Daft Punk Revisit 'The Writing of Fragments of Time'

And before you go getting your hopes up, the iconic French duo is not coming out of retirement as far as we are aware after having announced their breakup in 2021, but they are getting ready to release 35 minutes of previously unheard music for the upcoming 10th anniversary of Random Access Memories. Scheduled to be released May 12, the forthcoming anniversary edition of Daft Punk's last album is set to revisit the robots' disco-inspired swan song with the addition of nine new tracks that delve deeper into the making of the record.

The first offering of the upcoming expanded re-release, "The Writing of Fragments of Time," gives us a new director's commentary on the beloved RAM cut. Clocking in at almost twice the runtime of the original album cut, the new track offers an intimate behind-the-scenes look at the writing and recording of the track, taking bits and pieces from a tape that ran through the full session at the legendary Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles on February 29, 2012.

Similar to how "Giorgio by Moroder" features an interview with the iconic producer's creative process and the early days of his music career, "The Writing of The Fragments of Time" captures off-the-cuff moments between Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter and longtime collaborator Todd Edwards, the two of which previously worked on Discovery's "Face to Face," as they excitedly bounce ideas off one another, scrap outtakes and test out different lyrics.

A sharp contrast to Daft Punk's usual vocoder-heavy vocal treatment, the track's use of raw unprocessed human voice feels like poring over the artist's sketchbook, notes scribbled in the margins and rough drafts exposing the idiosyncratic creative process. Originally written from the perspectives of the artists' future selves speculating about how they would feel in the future looking back on that specific moment, "The Writing of The Fragments of Time" brings the song lyrically full circle, functioning like a time capsule and self-fulfilling prophecy ten years later.

Listen to Daft Punk's "The Writing of Fragments of Time" off Random Access Memories 10th Anniversary Edition below.

Photography: David Black