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Producer Todd Edwards has discussed his work on the new Daft Punk album, revealing Random Access Memories is inspired by the likes of The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac, and credited the French duo with bringing 'soul back to music'.
The producer worked with Daft Punk on their Discovery track, 'Face To Face', and has returned to work with the French duo for their 2013 comeback. Edwards has revealed in the latest series of interviews with the duo's collaborators that Thomas Bangalter and Guy Manuel de Homem Christo were inspired by classic rock sounds on the new record.
"Thomas was talking about picking up this West Coast vibe," says Edwards. "At first I didn't know what he meant... They were saying [about] going back to time of Fleetwood Mac, The Doobie Brothers, The Eagles, just picking up that West Coast vibe."
Daft Punk became known for their intergalactic, robotic sounds after their 2001 album Discovery, but this has been ditched in favour of new sounds, including a strong influence from the seventies disco scene.
"There was no going further into this direction," he adds, disussing the duo's new disco sound. "It's been constantly replicated, imitated and emulated. So the concept was to reverse gears. They went back to a time that no one is even focusing on."
Watch Todd Edwards discuss his work on Random Access Memories below
"Younger producers are going to be blown away by what they're hearing," Edwards continues. "It's not going to be possible to do what they did, but, you can take ideas from that. People will think 'maybe I can bring a live bassist in on that' or 'lets experiment with live analogue gear'... Think outside the box."
Continuing the praise, he adds: "They're fulfilling their vision on all levels. The crowd is experiencing it, but to see it from the other side is to really see what they have accomplished. They are future classics. They have brought back the sounds that have been lost for a long time."
"When the music becomes focused on the effects that are being used, there's no soul there," he concludes. "It's ironic, two androids are bringing soul back to music."
Below: Randon Access Memories - the key facts
