We think 2016 is the odds-on favourite for a Daft Punk reunion, here's why

 

Thomas Bangalter's YouTube Channel

A channel that has lain dormant for three years suddenly sparks back into life uploading multiple versions of Bangalter's solo work to little fanfare. And we're supposed to believe that 'just happens'? Pull the other one. 

Thomas Bangalter is a man obsessed with every minute detail of his art. Do you really think he's going to start quietly publishing old material for no reason? There simply has to be an endgame here and, while new solo material seems the most likely, if you take it into account with the rest of the evidence below, it seems to point to the return of the robots.

 

This Tweet From Boys Noize

Aside from being a figurehead in the electro scene Daft Punk inspired, German producer Boys Noize is also one of thr few artists to ever officially remix a Daft Punk track. And if Daft Punk - "End Of The Line" (Boys Noize Remix) isn't enough to convince you that he might have an idea what the robots are up to, then have a look at this interview from 2013 where BN talks about his close personal friendship with Bangalter.

 

10 Years Since 'That' Coachella

Yep, 10 years from the iconic moment when Daft Punk came back from the brink and reinvented the dance music live set. This moment is so huge in both dance music history and Daft Punk's personal journey that it seems unlikely they could let the ten year anniversary pass bye without comment.

 

LCD Soundsystem Have Reformed

"And what do LCD Soundsystem have to do with Daft Punk?" I hear you yell into your screens. Well do the math: "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House" is LCD Soundsystems most well known song. LCD Soundsystem are reforming for Coachella 2016 after a five year hiatus. The same Coachella that will mark ten years since the return of Daft Punk. And the very same Coachella that has already announced the return of Guns N Roses and NWA - probably the most iconic acts in rock and rap respectively, so why not go for the hattrick and hope the most iconic act in dance will return as well.

 

It Complete The Alive Trilogy

Daft Punk have only ever done two full world tours. 1996-1997 and 2006-2007. Each of those tours spawned a live album - Alive 1997 and Alive 2007. If they want to 'complete the trilogy', as it were, then they need to reform this year and they need to do it before this summer.

 

 

It Would (Sort of) Follow A Pattern Of Album Releases

Homework came out in 1997, Discovery in 2001, Human After All in 2005, Tron: Legacy in 2010, Random Access Memories in 2013. OK, bare with me on this. The first three studio albums come in four year breaks. Then admittedly we jump to five for Tron. But Tron would've been out of their hands, it would had to have come out when the film did and that was up to Disney, not them. Three years later RAM (maybe a year earlier to make up for the extra year wait for Tron?) And now, 2017, is the next logical time for a full length album to drop. In order for that to realistically happen they'd need to return to the limelight in 2016. A huge stretch, I know, but not impossible.

 

There you have it. I know there's an awful lot conjecture, speculation and wishful thinking in this piece, but you have to admit, when taken all together and given their history, 2016 is looking like our best chance yet for the return of Daft Punk.