Daft Punk Scores TR2N Soundtrack

March 04, 2009 02:41 PM ET

David J. Prince, N.Y.

Daft Punk, the French electronica duo known for their robot personas, have been tapped by Walt Disney Pictures to compose the score for "TR2N", an update of the studio's 1982 science fiction classic "Tron", Billboard has confirmed.

The film, currently in production, is tentatively scheduled for a 2011 release.

The "TR2N" score marks Daft Punk's first foray into the studio since 2005's "Human After All." After an extended hiatus, the duo reemerged in 2007 for an extensive world tour, spawning the Grammy-wining live set "Alive 2007." The group's 2001 track "Harder Better Faster Stronger" was adapted by Kanye West for his single "Stronger," and the pair appeared on the 2008 Grammy Awards with the rapper.

The musicians, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter split their time between Paris and Los Angeles, where they have have assembled a new recording studio for the TR2N project.

Daft Punk have worked in film before, most notably as directors of their feature "Electroma," although that film used none of the group's own music. As Banglater explained to Billboard in 2007 about the pair's next musical project, "The cool thing is that we're always trying to do something that hasn't been done, or ultimately, that we aren't doing ourselves yet. It is challenging to get back in the studio and work with ideas we haven't expressed before. Some ideas take time, but some just take a few weeks, so we'll see."

The original film, which pioneered the use of computer graphics, was scored by Wendy Carlos, an electronic musician and composer whose "Switched on Bach" album was one of the first to highlight the Moog synthesizer as a musical instrument.

Comment:
Mikael Carlsson comments:

March 05, 2009

Cool. And here is the actual origin of this scoop: http://upcomingfilmscores.blogspot.com/2009/03/daft-punk-tron-20.html :-)

Daft Punk Live - Backstage, Technical Equipment

Fantastic post I found looking for gear lists! Jackpot!

Daft Punk's Magical Pyramid/Spaceship: Infiltrated!

Rutger (297)

15 Aug 2007, 19:56

Yep, there it is. The view from within the technicolor dream pyramid inhabited by those rascally robots Daft Punk. The innards of the very vessel Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo use to make tens of thousands of people all jump in unison and gyrate their hips in some grand, cosmic harmony. Pretty sweet, although it doesn't hold a candle to the view from the outside.

The image comes courtesy of mixmag (via The Daily Swarm), to whom Bangalter also revealed some secrets regarding Daft Punk's live sets and equipment of choice. Namely:

1. ABLETON
"The show revolves around Ableton Live software on custom made super-computers, which we remotely access and control with Behringer BCR2000 midi controllers."

2. SCREENS
"Next to the ethernet remote computer screens there are four Minimoog Voyagers, the classic analog synthesizers. They're a 30-year old design."

3. MOOGS
"We can mix, shuffle, trigger loops, filter, distort samples, EQ in and out, transpose or destroy and deconstruct synth lines. We keep some surprises on the side too!"

4. VISUALS
"There's a direct connection between our rig and the lights and visuals of the show. The light and video engineers can also add or control layers during the show."

5. SYNTHS
"Inside the pyramid are synthesizers and remote controls connected to the rest of the music equipment and computers, which are in rack-mounted towers off stage."

6. TEAMWORK
"Working the music equipment, lighting and video equipment, and building the pyramid for each show takes around 10 people, including both of us."

So wait, how do you launch the photon torpedoes?

And if your head's already spinning from thoughts of that forthcoming Daft Punk live CD (it's no live DVD, but we'll take it), here's something to keep the momentum churning: The Alive 2007 tour document is apparently set for release in November.

Daft Punk Interview (October 2001)

Oct 1, 2001 12:00 PM, by Bryan Reesman

Daft Punk steadfastly refuses to obey conventional rules of dance music. Unlike so much of the homogenized club fodder today, their music is carefully thought out and sculpted. They prefer to sample themselves rather than routinely sample the music of others, and they take time recording their albums, as evidenced by the four-year gap between their debut Homework and their sophomore effort, Discovery, a CD that took more than two years to create. And while the lads could be considered gearheads, they are not consumed by the technical process of constructing their music; rather, they mesh the worlds of analog and digital sounds into an eclectic, tongue-in-cheek blend.

Listening to Discovery, it is obvious that this French group appreciates '70s funk and disco, but by the production techniques they employ, and the interweaving of other genres, such as rock and '80s pop, the end product could only come from the current decade. The CD is a kind of retro-futurist manifesto. “A mix between the past and the future, maybe the present,” offers Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, on the phone from the Paris studio he shares with bandmate Thomas Bangalter. One tune exemplifying such an aural amalgamation is the instrumental “Aerodynamic,” a track that builds off a funky groove, breaks for some metallic, two-hand tapping on electric guitar, then fuses both approaches together before segueing into a spacier electronic ending. Somehow, it all works.

Discovery is an evolutionary leap forward from Homework. Whereas Daft Punk's debut worked off of minimal elements, repeating certain loops and musical phrases over 10-minute cycles, the duo's new album takes myriad ideas and crams them into three- and four-minute nuggets — except the closing track, a 10-minute piece called “Too Long” that serves as an in-joke for ardent fans.

“Every track has been worked really precisely, every track is a mixture of many different experiments and tricks,” remarks de Homem-Christo. “It was much more complicated making this than Homework. It was really like jewelry work, working precisely; so many different production techniques even in one track.”

The individual moods of the songs vary as well. “One More Time” is a perky party tune featuring Vocoded male vocals from Romanthony. “Superheroes” sounds like a house variation on classic “Tangerine Dream,” featuring a dreamy montage of looped vocals. On the mellower side, “Something About Us” explores a languid jazz/R&B vibe, while the interlude “Nightvision” offers a tranquil ambient experience enhanced by the gentle heartbeat rhythm of a muted kick drum. Ultimately, each composition is a world of its own.

A surprising and refreshing revelation about Daft Punk is that they play and sample their own instruments; there are live keyboards, guitar and bass involved. Many of those parts are then sampled and resampled, but de Homem-Christo estimates that half of the sampled material on Discovery was actually played live originally. “I play more guitar usually,” he says, “and Thomas plays more keyboards and bass.” But they both play all three instruments. “There's no ego involved. We don't argue about who's playing what. You can get the sound of a guitar with a keyboard, or the opposite. We don't really care about who's doing what as long as it's well-done. At the same time, when you use samples, you don't have this problem. When you use a sampler, nobody plays on it, so the problem of the ego of the musician is not really there. For everything that we do, no matter how you get to the results, the important thing is the result.”

Discovery includes only four outside samples — not much for a contemporary dance record. “Around this, we play all the instruments, which are mainly vintage keyboards and guitars, so it's a mixture of a few samples and us playing around it. We don't always use the original sounds of the keyboards or the guitars, because we put on so many effects or distortions so that sometimes you think it's a guitar but maybe it's not.”

The duo uses many different samplers, preferring warm-sounding analog gear, including a Roland S-760, an Ensoniq ASR X, a Roland MPC and an E-mu SP-1200 drum machine. They use individual pieces of gear, depending upon what they can lend to a track. “To get homogeneity, we put a sample on a sample, or we play guitar and keyboard parts and try to sample and resample to get a homogenic sound,” explains de Homem-Christo. “It's really easy to sample something but really hard to find a good sample.”

The French twosome also like to alter their original source material to create something new, whether it's a synth or a guitar. “We don't use too much of the original sound of the instruments; it's really more about how we put effects on it after that,” he explains. “It's not like we're making a track and saying, ‘Oh yes, I need a Flying V on this one.’ We take a guitar we have [usually a Fender Stratocaster] and then try to make it sound different with the effects.”

The key principle that de Homem-Christo repeatedly invokes in discussing Daft Punk's compositional approach is bricolage, a French term referring to the art of taking found materials (in this case, found sounds) and incorporating them into something new. “Sometimes we use an instrument in a way that it was never created for,” he explains. “Some people might say, ‘You're doing something wrong using this effect like that,’ but we always try to do different tricks and techniques that are maybe a little bit wild for usual sound engineers. But by experimenting with some crazy ideas, you find some crazy sounds.”

To get those sounds, the pair uses many vintage keyboards, including Korg, Roland and Moog gear from the '70s. “We use the big ones that were used in the '70s, like the Juno. It depends on how you use it — if you put a distortion effect on a Juno, you can't tell it's a Juno.” Their main synths include a TR-909, TR-808, Juno-106, ARP Odyssey, E-mu 3 and AMS Phasers.

In at least one instance on Discovery, Daft Punk used a vintage keyboard to evoke a specific artist from another era. “On ‘Digital Love,’ you get this Supertramp vibe on the bridge,” remarks de Homem-Christo. “We didn't sample Supertramp, but we had the original Wurlitzer piano they used, so we thought it would be more fun to have the original instrument and mess around with it. We use mainly vintage synthesizers, like older electric pianos like the Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Clavinet. We didn't use the Clavinet on Discovery, but I usually use it in my studio.” Effects units the duo used include a DP-4 and an Eventide Ultra-Harmonizer.

By experimenting with some crazy ideas, you find some crazy sounds.
— Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo

An important influence on Daft Punk's music is FM radio compression. The sound of compressed music over the airwaves has beguiled the duo since their early years, particularly the sonic attack in a powerful car stereo system, that “big sound and enormous voice.” De Homem-Christo observes that “on some other projects, we noticed that what we liked the best was the compression, so we began to learn how to use the compression and got into compressors and how to use them. Some people like the really good sound of a guitar, and we really like the sound of compression in general. That's one of the biggest loves we have in music-making, especially the U.S. FM radio sounds where the compression is making everything. Sometimes you like it so much that you're really disappointed when you buy the CD.”

In their own music, Daft Punk uses a number of different compressors. “We have a really small compressor, the Alesis 3630, which is $300. That's the main one we used on Homework and Discovery. The one we used the most is one of the cheapest ones on the market. It's really funny; it's the bricolage thing. Sometimes you don't have to have the most expensive equipment to make good music.” To further his point, de Homem-Christo reveals that an early Daft Punk single (a pre-Homework release) was created simply using an Akai S01 sampler, an Alesis MicroVerb 3 sound processor, an Alesis MMT-8 sequencer and a Mini-Moog synth. “It sounded great to us,” he says.

Given the complexity of their music in terms of sonic construction, does the Daft duo keep logs of everything that they do? “We remember most of the parts, but sometimes we don't remember exactly what effects were on it,” admits de Homem-Christo. “Knowing that each track you get so much different stuff in it, it's hard to remember. Sometimes you get real nice stuff by random or mistake. It's a combination of mistakes and things done on purpose.” Ironically, this emphasis on the sonic “bottom line” almost makes de Homem-Christo and his partner sound like businessmen, but the warmth of their music says otherwise.

When it comes to recording and mixing their music, Daft Punk utilizes a modest setup. “We never have gone to a big studio to do anything,” says de Homem-Christo. “We have a small Mackie 12-channel mixer, and everything is done there by bricolage.” They use Logic Audio on an iMac DV, and they record to a Sony DAT, direct into the iMac or Revox A77/B77 analog recorder, depending upon the sound they want. But even de Homem-Christo admits that he does not like to explain the band's technical process too in-depth. He does not want to give away too much. A good magician never reveals his secrets.

Gear List:
emu orbit sound module
juno 106 synth
tr909
tr808
ensoniq dp/4
arp synth
minimoog
alesis 3630 comp
revox tape
eventide DSP7000_ultra_harmonizer

Reason: Making Bowel Shaking Bass Lines With An 808 Bass Drum in Propelerheads Reason

Who doesn't love that bowel shaking tone of the classic sub bass kick sound of the Roland TR 808. If you don't love it I would most assuredly place you in a category with other certifiable nut cases. But I digress for I am not here to diagnose you according to your musical taste right now.

I am here to inform you, inspire you and perhaps broaden your mind.

Today we are going to talk about the amazing tonality of the 808 Bass Drum, i.e. BD0010, and its incredible versatility in conjunction with the Redrum in Reason.But first let's get a little history under our belts regarding this instrument and its tone shall we? We are going to go to our best friend for information on the web, Wikipedia that is, for some info.

History:

Wikipedia TR-808

Popular Media

In the mid-to-late 1980s, years after the TR-808 was discontinued, its sound again became popular, in part due to its kick drum sound, which could produce a very deep sub-bass. By the end of the 1980s, the TR-808 was popular within electronic music and hip-hop genres. As with many analogue electronic musical instruments, a great deal of effort has been put into sampling the sounds of the TR-808 for use in modern devices; however, due to the nature of analog circuitry, the result is often considered unsatisfactory and can sound unduly static and digital. Demand for the real 808 sound is so great that street prices for a used TR-808 are actually higher than the cost of a new TR-808 was upon its initial release in 1980.
The sounds of the TR-808 were and still are very often used in drum and bass, hip-hop, R&B, house, electro and many forms of electronic dance music, albeit often unrecognizable after extensive processing. One method is to lower the pitch of the kick drum to near sub-harmonic levels.
The popularity of the TR-808 has led to many artists referring to the machine in their lyrics,^[1] and the group 808 State even named itself after the venerable machine, although Graham Massey recently admitted that up until the late 1980s he and the other members of 808 State thought the Roland TR-808 was "severely uncool."
On 8th August 2008 (08.08.08) a party was held in London to celebrate the TR-808. It featured 808 State, Arthur Baker, DMX Krew and I-f, artists associated with the machine. The party was organised by the electro label Citinite.
Kanye West's fourth studio album entitled 808s & Heartbreak apparently refers to the TR-808 in the album title because Kanye insisted that every track use TR-808 generated drum beats for a more 'tribal drum' feel and to get away from 'typical Hip-hop beats'.

Clones

The popularity of the TR-808 is such that many companies have seen fit to cater to a significant market of musicians who want the sound of the TR-808 but are not able to pay for one. This has led to a rise in clones—devices designed to emulate the TR-808 for a much cheaper price.
Popular clones include the following:

• Audiobits 8-Tron VSTi
• Elektron MachineDrum SPS-1 - the TRX machine synthesis algorithms are directly inspired by the Roland TR series
• Jomox AirBase 99 and XBase 09 - emulates the Roland CR-78, TR-808, and TR-909
• Novation DrumStation - an analogue emulation drum module that imitates the waveforms created by the original TR-808 and TR-909
• Propellerhead Software ReBirth RB-338 - one of the first software synthesizers that included accurate emulations of the Roland TB-303, TR-909, and TR-808.
• Native Instruments Battery 3 drum sampling software (the kit is named "Ate Oh Wait Kit.") Another copy of this sample is included in Kontakt 3 as the "808 Kit."
• The Zoom company's MRT-3B drum machine also features many 808-style sounds.
• D16 Group's Nepheton - A VST instrument that emulates the TR-808. The D16 team indicated they carefully studied each waveform coming out of the 808's transistors and made its software emulate it.
• AudioRealism.se's ADM DrumMachine - A VST instrument carefully modeled after the classics' analog circuits.

User's:

Below I have compiled a list of notable artists that have been associated with using this indubitably majestic tone.

• Aphex Twin
• Beastie Boys
• Daft Punk
• Dan the Automator
• Dr. Dre
• DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill
• Eric B & Rakim
• Kanye West
• Marvin Gaye
• Nine Inch Nails
• Public Enemy
• The Chemical Brothers
• Timbaland

A Few Examples:

SeeqPod - Playable Search

The Lesson:

First, we will need a couple things:

1) Propellerheads Reason (any version will do)

2) Roland TR - 808 BD0010 sound

If you do not have this in your sound library you can get it here:

BD0010

by sander303

Played 1368 times

Made with the Splice online sequencer. splicemusic.com

Do not fret this is a very safe site.

Remember to store it with the rest of your sound library for Reason so you can reuse it in the future.

Now that you have your necessary tools we can begin.

1. Open Reason

2. All you will need is the Redrum drum machine for this exercise, so just create a mixing board and Redrum

3. Open up the file browser on channel one of your Redrum and find the 808 BD0010 sound and load it.

4. Do the same with channels two through four on the Redrum
















5. Now for sake of realism and variety throw your pans off center. It doesn't matter where they are just as long as they are not set to zero.
















6. Now to give our drums some melodic tones

I have figured out the tones so we can now use an 808 kick for a bassline

Pitch Number:

Negative Pitches	Positive Pitches
0: G (a little sharp)	0: G (a little sharp)
-6: F#	+4: G#
-12: F	+10: A
-18: E	+20: B
-22: Eb	+24: C
-28: D	+30: C#
-34: C#	+36: D
-38: C	+40: Eb
-44: B	+46: E
-50: Bb	+52: F
-58: A	+56: F#
-60: G#	+63: G
-64: G (a little sharp)

7. Tuning our drums

Now that we have figured out the possible tones lets choose some notes to use.












Drum 1: Leave Pitch at 0, for G

Drum 2: Tune Pitch to - 12, for F

Drum 3: Tune Pitch to + 10, for A

Drum 4: Tune Pitch to +24, for C

8. Writing a bass line

1. Pattern for Drum 1: G












Steps 1 - 16
- Illuminate steps 1 & 5




Steps 17 -32
- Illuminate step 9






2. Pattern for Drum 2: F












Steps 1 - 16
- Illuminate steps 7 & 9





3. Pattern for Drum 3: A












Steps 1 - 16
- Illuminate step 13






4. Pattern for Drum 4: C












Steps 17 - 32
- Illuminate steps 1 & 5






Now you should have an idea as to how to make a bassline using an 808 kick drum sound. I hope that this was useful to you and that you pursue your musical endeavors with much joy and passion. Enjoy.

~ Ky