Daft Punk Drummer Says They're Holding Onto An Unreleased Album

One of Daft Punk’s collaborators has revealed that the group are sitting on an unreleased album.

Speaking in an interview on the student-run media organisation alt.news 26:46, the French electronic music heroes’ session drummer, mononymously known as Quinn, discussed working on the duo’s – Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo – 2013 album, Random Access Memories, and the unreleased album.

“On RAM, I was pretty much the last person to come in on the record,” Quinn revealed (via Consequence Of Sound). “The next record [Daft Punk] were working on, I was the very first person.”

Quinn opened up about the unique experience of watching Daft Punk in action, talking about the early stages of the songwriting process: “Thomas had this keyboard and had a computer program, and he was just experimenting. He was just hitting things.

“We were literally just trying to get vibes across. He was on the beautiful mixing board in there. I’m out in the studio; I started on my weird drum set… Whatever he would give me, I would answer and try to come up with something.”

On the unreleased follow-up to Random Access Memories, Quinn continued, “That unnamed record, I think, will be a lot of spontaneous things.

“I remember playing this one thing — my piano board, the insides of a piano — I put my kick pedal on the strings and played it like a kick drum. I remember those guys really loving that. I don’t know if it’ll make the record. It was the craziest, weird-sounding things.”

On where the unnamed record is at now, Quinn explained, “I keep checking in. I’m told they’re working on it. It’s coming out of the locker. I asked Daft Punk permission to talk about it for another article ’cause they’re very secretive, as you know. And the greatest guys.”

You can watch the interview below.

In November, Daft Punk released a drumless edition of Random Access Memories to celebrate its tenth anniversary. In a Purple Sneakers review, Cyclone Wehner stated that the release “isn't essential, but it's singular – and occasionally gorgeous.”

Bangalter discussed the duo’s 2021 break-up in August, saying that it “felt good”.

“The question I ask more myself is why we did end it rather than how it could last for so long,” he said when asked why the pair decided to part ways.

“It’s a lot like a story or mini saga – sometimes there’s a TV show that has a special place in people’s hearts, and it keeps that place, and it runs for one, two, three, four, five, sometimes ten seasons.”

He continued, “There’s a moment where it ends, and I think it’s actually interesting to have this opportunity to start, have the middle, and end to it.” The French DJ added that he was “relieved and happy to look back and say: ‘Ok, we didn’t mess it up too much’.”