Art Institute admits faking tracks on YouTube
Michael Baggs

09:49 5th March 2013

More about:

A number of tracks claiming to be leaks from the upcoming Daft Punk album have spread widely online - but today they have been revealed as fakes by the artist responsible.

YouTube user ArtInstitute2011 had uploaded four tracks to their profile, each titled 'Daft Punk - Real Leak "No End 2013"' and numbered one to four. However, despite clocking up tens of thousands of listens online, the producer has now admitted the scam - despite fans of the French duo praising the leaked tracks.

Art Institute has now changed the name of all the videos they had uploaded claiming to be by Daft Punk.

"Not really sure if these 'leaks' are fake or not, hope they're real. But I just can't see why someone would make such a good track to just put on youtube as a fake track," wrote YouTube user Daniel Gibson in the comments below the standout track of the four uploaded, titled simply '#2'.

Listen to '#2' below

Daft Punk are set to release a new album in 2013, and last week premiered a snippet of a new track during a commerical break in US TV show, Saturday Night Live.

Daft Punk were the subject of numerous festival rumours at the beginning of 2013, but as the likes of Coachella and Primavera were announced, it became clear that the French dance legends were unlikely to hit the festival circuit this year.

Listen to the remaining three 'fake' Daft Punk tracks below.

Below: No End? Everything we know about Daft Punk's 2013 album

  • The album title: The fourth Daft Punk album looks likely to be called No End - or at least, a leaked image seen in early September 2012 seems to suggest so. Australian dance website InTheMix published the suspiciously official looking image along with a possible release date - 3 March, 2013.

  • Glastonbury 2013?: Of course, if Daft Punk do release a new album in March next year they will need to promote it - and where better than at Glastonbury 2013, which is sure to be the biggest festival of the year. Leaked dates also include Roslkilde Festival in Denmark, Peace and Love in Sweden and Oya Festival in Norway. These would be Daft Punk's first live dates since their 2007 Alive tour.

  • Back to their disco roots: Daft Punk hit their commercial peak with their 2001 album Discovery, and are set to return to a disco sound, having teamed up with Chic main-man Nile Rogers to work on the new album. Rumours began circulating of a potential collaboration in February of 2012 - and were later confirmed by Rogers himself.

  • It will be less rushed than Human After All: Even to the most dedicated Daft Punk fan, third album Human After All was a bit of a disappointment. It was reportedly recorded in six weeks, and the noisy, repetitive sounds on the album was testament to that. However, with Nile Rogers and Daft Punk beginning jamming sessions for the album in February - that means Daft Punk have already spent over six times as long working on No End as they did Human After All...

  • Nile Rogers isn't the only disco legend to have worked on the album: As well as Nile Rogers, disco legend Giorgio Moroder has also worked on the new album, having recorded a spoken-word monologue about his life in Spring 2012. His contribution was recorded using microphones from the 1960s to present day - each to represent a decade in the life of the 72-year-old producer and songwriter

  • No End is 'as good as Madonna's best pop work': After working with Thomas Bangalter and Guy Manuel de Homem Christo on their album, Nile Rogers had high praise for the next album, comparing it to his finest work. He told Mixmag in August: "It's as great as being in a studio with Bowie, it's as great as being with Bernard Edwards, and it's as great as the best stuff I've ever done with Duran Duran and Madonna.”

  • A more cinematic album?: Never ones to do things on a small scale, Daft Punk's last album release was the epic Tron:Legacy soundtrack - and a sense of the cinematic has rubbed off the French duo, having worked with Paul Williams - the mad behind Hollywood soundtracks such as Bugsy Malone, Smokey & The Bandit and perhaps most importantly - The Muppet Christmas Carol. Epic, cinematic disco house? Count us in.

  • Rumoured tracks include 'Renoma Street': We all got very excited in the summer when it was revealed a new Daft Punk track 'Renoma Street' was due for release in July 2012. Then it didn't happen so we all went and listened to Homework for the millionth time. The track was named by French dance magazine Tsugi, who hopefully took their listing from some whisper of truth.

  • No End is likely to be styled as ever: Daft Punk made a fashionable mark on the music world during their Discovery era, adopting robot helmets and, of course, slick black leather outfits - designered by Saint Laurent legend, Hedi Slimane. Daft Punk put together a playlist for the Saint Laurent show at this year's Paris Fashion Week, showing their relationship is still strong - or perhaps repaying whatever designs her has provided for their upcoming return to the music world...

More about:


Photo: Daft Punk