I suppose thinking about writing this post I had, before they were famous or before they were past it in my mind. I guess its just really about the music that they were making or playing before they gained the status that they have today. I think everyone would agree that they are now household names and some would argue that their best years are long behind them. First up is Daft Punk. The recording below was taken from an event that they played in Wisconsin in 1996. A quick Google search and youl be able to see Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem Christo without the masks, robot costumes or giant pyramids. absolutely tearing it up live. I think they have always put on a good show, I went to see them a few years ago in Marley Park and their Red Box gig from the 90's is the stuff of legend. Alive is still an album that sounds good today but this set is just as raw as it gets. Really makes you wonder, what will all the advances in technology and the growth in popularity of programs like Ableton, how no one has really managed to come even close to replicating or bettering what these guys were doing 13 years ago. I think they'v lost their relevance in recent years. You couldnt say that the material that they have put out is bad, just not up to the very high standards that they set themselves and what we came to expect of them. There is no question though about the quality of this.
Daft Punk Live at Even Further
Next is the Prodigy or more so, Liam Howlett. This recording was taken from an American radio station he did a guest mix on in the early ninties when the Prodigy were touring with Moby and others just as the rave scene was really kicking off. The mixing is sloppy in parts to say the least, but, for me its more about the tracks he's playing. I think every Dj I know has a copy of Experience on vinyl, its one of those seminal albums and this mix was recorded a year before its release so you really get a sense of the sounds that were going through his head at the time. Cant say Im a fan of the new stuff though.
