In celebration of the 15th Anniversary of Discovery, here are 15 facts you might not know about the iconic album
1. It's A Concept Album About The Duo's Childhood
Talking about Discovery in an interview with remix magazine, Thomas Bangalter said: "It's less of a tribute to the music from 1975 to 1985 as an era and more about focusing on the time when we were zero to ten years old. When you're a child you don't judge or analyze music. You just like it because you like it. You're not concerned with whether it's cool or not."
2. They Wanted It To Be The Opposite Of Homework
In the same interview, Bangalter stated: "Homework was a way to say to the rock kids, like, 'Electronic music is cool'. Discovery was the opposite, of saying to the electronic kids, 'Rock is cool, you know? You can like that.'"
3. It Was Recorded Entirely In Thomas's House
They began in 1998 and it took two years from start to finish. They also used all the same equipment they used for Homework.
4. "One More Time" Was The First Discovery Track They Completed
They left it "sitting on a shelf" until its release in 2000.
5. DJ Sneak Wrote The Lyrics For "Digital Love"
6. The Album Begins And Ends With Tracks Sung By Romanthony
Romanthony was a DJ / producer / singer from New Jersey. He sang on both the opening and closing tracks on Discovery. The pair met him at the Miami Winter Music Conference in 1996. They wanted him to sing on their album due to the emotional nature of his work. Romanthony has released four studio albums of his own, but sadly passed away in 2013.
7. A Lot of The 'Samples' On The Album Are Actually Re-recordings By Daft Punk
Many websites list a whole bunch of tracks that were apparently sampled on Discovery, but Bangatler stated that many of the 'samples' were re-recordings done by the duo to create fake samples. Guy-Man estimated that around half of the sampled material on Discovery was played by the band.
8. But They Did Officially Sample Four Tracks, They Are:
9. George Duke - "I Love You More" On "Digital Love"
On "Digital Love".
10. Edwin Birdsong - "Cola Bottle Baby"
On "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger".
11. The Imperials - "Can You Imagine"
On "Crescendolls".
12. Barry Manilow - "Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed"
On "Superheroes".
13. The Album Was Turned Into The Feature Length Anime Interstellar 555
The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5system was a collaboration between Toei Animation, Daft Punk and their childhood hero, Leiji Matsumoto. Each track from the album was adapted into an episode in the story of the abduction and rescue of an interstellar pop band.
14. The Band From Interstellar 555 were Called the Crescendolls
And you can buy their merch on Etsy.
15. Early Versions Of The Album Came With A 'Daft Club' Membership Card
The code on the card allowed the user to access a secret online music service, where they could listen to exclusive tracks from the upcoming Daft Club and Alive 1997 albums. This was in 2001 - a full seven years before Spotify launched and online streaming revolutionised the music industry.
More Daft Punk:
On/Off: Why It's So Hard To Be A Daft Punk Fan In 2017
