Da Funk

"Da Funk"
Single by Daft Punk
from the album Homework
B-side "Musique"
Released 1995 (Soma), 1996 (Virgin)
Format CD, 12"
Recorded May 1995
Genre House, funky house
Length 5:29 (album version)
3:50 (long edit)
2:41 (short edit)
Label Soma, Virgin
Writer(s) Thomas Bangalter
Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo
Producer Daft Punk
Daft Punk singles chronology
"The New Wave'"
(1994)		 "Da Funk"
(1995)		 "Around the World"
(1997)

"Da Funk" is an instrumental track by Daft Punk initially released as a single in 1995 and later included on their debut album Homework. "Da Funk" and its accompanying video directed by Spike Jonze are considered classics of 1990s house music.[1]

Contents

Background

"Da Funk" was initially released as a 12 inch single in 1995 under the Soma Quality Recordings label with the B-side "Rollin' & Scratchin'" and again in late 1996 after the band signed with Virgin Records with the B-side[2] "Musique", a track that later appeared in the album Musique Vol. 1 1993-2005.

In an interview with Fredrik Strage for swedish magazine Pop #23 Bangalter reveal that "Da Funk" was made after listening to Westcoast G-Funk for weeks.

"It was around the time Warren G.'s "Regulate" was released and we wanted to make some sort of gangsta-rap and tried to murk our sounds as much as possible. However no one has ever compared it to hip-hop. We've heard that the drums sounds like Queen and The Clash, the melody is reminiscent of Giorgio Moroder, and the synthesizers sound like electro and thousand of other comparisons. No one agree with us that it sounds like hip-hop"[3]

In September 2010 Pitchfork Media included the song at number 18 on their Top 200 Tracks of the 90s.[1]

Music video

The track's music video was directed by Spike Jonze and entitled Big City Nights. It focuses on the character Charles (Tony Maxwell), an anthropomorphic dog in a leg cast with a crutch wearing urban clothing. Charles, who has lived in New York City for only one month, is shown walking around with a boombox blasting "Da Funk" at a high volume. His hobbled walk is made fun of by a pair of children. He is turned down when he attempts to participate in a public survey. His boombox annoys a bookseller on the sidewalk from whom Charles buys a paperback novel entitled Big City Nights. Charles meets a woman named Beatrice (Catherine Kellner), who was once his childhood neighbor. They agree to have dinner together at her home, traveling by way of a city bus. Beatrice boards the bus, but Charles is startled by a sign stating "NO RADIOS". As he is unable to turn off his boombox (which is earlier indicated to have a broken/missing volume button) he reluctantly remains at the bus stop, as the bus drives off with Beatrice.

Although the video has drawn several interpretations, Thomas Bangalter has stated:

There's no story. It is just a man-dog walking with a ghetto-blaster in New York. The rest is not meant to say anything. People are trying to explain it: Is it about human tolerance? Integration? Urbanism? There's really no message. There will be a sequel someday.[4]

"Fresh" video

Charles would indeed return in the music video for the Daft Punk track "Fresh", which is also from Homework. In this video, he is an actor shooting scenes for a film set on a beach. When the day's shoot is over, he discusses techniques with the director and then runs into Beatrice; they have apparently become boyfriend and girlfriend. The two make plans to go to a restaurant for dinner. Charles gets into Beatrice's red convertible and they drive off into the sunset.

The concept for this video echoes that of the "Da Funk" video, in that the track is treated as nothing more than a score against which the story plays out. "Fresh" was directed by Daft Punk themselves; Jonze makes a guest appearance as the director of Charles' film. According to the D.A.F.T. audio commentary, Daft Punk wanted Charles to return in a happier environment, to cheer up fans who saw him in a depressing situation in the "Da Funk" video. This would see him enjoying an acting career, receiving compliments, and dating Beatrice.

Track listing

12"

Side A
  1. "Da Funk" – 5:35
Side B
  1. "Musique" – 6:52

Soma 25 12"

Side A
  1. "Da Funk" – 5:30
Side B
  1. "Rollin' & Scratchin'" – 7:38

CD

  1. "Da Funk" (Radio Edit)
  2. "Musique"
  3. "Ten Minutes of Funk"

5-track DJ single

  1. "Da Funk" (Short Edit) – 2:41
  2. "Da Funk" (Long Edit) – 3:48
  3. "Da Funk" (LP Version) – 5:35
  4. "Ten Minutes of Funk" – 10:08
  5. "Call Out Hook" – 0:10

Chart positions

Charts (1996) Peak
position
ARIA Singles Chart 31
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) 20
Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia) 9
Dutch Singles Chart 96
Finnish Singles Chart 16
French Singles Chart 7
UK Singles Chart [5] 7
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 1

References

  1. ^ a b Pitchfork Top 200 Tracks of the 90s
  2. ^ James, Martin. French Connections: From Discotheque to Discovery. London, United Kingdom: Sanctuary Publishing Ltd., 2003. pg 273. (ISBN 1-8607-4449-4)
  3. ^ Strage, Fredrik. Daft Punk drömmer om Amerika Pop (Stockholm). - Stockholm, Sweden: Bonniers specialtidningsförlag, 1997 pg. 85 (ISSN 1103-8578).
  4. ^ Kieran Grant, Who are those masked men? canoe.ca. Retrieved on 15 April 2007.
  5. ^ "UK Chartlog". zobbel.de. http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_D.HTM. Retrieved January 12, 2009. 

External links

Preceded by
"That Sound" by Pump Friction		 Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single
17 May 1997		 Succeeded by
"I Miss You" by Björk
Daft Punk
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