Thomas Bangalter surprises at The Lot Radio with a set

The return to the decks in Brooklyn

On June 8, Thomas Bangalter made an unannounced appearance at the The Lot Radio facilities, located in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. During a live broadcast, the French producer and co-founder of Daft Punk performed a 75-minute set. This event represents his first solo performance in the United States in over a decade and barely his second DJ appearance in the last 17 years, following his recent participation alongside Fred again.. at Alexandra Palace in London.

Sound structure and track selection

The session was characterized by a musical selection that spanned a wide sonic spectrum, moving from musique concrète to techno and IDM. According to the station's official log, the repertoire included iconic cuts such as "Polynomial-C" by Aphex Twin and "Archangel" by Burial. Furthermore, Bangalter used the space to showcase material from his recent orchestral ballet work, "Mirage," weaving it together with productions by Plastikman, Octave One, Flying Lotus, Sonic Youth, and composers Iannis Xenakis and Tangerine Dream. This amalgamation of genres evidences the diversity of influences that nourish his current solo projects.

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Impact of his sonic transition

The performance concluded directly with the playback of "Contact," a track taken from the album Random Access Memories by Daft Punk. Despite this referential closing, Bangalter himself has reiterated to the international press that there is no intention to reactivate the duo dissolved in 2021, prioritizing the exploration of new acoustic and cinematic formats. The full session, recorded without a live audience inside the radio's characteristic shipping container, is now part of The Lot Radio's public archive, consolidating an unusual audiovisual document in the musician's recent trajectory.

I am very happy that during our long career we were able to not ruin it. There are other things to explore.

— Thomas Bangalter

Sources Consulted