“They weren’t on the same page anymore anyway”: Todd Edwards on Daft Punk’s split
“If anything, it should inspire people to be more creative and take chances and stop doing the same thing.“
Todd Edwards has said that he “wasn’t shocked” when Daft Punk called it quits in 2021, citing creative differences between members Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo.
READ MORE: It’s true: Daft Punk’s Homework and Discovery were both recorded in a bedroom
In the latest edition of Daft Punk’s Memory Tapes, Edwards reveals his experiences working on the Random Access Memories track, Fragments Of Time. The documentary series celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the French duo’s final album and its collaborators.
“When they broke up, they were already going in different directions musically” explains the UK Garage legend and friend of Daft Punk. “Guy-Man seems to be drawn more to the hip-hop realm. And Thomas was, you know, also a director.
“It kind of felt like they weren’t on the same page anymore, anyway, so I wasn’t shocked.”
“I think that the fact that it was so devastating to people shows that there needs to be more Daft Punks out there,” continues Edwards, hopeful.
He advises artists and producers coming up today to take more risks with their music and be bold.
“You can’t just look to one musical Messiah to take care of all your musical needs. You’ve got to be the creative force behind it. If anything, it should inspire people to be more creative and take chances and stop doing the same thing; playing it safe all the time.”
Elsewhere in the mini-doc, Edwards explains what it was like to work in the studio with the revered duo, how his collaboration led to sparking a nine-year relationship with his now-partner, and how he took a two-year hiatus from music and worked in the customer service sector.
In the previous episode of Memory Tapes, legendary French touch producer DJ Falcon describes his experience in making the track Contact with Bangalter.
“I remember looking at Thomas, we looked at each other and we just said nothing,” he says, after the pair’s sound design in the track broke the studio’s sound system.
“We just had a little smile on our face. We left the studio without saying anything like the whole thing was natural.”
Learn more at daftpunk.com
