“I thought somebody else was gonna sing and they were like ‘Nah, you’”: Pharrell on working with Daft Punk on Random Access Memories
“I left the studio thinking, ‘Okay, can’t wait to see who sings and what it sounds like.’”
Image: Michael Kovac / Getty Images
Pharrell has looked back on the “lucky” experience of working with Daft Punk on their 2013 album, Random Access Memories.
In the latest instalment of the robots’ Memory Tapes documentary series, the producer and songwriter admits he didn’t expect his recorded vocals to end up on the final versions of Get Lucky and Lose Yourself To Dance.
“When they brought me in to write on the album, I thought I was just writing for someone else. So in my mind [I thought] ‘Oh okay I’m writing this for someone. Okay I think this is kind of Michael-esque,’” Pharrell says. “I didn’t know who was gonna end up singing it. I left the studio thinking, ‘Okay, can’t wait to see who sings and what it sounds like.’”
“I didn’t hear it for a year, so I forgot what the song sounded like – both of them.”
The episode then reveals archival footage of Pharrell hearing the completed versions of Get Lucky and Lose Yourself to Dance for the first time, with the musician recalling: “It was weird to write something in this crazy hour and then not have access to it.”
“I don’t remember writing anything because we were just like in the zone,” he says.
Watch the full episode below.
Daft Punk’s Memory Tapes series celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the group’s final album and its collaborators. A 10th-anniversary edition of Random Access Memories is also now out, featuring 35 minutes of new material including fresh tracks, early demos as well as outtakes and skits.
