“Everything they do is based on the curiosity to learn”: Todd Edwards on Daft Punk’s Give Life Back To Music
Edwards says he knew the song would be a “masterpiece”.
Images: Tim Mosenfelder / Getty (left), Daft Punk YouTube channel (right)
Producer and DJ Todd Edwards has reflected on his experience of working with Daft Punk for the latest episode of the Memory Tapes on the duo’s YouTube channel.
The series features a range of interviews from collaborators who worked on Daft Punk’s 2013 album Random Access Memories, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
Edwards also worked with the duo on their 2001 album, Discovery. On Sample-heavy track Face To Face, over 70 samples were used from his very own sample library.
However, on Random Access Memories, one memory that stands out for Edwards is the first track they played him whilst making the album. That song was Give Life Back To Music.
In episode five of the YouTube series, Edwards recalls how “the air just got sucked out of the room” when Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo shared the track, and that he knew it would become a “masterpiece”.
“What they were trying to accomplish was… the Daft Punk ideas they’d get in sampling kind of found their way into more organic forms without the sampling, basically [sic].
“Thomas and Guy-Manuel hired amazing musicians that had worked on legendary songs and albums before,” he remembers. “Which, even that blew my mind because I guess I’m more small-minded with it but like ‘what made you think to ask, you know, Nathan East to come play?’, [they were] like ‘you know, I’m just curious’. Everything that they do is based on the fascination and the curiosity to learn.”
You can watch the full episode below:
A 10th anniversary edition of Random Access Memories is out now, including 35 minutes of unreleased music. Find out more on the official Daft Punk website.
