Iconic indie pop band Phoenix have revealed they collaborated with Daft Punk‘s Thomas Bangalter for his or her new album.
Speaking with Stereogum for the outlet’s “We’ve Got A File On You” interview sequence, Phoenix, who’re celebrating their twenty fifth anniversary this yr, mentioned they labored with Bangalter to supply Alpha Zulu, the band’s seventh full-length album.
Frontman Thomas Mars mentioned the legendary Daft Punk member at instances crammed the void of Philippe Zdar, their late French compatriot and a deeply influential musician who helped produce a handful of the band’s albums. Zdar tragically died following an unintentional fall in Paris in 2019.
“The mixer performed an vital half on this one,” Mars mentioned. “And Thomas [Bangalter] from Daft Punk got here just a few instances to assist us out, simply to play the function of Philippe, who was this charismatic drive that knew who we had been and will give us recommendation as a result of he is aware of the place we need to go, he is aware of the place we come from, he’s a pal. Thomas performed a bit little bit of the identical function. He is aware of the potential of a track; he is aware of what a demo might sound like. He would assist us select a bit bit.”
Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter.
Pod Okay/Wikimedia Commons
Bangalter’s involvement in Alpha Zulu, Phoenix’s first LP since 2017, pours gasoline on an album that has the texture of a tour de drive for the band. It was recorded on the Musée des Arts décoratifs, which is a part of the enduring Louvre Palace.
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And within the wake of the robots’ surprising break up after 28 years, it appears Daft Punk’s destiny mirrors the album’s thematic ideas.
“It’s technicolor, and on the similar time it is about loss of life and getting old,” Mars mentioned of Alpha Zulu.
Elsewhere within the interview, Mars and Laurent “Branco” Brancowitz, Phoenix’s lead guitarist, mentioned the epic Daft Punk cameo throughout their encore at Madison Square Garden in 2010, once they introduced out the duo to carry out “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.”
“It’s enjoyable to see the set listing after which to see ‘Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,’ ‘1901.’ That was a extremely enjoyable reminiscence,” Mars recalled. “And to maintain the key was additionally actually enjoyable. We needed to pull out massive drapes in order that the employees of the Madison Square Garden wouldn’t see them as a result of they needed to rehearse as robots to verify they’d see what they had been enjoying. We stored it a secret even from folks within the crew or from those who work for us as a result of they’re going to inform all of the report corporations that tonight one thing particular goes to occur after which it’s going to leak. So we stored it secret and that was actually enjoyable.”
Alpha Zulu is due out on Friday, November 4th.