Over three years ago the French duo released their fourth and classiest record to date and somehow my utter excitement to listen to It got buried by other distractions, I have no excuses. A month or so ago It dawned on me that I forgot of its existence, a shameful crime... Daft Punk need no introduction but if your unfamiliar then a little history is due, they are a pair of Electronic musicians who emerged from the House scene, contributed massively to the mainstream success and sound of modern electronic music while sealing themselves in an air of mystery at the same time, given their robot avatars. With four records in twenty years and one soundtrack the two have a lot of integrity to put the music at the foremost of their art, rarely touring and always striving the reach new heights with every ambition.
RAM is the moment where the two unchain themselves of their electronic origins and delve deeply into their disco, funk, soul and 70s music roots. Slick acoustic guitar licks, rock steady, grooving baselines and classy, subtle drumming all set a solid tone. Its gorgeous, slick, smooth and easy on the ears, all made possible by a collection of prestigious session musicians who revive the music of times gone by without a sense a nostalgia, a quite remarkable feat not commonly encountered. It plays out like a refined Disco of the future, finely tuned and polished to sparkle.
It comes full circle as the music's electronic aspect goes through a completely organic process of becoming the humanistic aspect as the lush instrumentals set a harmonious tone for bursts of measured synthesizers to find their moments between the ensemble of vintage instrumentation, captured together in a masterful production. Where a guest vocalist isn't present the pairs auto-tuned, electrified voices take command and bridge the connection. With an analytic mind its as if a case of reverse role has taken place, the voice electronic rather than the music but with a keen ear one can here the littering of subtle keys and murmuring synth lines between the traditional music.
All of this is essentially stated on "Giorgio By Moroder" through Italian producer Giorgio who, with a brilliant quote, captures much of the essence of whats at work on RAM. For all the praise I could lavish it with, RAM is a record of tone, mood and charisma. With a run time of seventy four minutes it does little to shake up its pace and energy and with consistency finds itself drifting out of my attention in the final stretch. By the time "Contact" rolls around with its ambitious noise abuse I'm about done with things and awaiting its conclusion. A brilliant output by the duo, a vision well and truly executed but perhaps lacking a little in variety and experimentation where its consistency runs dry.
Favorite Tracks: Give Life Back To Music, Loose Yourself To Dance, Get Lucky, Doin'it Right
Rating: 8/10