Rewind: DJ Fett Burger on “Homework”

In discussion with DJ Fett Burger on “Homework” by Daft Punk (1996).

How did „”Homework”“ found its way to your years? Was it by coincidence, or did you seek it out on some recommendation?

It was totally by a coincidence. I think it was back in the fall or winter of 1996 or something, I can’t really remember. My brother and me were listening to the radio one evening in the kitchen. Back then, we always listened to the radio when we were eating or hanging out, usually making drawings. In Norway around the time it was a channel called NRK P3. It’s still around, and it was one of the main National broadcasting channels. There were three of them. NRK P1 the original, NRK P2 mostly for culture, and NRK P3 for the younger generation. This station was aiming for a younger audience – but in a very different way than today. They used to have a broad selection of different programs. My favorite was the programs in the morning and afternoon because they had a lot of intelligent humor and also sometimes pushed things a bit further in terms of what was socially acceptable, at least back then. In the evenings, six days a week, they had different shows dedicated to music belonging to a certain scene or niche. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday it was Roxrevyen, which later became Karlsens Kabin, and Hal 9000. Karlsens Kabin mainly covered indie music, but also electronic music. Hal 9000 with Harald Are Lund was a broad selection of rock, electronic and experimental music with a very open minded approach. A lot of older things got played as well. Friday, it was National Rap Show with Tommy Tee, Hip Hop concentration mostly on early nineties East Coast Hip Hop. And then, Saturday, it was DJ Dust with Funk and Disco, DJ Strangefruit with his eclectic selections, and later in the evening DJ Abstract with mostly House and Techno. On Sunday it was Chill Out with DJ Friendly in the morning and Ambolt on Sunday evening, which was dedicated to Metal and harder Rock. Overall, NPK P3 had a pretty broad selection of music from different scenes. It provided a great musical education for when you are young and from a small Norwegian town. These programs were so dedicated to their scene, they always played a lot of demos or unreleased music. Karlsens Kabin and Hal 9000 played some of our oldest music, even things only made on CD-R, so it was a very supportive scene on the radio back then. You can just imagine how crazy it was for us back then being played on national radio!

OK, now back to the question. First time I heard something from Daft Punk was through Karlsens Kabin or Roxrevyen as it was called then. It was a mid-week evening, and suddenly “Around The World” was on the radio. This was before it was a big hit, and before people knew what Daft Punk was. It was probably a radio promo that was played or something like that.

It just blew my mind at the time. Back then it was so cool, different, even strange. Right after they played the song, they said the name and title of the song. And one second later I forgot it all, except the song. But a few months later, Daft Punk was everywhere with “Da Funk” and “Around The World” on MTV all day long.

Do you like the album as a whole, or are there personal highlights, or even tracks you do not like as much?

I like the album as a whole. Before when it was new, you could hear the hits everywhere, so I was pretty familiar with them. I remember when my brother and I got the album. It was an interesting listening experience, since most of the tracks were actually not hits or mainstream material. For instance, “Rollin’ & Scratchin’, “High Fidelity”, “Rock’n Roll”, “Indo Silver Club”, “Alive” or the intro “Wdpk837 Fm.” But, since everything was on the album, it just became associated with something mainstream.

Now it’s a classic of course, but back then, it was the combination of making something catchy, a bit more demanding, and for a scene. In this case, obviously House and Techno. You can hardly say that something is demanding or edgy on the album anymore, because of its place in music history. I think there still are some tracks that are edgy. Back then, for a 15-year-old kid without any experience, this was a big and new thing. Just imagine what influence this had. I remember even in the beginning, I didn’t like “Rollin’ & Scratchin.’ However, it changed after I gained more of an understanding for where the song and its influences came from.

For me, the whole album is a personal highlight. There are different vibes to the tracks and your mood shifts. Some songs are more uplifting, some more mellow, and some noisy or slow. But everything is a favorite of mine in different ways. They all have different elements of influences for me in terms of musical education. The whole album is a favorite of mine. Everything, from how the sound is mixed, the way Daft Punk samples, the artwork aesthetic, the music videos and Daft Punk’s anonymity at the time. It’s a whole package, and I embraced it all. I loved it all and still do! Read the rest of this entry »

V.A. – Discovered – A Collection Of Daft Funk Samples (Rapster)

Was als Quelle übrig bleibt wenn man bei Daft Punk die Filter ausknipst, ist erwartungsgemäß eine Ansammlung von Diskotheken-Evergreens, die größtenteils genauso ins Gesicht prescht wie die Tracks, zu denen sie in der französischen Peak Time-Tuningstation später aufgebohrt wurden. Breakwater, Karen Young, Edwin Birdsong, Cerrone, Tata Vega und Eddie Johns sind auch im Original keine subtilen Diggerpreziosen, sondern schwitzig-glitterige Hymnen mit weithin erprobter Partydurchschlagskraft. Bei Oliver Cheathams „Get Down Saturday Night“ wird sich nicht auf das Original berufen, sondern auf die 89er-Version, die eben so klimperig und billigsynthieflächig an jeglichem Authentizitätsbezug vorbeiholpert, wie nahezu alle Klassiker in der verantwortungslosen Phase von House-Remixen zu jener Zeit. Chaka Khan, Little Anthony, George Duke und Sister Sledge hingegen sind vielleicht auch nicht von obskurer Herkunft, aber sind hier mit gleichwohl seidig-eleganteren Songs vertreten. Der Moog-Ausreißer ist diesmal von Jerry Goldsmith. Man hätte natürlich überall drauf kommen können, in Erkenntnis und Ausführung, ist man aber eben nicht. Wenn der Sinn dieser Zusammenstellung jedoch darin besteht, den Produktionsprozess zwischen Sample und Track nachvollziehen zu können, endet die Transformation unentschieden zwischen mehr und weniger erkenntlich.

De:Bug 12/07