Daft Punk: We Were The Robots

by Disco Pogo

Daft Punk featured often in the formative years of Jockey Slut magazine (including their first front cover). This tribute to the duo collates all the interviews and photos from the seminal magazine - covering their early days on Soma up to the release of Discovery. Further articles cover the rest of their tenure as one of the globe’s most furtive, influential electronic acts right up to their unexpected split in February 2021.

Genres: Music

240 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2023

About the author

Disco Pogo is a bi-annual, electronic music magazine and book publisher from the original founders of seminal 90s title Jockey Slut.

Reviews

[Hernán M. Sanabria · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It's repetition as beauty. It's trascendental. That repetition, those minimal lyrics that some thought were devoid of meaning, but after enough repetition the become something".

Daft Punk: We Were the Robots is an insightful collection of articles and interviews that traces the duo's rise, mythos, and legacy. No wonder the book's sold out and its second pressing is almost hard to find in the Americas: it's a beautiful pressing with iconic pictures and suitable anecdotes from the robots themselves, Pedro Winter, Soulwax, James Murphy, etc. I also loved how it includes some of their first press releases ever and how it took years for music reviewers to catch up with their universe. On a personal take, I love how it rests a reasonable case for Human After All: that album's amazing and I will never understand its undeserved hatred.

I've admired Daft Punk for decades (nobody could escape their singles nor their irresistible videos during their Discovery years). The closest I saw them live was during Pharrell's 2014 Coachella set (I witnessed "Get Lucky" and "Lose Yourself to Dance", the crowd was insane) and Arcade Fire's trickster costumes (I really thought they were onstage, it's one of my fondest memories). I'm sure anybody, literally anybody wishes for another Alive tour. While fans wait for their reunion (you never know...), you can read this heartfelt tribute while blasting their discography one more time. There's old French new wave, there's new French new wave, and there's Daft Punk.

[Jose · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't learn anything new from other book available of which I own, same as any online article except it is a compilation of articles so it is a glorified magazine in hardbound sans dust jacket version. Then it gets political in one of the articles, sad an opportunity wasted I'd recommend Santorelli(inside the pyramid) book which is also articles nothing new either an older book but at least it isn't pretentious. I'm only keeping this and one I gifted cause I am a fan.

[Jose · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't learn anything new from other book available of which I own, same as any online article except it is a compilation of articles so it is a glorified magazine in hardbound sans dust jacket version. Then it gets political in one of the articles, sad an opportunity wasted I'd recommend Santorelli(inside the pyramid) book which is also articles nothing new either an older book but at least it isn't pretentious. I'm only keeping this and one I gifted cause I am a fan.

[Johnboy Somerville · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic insight into the duo. A great look back at where they came from and how groundbreaking they truly were. With commentary throughout from journalists and fellow artists this is the definitive guide.

[Herman Ivanov · Rating 5 out of 5]

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