Homework by Daft Punk
Homework is the debut studio album released by French electronic music duo Daft Punk in January 20, 1997. Considered a blend of house, techno, acid, funk and occasionally hip-hop, its success brought worldwide attention to French progressive house music and incited interest in French touch music, as several touch artists gained influence from Homework's style. According to The Village Voice, the album revived house music and broke free from the "Euro[dance] formula". Critically and commercially acclaimed, Homework has sold over two million copies worldwide and received several gold and platinum certifications. The album featured singles that had significant impact in the French house and global dance music scenes. This includes the critically acclaimed and commercially successful "Around the World" and "Da Funk", which have been named among the best songs of their time. The duo commented they had produced the series of tracks without an initial plan to release an album. As Thomas Bangalter stated, "It was supposed to be just a load of singles. But we did so many tracks over a period of five months that we realized that we had a good album." The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Few records combine sonic innovation with veneration for what came before as succinctly as Daft Punk’s 1997 debut, <i>Homework</i>. The title itself implies this duality: It’s a reference to both the bedroom studio where musicians Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo recorded their early house and techno productions, and a nod to the older artists the duo studied in preparation for their dance music breakthrough. Many of those musical ancestors are name-checked on the <i>Homework</i> track “Teachers”, on which Bangalter and Homem-Christo salute the (mostly) electronic music producers and DJs who inspired their work. That includes plenty of semi-obscure Chicago house music heroes and Detroit and UK techno champions, many of whom predated Daft Punk by a decade—but who were still active in the late-1990s rave scene. By tagging their peers, the members of Daft Punk were expressing solidarity with the many BIPOC artists whom they’d obsessed over for years. It was a declaration of belonging that could have come off as appropriation, had <i>Homework</i> not so fully elevated the genre. Bangalter and Homem-Christo might wear their influences on their sleeve, but their music transcends mere tribute; it’s some of the most unforgettable hook-laden house and techno ever put to wax. When it comes to the dance floor, if a record’s hot, that record is hot. And DJs across the globe pumped <i>Homework</i>’s 16 tracks, which included everything from playful filtered disco (“Revolution 909”) to throttling acid techno (“Rollin’ & Scratchin’”). Meanwhile, radio jocks and MTV programmers on the lookout for format-friendly versions of popular rave sounds swooned over <i>Homework</i> cuts like “Da Funk” and “Around the World”, which became breakout hits, thanks to inventive videos directed, respectively, by Spike Jonez and Michel Gondry. That near-impossible confluence of talent and timing allowed <i>Homework</i> to achieve its position atop every list of 1990s electronic music. As time went on, the members of Daft Punk would prove themselves worthy of every accolade <i>Homework</i> received as they continued to evolve from students to teachers to masters—elevating the state of electronic music every step of the way.
