Great Recordings: Daft Punk, Random Access Memories
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- Опубліковано 25 лис 2021
- Could Daft Punk's Random Access Memories be considered as one of the all time great recordings? Maybe as much as any Beatles album or other? In this video, Harley Lovegrove continues his exploration into 'What makes a great recording', focusing on this album from 2013.
Great Recordings UA-cam Playlist: • Great Recordings Pt.2 ...
Spotify playlist 'What Makes a Great Recording?' - (your nominated choices): open.spotify.com/playlist/1Bc...
PearlAcoustics Website: www.pearlacoustics.com - Навчання та стиль
the level of obsession with sound design and recording techniques of daft punk are super inspiring. reading about the production of "Giorgio by Moroder" completely blew me away: "When Moroder arrived in the studio to record his monologue, he was initially perplexed that the booth contained multiple microphones; he wondered if the extra equipment was a precaution in case one of the microphones broke. The recording engineer explained that the microphones varied with origin dates that ranged from the 1960s to the 21st century, and that each microphone would be used to represent the different decades in Moroder's life"
Thanks for this additional information. Very interesting!
Epic little piece of information :-)
I think I also know the continue of this episode: Giorgio asked the recording engineer "why? no one will notice it" and he answered "oh, those two guys will"
@@paolocacciatore3211 Was just gonna comment this. It's one of my favorite tidbits from the behind the scenes look and speaks to Daft Punk's amazing ear and talent for music and sound.
And it's that interesting, as they also do some of the pure underground, raw, kinda harsh sounding tracks, which only speaks about their genus as the musicians :D
I discovered this album yesterday at age 68 and it's now possibly my favorite album. I very much enjoyed your video here....so it's not just me....lol. What a treat. Thank you!
You’re very welcome Tim!
Thanks ,
You may not realize it, but your knowledge of the musicians' catalogs and some of the instruments has uncovered some "easter eggs" about the album's composition and production that most die-hard Daft Punk fans like myself had not yet realized. We knew about the different mics in Giorgio by Moroder, the refusal to use any computers on the album (except for when editing "Touch"), and the intention behind having Nile Rodgers on rhythm. However, I think you stumbled across a new discovery in your point about Get Lucky where one drummer transitions to the next, from JR who was prominent in the mid-70s to early 80s, to Omar Hakim, whose highlight era was the mid- to late-80s.
It's a pivotal moment in the album where the main transition from the "natural" 70s style to the more "mechanical" and technology-infused style of the 80s occurs, and is executed in Get Lucky when both the vocals and drum rhythm changes from human to robotic. I had not realized that it was not only a change in the drumming pattern, but a change in drummer completely, and the drummers correspond to their respective "eras" within the song/album!
Also, your observation about 2-level keyboard, Bach, and the similarity in album intros was a new discovery as well! Thanks so much for making this video!
Dear Brecht, Thank you very much for your kind words. I think I am learning as much from the comments - I might have to make a ‘part 2’ one day! Best wishes. H.
@@PearlAcoustics please do!
@@PearlAcoustics seems like there's so many details about this album and so much intricacy that only daft punk and their crew know it all
Indeed R.A.M. Is one of the greatest albums, just to get some of you guys how this was recorded, They used a Sennheiser VSM 201, not any but Herbie Hancocks original copy as well, It costs around 40.000 dollars and it has a very clean sound thats pretty much how the vocoder vocals was done, also Mick Guzauski (The Mixing Engineer of Random Access Memories) Says That "One of the ideas for this album was that Daft Punk didn’t want to process digitally. The music had to be recorded digitally because it had to be edited, but a lot of it was recorded to analog tape and then transferred to Pro Tools. For mixing, it all came from Pro Tools at 96 kHz into a 72-input analog console. Sometimes we had to combine in Pro Tools if we had more tracks than faders. But it was mostly mixed to analog and they wanted to process everything in the analog world as well. We mixed the album at Conway Studios in Los Angeles over the summer. The studio had another Pro Tools room in addition to the control room that we were using, so the guys in Daft Punk could add elements to the mixes, listen to what I’d done, edit, or make other final tweaks, and then get the changes to me right away in the control room. It was a very collaborative process. We actually worked on a song until it was done, so the schedule was nice and relaxed. Some days were long, a few were short, and when they were happy with how a song sounded, we were done. I didn’t have to do a single recall on the whole album. It was a dream project. The music and performance have to be there first. Sonically and mix-wise, I was very cognizant of not limiting a lot of things and avoiding drastic processing. I wanted to use compression sparingly so the whole thing could breathe and the dynamics could be unrestricted. This wasn’t a project where we cut the low end back and boosted the 5-7 kHz range to make it scream. We never tried to make it loud and I think it sounds better for it.The funny thing is, when it’s on the radio, even though it isn’t anywhere near as loud as many records, it does sound bigger. Radio compression makes the peak levels the same as something that’s been highly compressed and hyped. I don’t think we lost a lot of apparent level in keeping the low bottom end strong." And then he talks about plug-ins "Some plug-ins definitely did a better job than we had analog outboard gear for. We used the UAD Precision De-Esser quite a bit on vocals. Sometimes we used a hardware analog DBX 902 instead, but if we needed serious de-essing, the UAD plug-in worked better and gave us more control. That’s pretty much it, and the rest was analog outboard gear, though we did use a few digital reverbs - a Bricasti and EMT 250. I have to say that the UA plug-ins sound so close to the hardware. We happened to have the physical equipment there and the guys really wanted to use it - we had a great EMT 140 reverb and if you find a good one there’s nothing like it - but when we A/B’d the real analog gear with the UAD plug-ins, just out of curiosity, it all sounded extremely close. I use those plug-ins all the time. use the EMT 140 and EMT 250 reverb plug-ins a lot, and also the Manley Massive Passive EQ Plug-In. I have a real one of those, and the physical and digital versions are very close when it comes to sound. I also use the 1176 and LA-2A plug-ins, and I’ve played a bit with the Ocean Way Dynamic Room Modeling Plug-In on a couple of projects. That one’s brand new, so I haven’t used it extensively yet, but I really like it. It gives a nice, natural early reflection sound, especially if you use reverb on top of it, so it doesn’t sound like there’s this gap between the sound and the reverb. It just sounds like you recorded something in a room before you processed it.I use the Harrison 32C/SE Channel EQ when I’m in a nostalgic mood.The UAD plug-ins sound a lot cleaner than the original hardware did. They have the same character, but the plug-in sounds good while the console sounded kind of hash-y. Then there’s the Precision Limiter and the De-Esser, both of which I use a lot. Others I’ll use once in a while, but those are the ones I go to all the time. Were also recorded in these locations, although Daft Punk recorded most of their own vocodered robot vocals in their own studio in Paris. Following every session with live musicians and/or singers, the core team of Bangalter, de Homem-Christo, Franco, Lerner and Channing would spend time sifting through what they had recorded, and the Daft Punk duo would then build and alter and edit their tracks using these live recordings, in similar ways to how they'd used samples for their earlier albums."
This comment gonna change my life thank you I always wondered if they still used their sampling techniques still.
If you think carefully,you can imagine a sort of aura around R.A.M. You can perceive the aura of calm,analog experiencing and many other things that led to create basically a milestone for music. Probably Daft Punk already knew in 2012-2013 that R.A.M would've been their last album (in fact,after that,they only did two collabs with The Weeknd,all of them did great),therefore they probably said "fuck it, let's make it the best we ever made and the best everyone will ever listen. Let's call some of the best guitarists, drummers, vocalists. Let's use the best equipment and also let's go back in time: more analog than digital".
And they nailed it,R.A.M is really flawless
Thank you for this
Thank you so much for the info!
Love how Guzauski says that despite how they used the analog gear, that the plugins emulating the gear are very close to the real thing.
The Game Of Love is the stand out for me on this album, just sublime.
I remember putting on this album on a car ride, thinking it’ll just be a fun electronic Daft Punk project. Was immediately blown away with how good it sounded, the middle of the album gets incredibly good, all the live instrumentation, the production. It’s quickly grown to one of my favorite albums of all time, possibly #1. I would have killed to hear another Daft Punk album in this style, but I’m glad they ended on this perfect note. Incredible album, it’ll be one of the first albums I listen to once I get a Hi-Fi setup and I’ll definitely buy the FLACs
Thank you. Lovely comment.
Parcels live vol 1 is practically cannon
@@makosakoda1823 thankyou for recognising this, gotta say Parcels is one of my favorite modern bands
sheeple
Loved your take on RAM!
Comment from Pitchfork by Mark Richardson : "If people still went into stereo shops and bought stereos regularly, like they did during the era Daft Punk draw from, this record, with its meticulously recorded analog sound, would be an album to test out a potential system, right up there with Steely Dan’s Aja and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Daft Punk make clear that one way to “give life back to music” is through the power of high fidelity."
Daft Punk's Random Access Memories - one of my favorite albums.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience!
Thank you for your comment. There's no doubt for me that this album is right up there. My favourite Steely Dan album is the lesser known 'Two Against Nature' - maybe I will cover it one day! Best wishes H.
Listened to Aja my first time not too long ago and found it a sheer joy start to finish!
@@PearlAcoustics So I need to give Steely Dan a listen?
@@matthoward598 you sure do! 😉 ‘Two against nature’
The very common “you’ll hear things you’ve never heard before” adage when people discuss hi-fi gear has its merits, but I’ve had more fun seeking out new things to listen to that are outside of my normal listening habits. It’s made my hi-fi journey one that is just as much focused on discovery as examining what I already know, and I’m better for it.
Absolutely!
It almost makes me sad they never realised another album, but RAM was so perfect I don’t think they could have done something else considering their perfectionism.
Sometimes that's the signal to quit and go on to new things. To break borders one needs to experiment and make mistakes.
Perfect??? It was solid but uneven.
Lol. Drinking the audiophile Kool aid. It's a good sounding album. Good production, ok performances and solid talented engineering.
Great production but for sure not the best album, far from it.
This is the first album I ever bought at the age of 14, and at the age of 22 I still regard it as my favourite of all time. Thank you for this video.
You're very welcome!
This is the same story with me, first album i ever bought at age 13, and still my favourite!
@@brettetherington5726 ay me too, I didnt appreciate it much at the time but it grew to be my favourite album.
Lol that’s crazy this is the first album I ever bought when I was 12!
Jesus Christ this is the saddest thing I've ever heard. I grew up on 90's Daft Punk. I'm sorry you were born at the worst time in human history.
What have I stumbled upon! Listening to you talk about it, the way you do, makes me fall in love with the album all over again. And it's Interesting to see So many people listening to Daft Punk for the first time.
Looks like a great channel and good community.
Thank you, you're very kind. Much appreciated.
Reminds me of Paul from PS Audio! (UA-cam, check it out!)
I've never really listened to much Daft Punk, but you've completely sold me this album. I've heard a few songs from it, but never experienced it properly all the way through. I'm glad this came up in my recommended :)
Thank you Jordan, so pleased my video spoke to you. Enjoy the album!
I‘d check out the album „Discovery“ from 2001 out as well. It’s probably their most well know record and also easily one of the best House records of all time.
@@kaybaumann4989 ok thanks! Will do.
Aww yeah, time to randomly access memories
I listened to Random Access Memories after seeing this video; this album made me feel like I was being injected with life and emotion, I felt like a dead leaf compared to the rich vibes of joy and life that this band was emitting. Thanks for the suggestion to check them out!
You’re very welcome! Thankyou for your comment, music can be so enriching. I am pleased it touched you.
The sound engineering parallels Thriller. This album is sonically beautiful. Thank-you Pearl Acoustics for your joy! Daft Punk will be missed. ✌
you're very welcome! At least we will always have their recordings
Thomas i know you are watching that. We appreciate you and what you have done together. Thank you for the gift.
Been listening to this album for years, this video just made me appreciate the album even more.
Thank you! Very kind.
great video. you really read my mind when it comes to music and sound. this is the greatest album recorded in the 21st. century. when i first heard of this album i was watching the grammys and saw these two guys with weird helmets accepting the award for i think the best album of the year. i thought what a joke never hearing the album. years passed and this album was on a lot of audiophile lists. i finally bought it and heard it and was stunned and shocked how good it was. the sound and music are incredible. i do not judge what i have never heard anymore. i will take the time and listen for myself. great video as always harley. keep your great work going!
Dear Joseph, thank you for your encouraging words. It helps me look beyond the very negative feedback one gets. ;-) Isn't it wonderful when one discovers something new and totally unexpected?! Enjoy.
I bought this album today at the age of 49 -because of you- and already after listening to it once, it blew me away..! I've always loved Get Lucky, but the whole album is just fantastic on my Hi-Fi 🤩 Already 27 seconds in on the first track you know you are in for something special, because of the shift there 😄 Thank you for the reference 🙂
PS! Love your channel and your work.. You seem like a really nice man.. Thank you 🙂
Thank you. You’re very kind. So pleased to hear that you are enjoying RAM
This might actually be my favorite video on youtube. I love the album, and seeing someone that can perfectly explain everything I love about it so well is just great.
Wow, what a nice comment! Thanks for sharing it. Happy end of year!
Dear Mr. Lovegrove, it’s always a great pleasure listening to your great experience and professionalism about HiFi systems and music recordings. Thanks.
Thank you, very kind
This is my favorite album in all times, and I have listened to lot of music in my life. This unified mood along the entirely album and the spacecraft quality of the record make it the milestone it is. Thank you for the review!
You’re welcome!
I grew up listening to Daft Punk when I was younger on Homework, Discovery and HAA. My parents of course thought it was obnoxious house music which was fair enough from their point of view. But when RAM dropped I knew my dad would love it. He however was quick to dismiss it because it was Daft Punk so he was convinced it wasn't for him.
Now a few months ago I was at home listening to RAM on my hifi setup at home when my parents dropped by. Touch was playing fairly loudly and my dad came in and asked what wonderful music I was listening to. I told him it was Daft Punk and he was shocked, now last week we sat together and listened to the album in full and he loved the record. It was such a wonderful experience.
What a lovely story. Thanks for sharing
really glad this popped up for me. This absolutely is one of my all time favorite albums, so to hear analysis on the recording side of things was extremely interesting! Guess it's time to re-listen!
Dear Derek, thank you for your appreciation. I am glad you enjoyed it. Best wishes from Belgium.
I've been a fan of this album from the time it was released. I still come back to it a few times a year. Really enjoyed your video.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you
Giorgio by Moroder just blew me away. Listened for the first time and woah, that buildup, the drop, the everything. You described that track so well!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.
Mesmerising...
Every bar of every track... Beginning to end...I will never tire of.....
Random Access Memories.
Masterful
Thank you so much for this. I've grown up with Daft Punk and hearing you talk about it was magical, as a person with very little musical knowledge. It's like you're putting into words all the things I love about the album ♥️
Thank you Amara! Very nice to hear how much you appreciated it. Thanks for taking the time to reply
This is my first time watching your videos and WOW I'm blown away!! Thank you for your wonderful take on this wonderful album and helping an amateur like myself appreciate this even more
Dear Mathew, so pleased you enjoyed it. There’ll be more to come on all kinds of music from classical to jazz
The vinyl has been truly well mastered
This is such an interesting video! I love the format and how you just talk about the subject with respect to everything about it. I'm invested and can't wait to see another one, Recording Grandpa!
Thanks!
So, yt recomendation brought me here and I absolutely loved it, thanks for the great video
You’re very welcome. Glad you enjoyed it
Really enjoyed this, love the album and your description of it just adds more layers to its brilliance.
Thank you, you’re very kind!
So glad you discovered this album and appreciated it as much as I do. Daft Punk’s musical creativity and vision is quite rare
WOW, absolutely great video :D
"Great Recordings UA-cam Playlist" is going to be my favorite now! Thanks a lot for your efforts to make all those videos ;-)
Warm greetings from Poland,
Przemek
Thank you Prezemek!
this has to be the coolest video i’ve seen in a while
Thanks! Much appreciated
This album is like shrooms. We all need to give it a try, and listen to its answers.
Thanks!
This was a really enjoyable breakdown of this album. Glad you discovered it and enjoyed it as much as we all did
You’re welcome - thank you
Thanks for taking an album I already viscerally enjoyed and animating it with further dimensions through which to appreciate it.
Glad you enjoy it! Thank you.
I absolutely love this album, a great analysis and excellent breakdown. I never realized the true extend they went on this one and I really appreciate this video.
Thank you. Very kind.
Thank you Harley, love your commentary!
Please keep it up, a real joy. I only wish I could listen to your system in that room one day… I’m sure it’s a well balanced delight.
Appreciate your efforts, enjoy the music :)
Thanks Rob! You are very kind. You enjoy the music too!
No wonder I like this record. I just played it, and I didn't realize the incredible musicians that played on all of the sessions.
Fascinating video. Thank you
You’re welcome!
I heard that from my second son. I think I will listen 👂 to it by January 2022. My son doesn't like it much but I will give it a shot. Merry Christmas ⛄ Harley.
you do that! Remeber, it takes several listenings to re-program our brains into enjoying different genres.
Thank you for introducing me to this album. It blew me away! This is a masterpiece. The quality is astonishing! I must buy the vinyl.
You’re very welcome. Enjoy
My recommendation is Violator by Depeche Mode. A masterpiece of electronic music, perfectly produced and elaborated by Flood (who also did Joshua Tree by U2 f.e.)
Ok Daniel. I will check it out and add it to our Great Recordings playlist. Thanks!
Magnificent recommend.
@@crushingbelial thanks!
Violator by Depeche Mode and RAM by Daft punk are my two favorites album for all time, just have to go see DM live before my time come... My only regret not have seen Daft punk live...
I listen to Metal and Rock since my early teens. Now I am 35 and started with Vinyl and this Daft Punk Album was one of my first purchases. I never really heard their music, just new them from Radio. I listened the first time to this album and knew right away that this is special. This album is pure fun and always makes me smile. Love it!
Great video about this musical experience. Thanks for your passion and joy.
Thanks Frankie! 👍
I love these kind of clever and well produced video podcasts: articulate people talking passionately about great sound and masterful music recordings, even leaving their own comfort zone at times. It's contagious! Unfortunately, I've never paid any real attention to this opus of Daft Punk. But their iconic artist look as futuristic disco knights was second to none and hard to miss. I was aware however that funky and disco heavy weights had contributed because I'm into Afro American music. By the way, I've always considered the artwork of the album an obvious (typo)graphical nod to Michael Jackson's Thriller... released on the same record label. But for some reason I never fell in love with electronic dance music tagged "French Touch". Too little Soul...
So, what I will do now is purchase a physical copy of Random Access Memories and give it the attention it actually deserves. Thanks for making me curious and for broadening my musical horizon. As they say in Flemish: "Zeer gewaardeerd".
Thank you for your insightful comment and for your very kind appreciation. Geen zorgen, morgen komt er weer een nieuwe uit. Ik hoop dat je ervan geniet!
One of the best songs of this Album is without contest "Touch" and i advise anyone to relisten to it several time, despite the great space opera feel to it, the theme of this song is very deep and philosophical. Been listening to this Album since its release through the years, and this song grew on me throught the years , and will surely continue to do so, amazing !
“If love is the answer you hold, hold on.” Gets me every single time
@@eddiegutierrezjr6226 Touch, Sweet Touch, you almost convinced me I'm real, I need something more, I need something more....Epic !
It took me decades of listening to daft punk to settle upon touch as one of my favourites. It seems fitting they announced their retirement with this song playing.
@@DH-bg1qo definetly need a well trained ear to access it , delicate and complex!
you're right, 'Touch' is very operatic or like a big theme tune from a world class musical.
Thank you for sharing your passion with the world. :)
You’re very welcome Matt. Thanks for your kind comment
Listening to this video with the album in the background, makes you appreciate this video even more
Thanks Tin!
Beautifully put together film on Random Access Memories that just appeared on my UA-cam. I'm so pleased that I had the time to watch it all. The passion for the recording and musicianship has made me want to play it again. I've been going though the comments and learning just how much effort and obsession went into this album. Off to listen to it again on Avid Sequel SP turntable with SME IV arm and Benz Micro Glider cartridge, Devialet 440 Expert Pro amplifier and Focal Sopra No.2 loudspeakers. It's fitting that my amplifier and loudspeakers are French.
Thank you - very kind. Enjoy!
Never expected so much love for this album. Seems to have Touch lot of us, people of different generations.
Absolutely
I just stumbled across your channel and thoroughly enjoyed your comments on Random Access Memories, enough to listen to the album for the first time on Tidal (MQA). I have to agree it is very well recorded and produced.
The real gem (for me) was the comment below regarding Steely Dan's Two Against Nature. I have been a SD fan for decades yet somehow this album has eluded my attention. So I gave it a listen and it is a wonderful recording! It will be joining my other SD albums (Aja and Goucho) in my collection ASAP.
Oh, and I am now a subscriber to your channel.
Thank you for your kind words and support. Best wishes, Harley
I discovered your channel through this video, and I love your insights. I'm so glad you got to listen to this masterpiece.
It truly is a love letter to music.
Thank you. You’re very kind. The album was suggested to me by my friend and colleague, Ajay Verma.
This video was randomly recommended to me and wow I'm so glad it was, the way you talk and describe the album gives me goosebumps haha I've listened to this album many many times and you describing it and the way it made you feel brought back random memories of my first time listening to it. Cheers 🥂
Thank you for your kind words. Glad to have revived a memory
Loved this video! I grew up with Daft Punk, being a kid from the early 90's. This is my absolute favourite album of theirs. Groetjes uit België.
Glad you enjoyed it Tobias! Best wishes from Belgium too 😉
This has been a favorite album of mine for several years, but I left this video appreciating it even more than I did before. It really is something special and your comments were truly insightful. I'm looking forward to watching your other "great recordings" videos and maybe finding some new music.
Another album I would recommend is "Helplessness Blues" by Fleet Foxes. It's a beautiful album that I've always appreciated for it's recording quality. Their self titled album is also quite well recorded, but I haven't spent quite as much time with it, and thus don't have quite as strong of an opinion on it.
Edit: I should note that there is an interesting Sound on Sound article on the recording of Helplessness Blues that is worth a read for anyone interested.
Thanks Nick. Very kind. I will certainly check out 'Helplessness Blues" by Fleet Foxes'. Sounds intriguing. And the artivle too.
Thank you for articulating how I’ve always felt about this piece of art. I remember waiting impatiently for it to release
My pleasure! Thanks Alex!
Hi Harley, i just stumbled upon your channel, and saw this is the second video of what i think will be an ASTOUNDING series. I think everyone can appreciate a good recording and you just happened to talk about one of my favorite albums of all time. Thank you for making me love this album even more by giving this extremely interesting background information on RAM.
I am looking forward to discover many more great albums through your channel. Please continue with these series, I'm a fan of them already!
Gr. from the Netherlands
Thanks! You're very kind. so glad you enjoyed it. See you in the next one.
Within and Touch are my absolute favorites on the album
I agree, both are magical!
Another phenomenal video Harley. I think this could have easily been an hour long and still would have been as interesting.
Thank you Kartick. You are very kind.
random access memories is TIMELESS
14:25 you said the chord progression sounds "obvious but not obvious" this explained very well!
😀
Wonderful infectious enthusiasm!
Thanks!
Just came across this channel and left with a sensation of pure welcoming. This is by far one of my favorite records of all time and I agreed on every point that was said in this video. My recommendation for you today would be Still Life (Talking) by Pat Metheny; very interesting record and yet one of my all time favorites too. Thank you and enjoy your music.
Hi - thanks very much for your kind. I don’t know ‘Still life’ but will add it to my listening list and add it to our ‘Great Recordings’ playlist. Enjoy your music too!
Perfect suggestion. My neighbor.
I really enjoy that you talk about the music we listen to and that you are open to something different. The other albums and artist you relate to makes me want to listen to those also. Gives me something more to look forward too! Thanks for taking the time. Enjoy Your Day..
Thank you Andrew, that’s very inspirational. Gives me fuel to continue!
Grew up with Daft Punk, So sad when i heard that they split up, cried a lot that day.
Music and those that created it, can indeed have a powerful effect on us, bringing up a whole range of emotions
One of the things I love about Daft Punk was their quality over quantity. There's only a small handful of songs they have that I'm not super crazy about but all in all I'd say about 95% of their music is absolutely amazing
Heard this album for the first time this week when I bought the viynl, a genuinely incredible album and a true tragedy now considering its thier last
Last February, I bought an original 2013 first pressing release, cut by Chab. I gave it to my older son, who is 34. I also bought two CD. Hopefully the vinyl will remain virgin.
I grew up with their first album, Homework, when I was starting college.
these memories stay with us forever (and I believe) in part, make us who we are.
This videos are great! More album reviews, that would be nice!
Thank you - very kind! I try to do as many as I can. I am aiming for a video every 3 weeks, one a record review and one another related topic.
I was at my local Hifi shop and a young kid (maybe 12 years old) pointed to a vinyl copy of the album and said “mum can we buy this, it would sound AWESOME on vinyl”! I must say, I totally agreed with him and bought a copy myself. Great album
😀👍
Just discovered your channel and subscribed. Good to hear the personal observations you have. I bought this album not because of Daft Punk but because of Niel Rogers. Then seeing who else was involved it was a no brainer. In a world where the loudness wars are still with us, everyone wants to sound like each other, and artists no longer record in studio's in analog and use so much compression this album was a breath of fresh air. A piece of craft, a piece of wisdom. In my hometown there is an audio store that sells mostly medium priced to high end gear. They have one room that has the best gear they sell. Two young teenage boys, no more than 15 year's old,, came in the store with this recording on vinyl. Somehow the staff was persuaded to let them play it on the best system. All Mackintosh gear with Focal speakers, and such. The staff put it on the turntable, cranked it up, shut the doors, left them alone in there, and these kids just went wild! They were in Nirvana. I just stood outside the doors and watched them dance and go mad. I remember that sensation and vicariously enjoyed it. I am putting together a second system in a spare room. Nothing at all is completed not even the room itself. But one of the first C.D.s I put on was Random Access Memory. It put a smile on my face. It just does that.
Thanks Casper, you’re very kind
Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel was another icon drummer: Manu Katche from France. A jazz drummer who plays just about anything and really good.
Agreed. An excellent drummer
I've had this album since it first launched and assumed it was a studio/PC album until watching this. Now I've gone back to it and listening on a Cambridge Audio Edge A amp its incredible. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome Darren!
i really enjoy this video, already watched it like 5 times. i shared it with my friend and they enjoyed a lot, you are the perfect person to do this and you should do a lot more with this albuns. currents by tame impala, everything now by arcade fire and lock-in by fat freddy’s drop.
Thank you so much for your kind words. I will certainly check out your suggestions!
Really great video. As someone who has listened to it countless times, your thoughts really showed a perspective which is kind of so obvious but I never really thought about. The album has been following me around everywhere for the last years and I always loved the "real" feel to it while still sounding very modern and like the sound of the future, especially because I'm in my early 20's. I never really thought about how someone your age (no disrespect lol!) would feel about it and your nostalgic perspective gave a great insight on how differently this record can sound to people according to where the listener stands in life.
Dear Phil. Thank you very much for your kind words. They’re very much appreciated. I also found your comment extremely interesting. And in one so young (no disrespect! Lol). Seriously, glad I could put into words some insights that you could relate to. Enjoy your music and enjoy the journey. H.
Enjoyed the video a lot! Looking forward to seeing more
Thanks! There’s more to come, no worries
I'll keep it a short comment. Just saying It's a great album, it's not enough. It brings so many emotions and memories when listening. To me as well as many other here in comments, a wonderful peace of music which I will return for the rest of my life.
For me, to grow up listening to daft punk each and every year is like an accomplishment.
From dirtiest and rough edges of Homework to sudden elegance of Tron, its such a growth to behold. Daft punks discography is like a guideline of “taking it slow, slowly matured”.
I believe Justice and Breakbot going in the same route. And you bet i will do so.
Maybe in 20years from the release of RAM, they will release the b side, like radiohead or what not. But my fantasy of daftpunk cant never be quenched.
Radiohead’s OK Computer is on par with Random access memories imo, considering it was released in ‘97. Interesting stuff.
This was a fantastic video. Would love to hear what other insights and thoughts you have on influential albums like this. I think there's a real space for deep, thoughtful analysis of modern albums in this format. I look forward to the next one!
Thank you Rob. You’re very kind. My next talk will be on a very different album and hopefully will be out by the New Year! Best wishes from Belgium
Great video
Thanks for such opening mind and eclecticism
Thank you! Our pleasure
I bought this album on vinyl this week on the strength of your review..I listened to it for the very first time last night and it was amazing...
Oh that’s fabulous feedback. There was a chance you could have hated it! 🙁 so glad we’re on the same wavelength. Enjoy!
Random Access Memories is my all time favorite album. I'll be sure to be watching and digesting this as I drink my cup of coffee. Thomas and Guy-Manuel are truly artists in the truest sense. Both musical geniuses. I really do hope they do a reunion tour.
The more I read and watch about this album the more I want to appreciate it and I really need to revisit it as an album to listen to.
Your voice is very soothing, it’s perfect with the review of the review of the album. Keep up the great work! 🤗🦈💙
Thank you! Will do!
Thanks, this heightened my appreciation of Daft Punk tremendously. Would love to hear your opinion on the band Parcels' debut album, which Daft Punk produced a few year later. There's a fantastic live version of the entire album with video from the Hansa Studios in Berlin.
Ok Thanks! Will check that album out. Best wishes
@@PearlAcoustics seconded - would love to hear your thoughts on Parcels’ Live Vol. 1 or their new album Day/Night!
This is one of my reference album for testing components. I recommend you search for the Japanese version of this CD album. There is an extra track “Horizon” which for me is the best song. That song has so much Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon influence on it yet also Daft Punk signature sound.
Thank you for the tip!
Good catch!
Another stunning video, Harley! So well thought out and presented - I simply love it. Thank you for such amazing content and sharing insights into Random Access Memories; it has always been one of my favourite albums, and I have learnt so many new points from your video! Looking forward to your next video already :)
Thank you Ajay. You're very kind. Onwards and upwards - but the next video might be on a piece of music you might find as challenging as I orriginally found RAM ;-)
@@PearlAcoustics I’m certainly looking forward to this! ;)
Great commentary and perspective! The recording quality and musicianship of Beck's Sea Change on SACD really impressed me.
Hi Josh - I must admit, I was impressed with Beck’s recordings too! Thanks for your kind words.
I think you in-depthly breaking down a Tame Impala record would be beautiful. I believe you would appreciate the craftsmanship of Kevin Parker.
Thank you. I will give him a listen. I am not familiar with Kevin Parker.
I literally cried when they announced the band would be “blowing up”. These guys are such legends! Tron is my #3 favorite movie of all time because the sound track is so great. I just play RAM and Tron soundtrack in the background when I’m working … all the time. Never gets old due to the complexity and production quality.
Thank you for this review, this was unknown to me until fairly recently and it was then floating around my list of possible purchases and I came across your review. I've now purchased it and was completely blown away by it. In your review you say you were not so keen on it through headphones but as I listen to music predominantly on headphones I was a little worried but I have to say I found it astonishing through my headphone setup.... I mean big WOW. Probably has jumped straight into my top 5 albums for audio quality, everything about it is superb. A great new discovery for me, thanks again.
(The last track 'Contact' is a bit of a monster! )
Hi Peter. Thank you for your generous comment. I can totally understand why, as a headphones aficionado, you would enjoy listening to it with headphones. But I prefer two channel loudspeakers because you get a very different effect. You feel music as much as hear it, and your left and right ears hear sounds from both channels, and ones brain then processes that into a different kind of sonic image. Hoping I have expressed it well? It's personal preference.
Enjoy your music, however you like to take it! :-)
@@PearlAcoustics 👍 keep the great recordings coming, its always interesting to get a decent length insightful view of music that perhaps would be outside of one's normal area. Discovery is always interesting.
Fantastic deep dive into a fantastic album. This, as you described early in the video, in an album I became of age with, and grew up with their earlier works. It feels very special when another generation has such a profound connection with anothers masterpiece. You speak in ways I could only imagine. It seems I'm not alone when I say that you have found another set of ears. I wish you all the best, and look forward to watching your talks in the future. Your words at 19:10 I couldn't agree with more.
Thank you so much. Very kind. Glad to have touched a memory and brought something new to the conversation.
Jamais o algoritmo me forneceu um conteúdo de tão alta qualidade até agora, ótima análise de um grande álbum que eu gosto tanto.
Thank you. I am glad you enjoyed the video. Best wishes from Belgium!
From the first time I listened to it (RAM) I knew Daft Punk had created their masterpiece.. So clean sounding, with honor paid to many of musics greatest talents. I first became a fan in the late 90's with "Homework" and have followed their journey ever since in the EDM scene. They spent the first part of their careers giving the underground dance scene some of their best work, followed by giving the Pop scene some of it's best.
Thanks for the comment.
This is one of my most favourite albums of all time. Thanks a lot for this video, it was really interesting to hear your take on it. I appreciate the depth you went into with the other talented musicians featured on it. I would recommend listening to the ‘Bonus’ track for this album - which was only released in Japan. The track “Horizon” bring about a really nice end to the album, especially after the chaos of “Contact”. Thanks again.
Thank you Michael! You’re not the first to make this suggestion… I need to dig it out! Thanks so much.
I've listened to this album SO MANY TIMES over the past 10 years, sometimes multiple times per day. Totally agree with everything you said, this is a masterpiece and it holds up so well, there isn't a single boring moment on this album.
Thanks!