Pitchfork

Photo by Kirstie Shanley

What is it about Daft Punk that makes what they do so gosh darned special? Is it the spectacle? The surgical synth-diddling? The blindling glint coming off those robot suits? Or could it be the stellar spate of well-aged, cowbell-heavy disco funk songs on which a lot of their tracks are based?

All of the above, indeed, and galaxies more. But Discovered, a collection of said funky stuff that oughta raise the ear of anyone who's done their share of Homework over the years, puts the focus solely on the music. Discovered collects a dozen tracks from the likes of Chaka Khan, Sister Sledge, Little Anthony & the Imperials, Eddie Johns, and others, mixing a lotta bump and a little smooth R&B-- the stuff that forms the groundwork for some of Daft Punk's finest tracks. You've never truly heard "Digital Love" until you've heard just how much "Digital Love" sounds like a cooled-up version of George Duke's "I Love You More". The disc drops November 6 on Rapster.

That pants-sullying Daft Punk live thing picks up again later this month in Las Vegas, with stops in Mexico, Japan, and Australia before the year's over. If you can't make it-- and lord knows you should give it a go if at all feasible-- the play-at-home version drops November 20.

Also: Daft Punk is playing in my designer handbag (just click "Défilé Femmes Printemps-Été 2008").

Discovered:

01 Breakwater: "Release the Beast" ("Robot Rock")
02 George Duke: "I Love You More" ("Digital Love")
03 Edwin Birdsong: "Cola Bottle Baby" ("Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger")
04 Cerrone: "Supernature" ("Verdis Quo")
05 Tata Vega: "Get it Up for Love" ("Da Funk")
06 Karen Young: "Hot Shot" ("Indo Silver Club")
07 Chaka Khan: "Fate" ("Music Sounds Better with You")
08 Sister Sledge: "Il Macquillage Lady" ("Aerodynamic")
09 Oliver Cheatham: "Get Down Saturday Night" ("Voyager")
10 Eddie Johns: "I Put a Spell on You" ("One More Time")
11 Little Anthony & the Imperials: "Can You Imagine" ("Crescendolls")
12 Jerry Goldsmith: "The Rec Room" ("Around the World")

Dates:

10-27 Las Vegas, NV - Vegoose Festival
10-31 Mexico City, Mexico - Palacio de los Deportes
12-06 Kobe, Japan - Kobe World Memorial Hall
12-08 Tokyo, Japan - Makuhari Messe
12-09 Tokyo, Japan - Makuhari Messe
12-13 Melbourne, Australia - Sidney Myer Music Bowl *
12-14 Melbourne, Australia - Sidney Myer Music Bowl *
12-16 Fremantle, Australia - The Esplanade *
12-20 Brisbane, Australia - The Riverstage *
12-22 Sydney Olympic Park, Australia - Sydney Showground *

* with the Presets, Muscles, SebastiAn, KavinSky, the Bang Gang Deejays