WHAT IS ELECTRONICA– Electronica is a style of composition which is made up of electronic and mostly synthesised sound. This type of composition is often associated with EDM, techno and rave music. Electronic music was birthed from the 60’s when synths and electronic music was beginning to rise, electronica still is big today in clubs and has even sometimes reached the top bill board. A few electronic artists you may know are; the electric light orchestra, daft punk and the prodigy.
DAFT PUNK
THE FRENCH HOUSE MOVEMENT- The French house music, also known as the French touch, filter house and tekfunk is a style of house music that was made in France, that’s why it got the name French house. This genre was using techniques from the analogue synths of the 70’s and was taking the world by storm. The French touch is a style of dance music, and was at it’s peak in the late 90’s to early 2000’s, especially with Euro Dances popularity. The genre was so loved because of it’s 70’s disco and soul samples that the artists used. In the 2000’s French house music was main stream, Madonna even dedicated her 2005 album ‘confessions on a dance floor’ to the French house genre.
WHAT IS THE FRENCH TOUCH SOUND- The much loved French touch sound was often made up of old 70’s disco sample loops and a lot of synths. The French touch genre was made for people to dance to this was made through four to the floor drum beats, synth leads and crazy rhythms. One of the most well known French house artists to this day are Daft Punk, who were given fame after their recognition for talent in Paris 1992 for their French touch music.
French house info- Everything you need to know about: French touch | MusicRadar
THE HISTORY OF DAFT PUNK- Daft punk are a duo of electronic music artists that are from Paris, they were first formed in 1992. the duo features the 2 members Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. During the rise of the French touch the duo released their debut single “The new wave” which was instantly a hit with the Electronic music fans. After that the duo then released their first hit song “Da funk” which sold 30,000 copies world wide, not long after this hit record companies wanted them. They eventually signed with virgin music and made their first album ‘Musique’ in 1996. After this album fans were craving more, and they waited four years for Daft Punks second album ‘Discovery’ in 2001. The albums number one hit was ‘Harder, better, faster stronger’ which won an award and was sampled in Kanye Wests 2008 hit ‘stronger’. In 2013 Daft Punk released their best album yet ‘Random access to memories’, this album won awards for; best dance album, album of the year and best engineered album. In this time period around the release of the album the collaborated with the weeknd (star boy and I feel it coming) and Pharrell Williams (get lucky).
the history of daft punk source- Daft Punk | Biography & History | AllMusic
HARDER BETTER FASTER STRONGER ANALYSIS (DAFT PUNK)
This song is a part of the French house music genre because of it’s country of origin and style. This song is written in the key of F sharp minor with the time signature of 4/4 which is to be expected of a dance track. This song follows a form of an A section, B section and then a C section, which is strange for a dance track because they usually have an ABAB form. This song also has a moderate tempo of 120 BPM which is in the middle of fast and mid paced. The song mostly plays forte throughout the song, but in the transition from the A to B section the texture thins and it plays at a piano dynamic level. Each section of this song is more intense than the other in rhythm and instrumentals. The A section is simple with a relaxed melody and instrumentals. The B section is when the vocals become more loud and the instrumentals become faster. The C section is the most intense because the voice lead moves very fast and loops it’s self constantly.
The most distinctive electronic feature of this track is the heavily synthesised voice lead , this voice lead is used in all of their songs and has become a iconic style for them. This voice lead is also used as the songs melody, this melody is advanced because it is made out of loops from lyrics that the artists have inputted. the rapid succession of loops leaves the track jumping in pitch. The melody is also highly repetitive and memorable for listeners. The lyrics in this song are very limited and re used by the voice synth lead, they are just used as a loop the lyrics in this song aren’t made to hold a deep meaning. The lyrics are short phrases that repeat and are easy to dance to when looped.
The instruments used in this song are; bass, drums, voice lead synth, saxophone, guitar and percussion. By listening to the song it may seem familiar that is because the songs bass line and horns are a sample of ‘Cola Bottle Baby; by Edwin Birdsong. The sample is used throughout the whole song. The funky bass provides the strong and solid staccato rhythm that the song maintains, and that is used as the foundation for the music. The drums provide a four to the floor drum beat which is used very often in EDM music to get the listeners physically engaged. The vocals are used as the core of the EDM that defines it as electro music, because of it’s heavily synthesised voice. The track does not have much harmony except for the electric guitar which comes in later and plays the harmony, the guitar is a form of polyphonic harmony so it plays chords with the rhythm of the song.
where I found info on sample- Daft Punk’s ‘Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger’ sample of Edwin Birdsong’s ‘Cola Bottle Baby’ | WhoSampled