Daft Punk will release a new “drumless edition” of their final studio album ‘Random Access Memories’ in November.
On the back of a 10th anniversary reissue earlier this year, the French duo’s reimagining of the LP paints its 13 tracks in new light.
An official description reads: “This version strips away all drum and percussive elements from the album, giving listeners the ability to dive deeper into the layers of instrumentation on each track.”
The Grammy-winning record will be available on CD and 2LP vinyl, as well as digitally. Check out an announcement video for the November 17 release below.
Random Access Memories – Drumless Edition, November 17th 2023
— Daft Punk (@daftpunk) September 28, 2023
Pre-order now, https://t.co/788o6rjHKE pic.twitter.com/EtNeu 1Ccmd
Speaking recently, Daft Punk member Thomas Bangalter opened up about his split with Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christom, revealing what compelled the masked duo to go their individual ways.
“Daft Punk was a project that blurred the line between reality and fiction with these robot characters,” he shared. “It was a very important point for me and Guy-Man[uel] to not spoil the narrative while it was happening.”
Bangalter added: “Now the story has ended, it felt interesting to reveal part of the creative process that is very much human-based and not algorithmic of any sort.”
Another reason he gave was changes in the technological landscape, with the musician citing the real-life rise in artificial intelligence as a concern.
“It was an exploration, I would say, starting with the machines and going away from them,” he shared. “I love technology as a tool [but] I’m somehow terrified of the nature of the relationship between the machines and ourselves.”
Admitting their desire to distance themselves from such advances, he added: “My concerns about the rise of artificial intelligence go beyond its use in music creation. I almost consider the character of the robots like a Marina Abramović performance art installation that lasted for 20 years
“As much as I love this character, the last thing I would want to be, in the world we live in, in 2023, is a robot.”