Daft Punk officially hung up their helmets in 2021 after a 28-year run that brought them from obscurity to chart-storming, Grammy-winning global success.
The Parisian duo has since released archival reissues and remix albums, and most recently, partnered with Lego, but it seems that fans holding out for a reunion will likely be waiting a very long time.
In the meantime, though, here’s something to tide us over: British DJ Ralph Lawson has unearthed a lost DJ mix recorded by Daft Punk in the ’90s to promote their debut album Homework.
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Lawson discovered the mix, which originally appeared on his KISS FM radio show Trans Europe Express in 1997, recorded on a DAT tape that had “sat in a box for nearly 30 years” in his personal archive. The tape was damaged when Lawson found it, but has since been restored by Bristol-based specialists Greatbear and shared on Soundcloud.
After the tape was restored in excellent quality, Lawson listened to the mix for the first time in an Instagram post (embedded above) – his reaction to finding out that he’d discovered a previously unheard Daft Punk mix is priceless.
The mix itself seems to have been mixed on vinyl, and features three tracks from Homework, two of Thomas Bangalter’s early solo tracks, and several from the duo’s collaborators, including Romanthony and Armand Van Helden. As expected, it’s an expertly mixed set packed full of gems – our personal favourite is House of Jazz’s deep house classic Lose My Mind.
Though it’s almost 30 years old, Lawson’s isn’t the oldest Daft Punk mix that exists in the digital archives: as far as we’re aware, that title belongs to this 1994 recording of the duo’s show on Parision radio station FG Radio.
Daft Punk hasn’t performed a DJ set in public since 2001 at London’s Fabric nightclub, but Bangalter has made several appearances behind the decks in recent years, most notably joining Fred Again on stage back in February at Alexandra Palace.
Listen to the full mix on Soundcloud.
Tracklist:
[00:00] Romanthony – Everybody Dancing
[02:45] Thomas Bangalter – What To Do
[05:35] Jack Da Ripper – Da Jacker
[07:40] New Soul Fusion – Prelude
[09:15] Jack Da Ripper – Beautification Of House
[10:50] Basement Jaxx – Fly Life
[14:30] Armand Van Helden – Psychic Bounty Killaz
[17:20] Thomas Bangalter – Spinal Beats
[18:35] House Of Jazz – Lose My Mind
[21:10] Boris Dlugosch Pres. Booom! – Keep Pushin’ (Pushin’ Beats)
[23:20] Sweet – Somebody’s Watching
[25:50] Exodus – Together Forever (Dub Version)
[26:50] Daft Punk – WDPK 83.7 FM
[27:10] Daft Punk – Revolution 909
[30:50] Sweet – Conversation
[34:00] Boris Dlugosch Pres. Booom! – Keep Pushin’ (Disciple’s Vox)
[36:15] Boris Dlugosch Pres. Booom! – Keep Pushin’
[39:50] Daft Punk – Rock’n Roll
[44:40] Dirty House Crew – Cantina Tango
[47:05] I:Cube – Disco Cubizm
[51:00] Parris Mitchell Project – Ghetto Shout Out!
[51:55] CZR – Chicago So
