Former Daft Punk robot Thomas Bangalter releases new solo single ‘L’Accouchement’
The general consensus when the Daft Punk duo departed the music scene was that they would simply steadily drift into retirement. The modus operandi of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo in their robot days was to shun the spotlight as much as possible then spring to life with an album once in a distant blue moon.
Thus, it came as quite the surprise when Bangalter ditched his helmet and made a return to music less than two years on from Daft Punk’s departure from the dancefloor. But perhaps it isn’t quite as surprising as the music itself. While the Frenchman has always carried an eclectic aura in his sound, you would have thought his new classic overture with Romain Dumas and the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine would sport some sort of pioneering flourish somewhere along the line.
As it happens, you wait and wait for a touch of robotics, but like an Amish kid at Christmas, it never arrives. What you’re left with is an uneventful swell of strings that codify one singular message: I, Thomas Bangalter, have decided to distance myself from my former oeuvre in such a way that you may well find frustrating, but I, ultimately, couldn’t give a funk; in fact, not giving a funk is just about my sole motivation for making this song.
‘L’Accouchement’ is French for childbirth but this labour is one of the strangest on record—ominous but uneventful. It’s hard to imagine what kind of creature this maudlin screech bore. However, you will no doubt find out in the Mythologies ballet, which is, in fairness, the purpose of this song—a no less dawdling song, like giving birth to Satan but the bastard is so slippery, he pops right out without the need for an epidural.
Bangalter will provide the entire score for Angelin Preljocaj’s ballet. And it will certainly leave philistines used to spilling drinks in an uproar once ‘One More Time’ pops on at the disco scratching their heads. The problem, however, is that classical fans will also be raising an eyebrow at this venture.
It’s very hard to critique ballet music, and at this stage, this piece could be left seeming stupid with further releases and the overarching context of Mythologies, but presently the whole thing has an air of self-indulgence about it, and I can’t see anyone rushing back to listen to this viola waterboarding any time. In that regard, it certainly captures the notion of childbirth. But the bigger critique that may well remain once the whole thing is released is whether ballet must remain so doggedly in the past. Surely having Bangalter on board offered the chance of an invigorating reinvention?
The rest of the Mythologies ballet score will be released on April 7th.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out New Music Newsletter
All the latest New Music from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.