Its effect is to up the energy of the track a notch further.ġ8. Break! The kick and bass are muted as the insistence pads out the mix, spilling into the gaps between the other elements. An as-yet-unheard element fades in for eight bars: a 16th-note stabby synth sound that plays in the upper registers, is heavily effected and, like the bassline, sticks to just one note.
#DAFT PUNK SONGS FUNK FULL#
The complete mix is extended for a full 16 bar section.ġ6. The opening hook returns so that all three music parts are in the mix. The lead 303’s cutoff frequency is still on the move, ensuring the listener’s attention never wanders.ġ5. As the bass returns, the 909 hi-hat leaves the mix and the rhythm returns to its stock groove: kick, clap and 808 hat. The sampled beat makes a brief reappearance, along with the same subtle 808 hi-hat groove debuted in bar 65.ġ4. Exposed in the mix, you get a chance to listen to how it’s made: one layer is a 909 clap and the other is what sounds like a white noise hit or a randomly-panned slapback reverb return fed by the clap.ġ3. The 909 hi-hat continues to carry the groove alongside the stabs as one of the most iconic TB-303 sequences in dance music enters the mixġ2. It’s an ever-changing acid line, with the cutoff frequency and resonance always on the move. The 909 hi-hat continues to carry the groove alongside the stabs as one of the most iconic TB-303 sequences in dance music enters the mix. At bar 65 an occasional 808 hat, panned right and mixed low, adds a simple response to the 909’s call.ġ1. And here it is: the hi-hat taking brazen centre stage, sculpting a new groove against the driving bass and stabs. Only Daft Punk could enlist a closed 909 hi-hat to perform solo duties. Listen carefully and you’ll hear the same random panning on this part as the 909 clap, only subtler – a nice way of bringing unity to disparate parts.ġ0. The sampled beat has gone, only to appear subsequently during short breaks.ĩ. The rhythm section now comprises kick and clap only. The lead hook ends as the track strips back to basics. An easily missable detail is the brief muting of the layered clap in bar 44.Ĩ. Note that the bass ends a bar before the turnaround – it’s a simple trick to signal the coming change and help ease the transition.ħ. Breaking up the length of the loops like this maintains interest, toying with the expectations of the listener and dancefloor. Here’s the first: a four-bar section in which the bass and layered kick drops out and the sampled stab is reintroduced. ‘Da Funk’ is mostly governed by 8-bar turnarounds, but there are exceptions. What powers the riff? Roland SH-101, Juno-106, Yamaha CS-15, MiniKorg 700s? Who knows…Ħ. In comes the lead riff, weaving effortlessly into the wide area of mix estate available in the middle frequencies. Note the addition of a fourth layer of drums over the sampled beat: this time a carefully sculpted 808 hi-hat.ĥ. As it is, its role is to anchor the energy only, underpinning the groove and allowing other parts to take the melodic and rhythmic leads. The beat returns, this time underpinned by the plucked synth bass – an absurdly simple on-the-beat G that in different producers’ hands might have sound offensively dull. This is the first and only time it will play.Ĥ. At bar 20, all beat elements are silenced as a sampled drum break (from Barry White’s ‘I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby’) takes centre stage. The main exception is the clap, which apparently randomly scatters around the speakers.ģ. As in many Daft Punk productions, the stereo field is kept deliberately narrow.
The beat comprises a noisy sampled loop, replete with original reverb (taken from Vaughan Mason and Crew’s ‘Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll’) layered with a deep, club-friendly kick and a layered 909/white noise clap. The musical elements drop out to make way for the beat, which enters doubly hard after the low-cut resample of the previous section. Within the first 10 seconds of the song, almost all major track elements are playingĢ.