Homework

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Few records combine sonic innovation with veneration for what came before as succinctly as Daft Punk’s 1997 debut, <i>Homework</i>. The title itself implies this duality: It’s a reference to both the bedroom studio where musicians Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo recorded their early house and techno production, and a nod to the older artists the duo studied in preparation for their dance music breakthrough. Many of those musical ancestors are name-checked on the <i>Homework</i> track “Teacher,” on which Bangalter and Homem-Christo salute the (mostly) electronic music producers and DJs who inspired their work. That includes plenty of semi-obscure Chicago house music heroes and Detroit and UK techno champion, many of whom predated Daft Punk by a decade—but who were still active in the late-1990s rave scene. By tagging their peer, the members of Daft Punk were expressing solidarity with the many BIPOC artists whom they’d obsessed over for year. It was a declaration of belonging that could have come off as appropriation, had <i>Homework</i> not so fully elevated the genre. Bangalter and Homem-Christo might wear their influences on their sleeve, but their music transcends mere tribute; it’s some of the most unforgettable hook-laden house and techno ever put to wax. When it comes to the dance floor, if a record’s hot, that record is hot. And DJs across the globe pumped <i>Homework</i>’s 16 track, which included everything from playful filtered disco (“Revolution 909”) to throttling acid techno (“Rollin’ & Scratchin’”). Meanwhile, radio jocks and MTV programmers on the lookout for format-friendly versions of popular rave sounds swooned over <i>Homework</i> cuts like “Da Funk” and “Around the World,” which became breakout hit, thanks to inventive videos directed, respectively, by Spike Jonez and Michel Gondry. .

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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