This was Daft Punk’s second collaboration with Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams – and their second song to soundtrack the summer of 2013.
It’s like a stripped-back minimalist take on their previous world-conquering hit Get Lucky, recreating the disco sound of Chic with Nile’s funky rhythm guitar complemented by Nathan East’s bass and drummer John JR Robinson.
Not that it’s an example of nostalgia for the ’70s, according to Williams. “It makes me feel like walking down the street in the middle of the night in London and it’s 1984, 1985,” Pharrell said. “I don’t hear ’70s in that at all.”
He also said he could have imagined David Bowie singing the song – presumably in his Let’s Dance period with Rodgers. For Daft Punk – Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo – the song was something of an experiment.
Eager to use a live drummer, Bangalter explained that the duo wished to redefine dance music as “something lighter or something more primal”, evoking the sense of being unified and connected on the dance floor.
It didn’t do nearly as well as Get Lucky, stalling at No.49 in the UK singles chart – but that’s not to say it’s not a banger. And, like its predecessor, it soundtracked that summer of 2013.