, reporting early that Metallica and Kasabian would headline in 2014.

Glastonbury Festival will run from 21-25 June next year.

‘Starboy’ has the catchy potential to rival Daft Punk’s 2013 number one single ‘Get Lucky’ featuring Pharrell Williams, which propelled Daft Punk into a new fan base, and Pharrell Williams with a gigantic international solo career.

Original Daft Punk fans will welcome any return and collaboration. The French duo rose to stardom with the release of their second and third singles: ‘Da Funk’ –released in 1995 – and the catchy ‘Around the World’ (1997) both from their debut album Homework (1997).

Immediately popular in their home nation – Homework reaching number 3 in the album charts – Daft Punk hit the UK music scene with massive acclaim. Daft Punk’s second album Discovery (2001) escalated the duo’s popularity in the UK, reaching number 2 – the single ‘One More Time’ proving a dynamic opening track/single which peaked their popularity in the noughties, and achieved number 2 in the singles chart (the highest charting single by far until the 2013 ‘Get Lucky’.

The Weeknd – Abel Makkonen Tesfaye – is a Canadian singer/song writer/producer and has released three studio albums: Kiss Land (2013), Beauty Behind the Madness (2015), and Starboy (2016). What’s left to see if the collaboration with Daft Punk will propel The Weeknd into the UK music scene.

Watch the single ‘Starboy’ and Daft Punk’s legendary ‘One More Time’ below.

Daft Punk, whose real names are Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, have stated in the past that they embrace the idea of their identities and their music being separate and are keen to keep themselves out of the public eye – even going as far as to cover their faces with black sheets during the filming of Daft Punk Electroma, a feature film produced by the pair in 2006. Other films accredited to Daft Punk are D.A.F.T., released in 1999, and 2003’s Interstella 555. 

Daft Punk Unchained documents the robotic duo’s career from the very beginning, way back to when Daft Punk were known as Darlin’ in the early 1990s. It also features rare archived footage of Daft Punk in action, and exclusive interviews with associated acts – namely Kanye West, Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers, to name a few. The film, produced by BBC Worldwide France, has overall positive reviews having already aired on US and French TV networks last year, as well as receiving a one off London screening in September 2015.

Daft Punk Unchained will air on BBC4 at 10pm on Friday 19th February.

Watch the trailer below: