It wasn’t too long ago when news reports announced that Daft Punk was going to perform at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards alongside The Weeknd. Their first ever major public appearance since the 57th Grammys, hype ensued among the vast online fan base of the French electronic duo. As a longtime fan, I, too, couldn’t wait for Sunday night to arrive and I waited patiently through the all the celebrity glitz and glamour to see it live.
And then, there they were, clad in their shining gold and silver attire as they walked along the stage… only to then stay put on two stands, tapping away on what seemed to be pad controllers for the rest of the performance. To be honest, though, it was a decent performance, with catchy beats from the duo accompanied with excellent vocals by The Weeknd. But really, it just sort of, happened.
Nothing else happened for the next two weeks or so, until news broke out that Beyoncé was cancelling her opening performance at Coachella. The bets were on almost everywhere that Daft Punk would be taking the stage, as it seemed ideal that the music festival would kick start a new (honestly overdue) tour. Although they were rumors, I was still hopeful. I scoured for updates online when I could, but come few days later, Lady Gaga was announced to take her place. And the hype died down once again.
This situation, the lack of updates that fluctuate between the years of every album release, has been going on since their debut. And save for their recent Pop-Up Shop event a few months back, the fan base has heard little from them after Random Access Memories.
Meanwhile countless popular artists produce album by album almost nonstop, with releases every year or so. Even more niche artists, it seems, appear to produce records or perform live concerts more frequently than Daft Punk.
It’s frustrating, to say the least.
Of course this dilemma isn’t unique to them. I’m positive that there are other renowned artists who don’t put out work as often as they should, or lack any fan interaction that even the most niche artists provide to their fans. Maybe I’m just being ungrateful, but as a fan, I speak for the fan base when I say it shouldn’t be the standard to wait at least three years for another album/project.
The only thing that can be done for now bide time, looking for new artists to catch on to in the meantime. Until Daft Punk decide to come out of the shadows once more to release their next grand project, many will have to move on to greener musical pastures.
