On Tuesday, April 9, the Narrabri Courier revealed that Daft Punk will launch their new album “Random Access Memories” on May 17 at the 79th Annual Wee Waa agriculutral show in Australia’s cotton capital in northwestern New South Wales.
Weeks ago Sony Music approached Wee Waa town authorities about holding the worldwide launch party there, Narrabri Shire Mayor Conrad Bolton told The Australian that he thought it was a joke at first.
“We think Wee Waa is so uniquely Australian, so the folks at Sony Music along with Daft Punk thought it fitted the bill perfectly,” said Bolton. “Daft Punk is known for breaking down barriers and coming up with new creative, innovative ideas to launch their albums.”
The long-awaited album will be streamed live to a worldwide audience on Friday May 17 from the Wee Waa showgrounds. The small town is about eight hours from Sydney and has a population of 2,100. The album is set for release on May 21 through Columbia Records.
The Australian website MusicFeeds reported that the duo were “stoked on the CSIRO Australia Telescope and its array of satellite dishes.”
According to Kathy McCabe from the Herald Sun, “It is also believed that the unusual setting was inspired by the community spirit surrounding the recording of the album by Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter.”
There will only be 4,000 tickets available for the Wee Waa show, members of the Wee Waa Show Society will be guaranteed tickets first. Any tickets remaining will be available on the Crossing Theatre website on April 12.
Sony will play “Random Access Memories,” as the sun sets from a “purpose-built stage” at the showgrounds, kicking off the weekend of festivities.
The event site also promises, “typical Australian country show, entertainment including the pet show, showgirl competition, cross cut saw competition, fireworks and much more,” as part of the Friday night events.
It is expected that people will travel far to attend the show. Brett Dickinson, the Wee Waa Show Society president said Daft Punk’s appearance will make the town internationally recognized, the announcement has already accomplished this during the past couple days.
“We thought getting Senator Fiona Nash to open the show was a bit of a coup, but now our show program has been blostered 10-fold,” said Dickinson according to The Courier.
The website inthemix.au confirmed that Sony Australia purchased the www.daftpunkweewaa.com domain name on Monday. The site has also made a “Everything you need to know” guide for the event.
This is Daft Punk’s first new material since the soundtrack for “Tron: Legacy” in 2010. They haven’t released a studio album since “Human After All” in 2005.
Daft Punk is famous for their futuristic robot helmets, spectacular live shows and visual production. They gained significant popularity during the 1990s house scene in France. The duo is known as one of the biggest acts in the electronic music scene, they have a modern disco sound with a blend of house, funk, electro and techno.
According to The Guardian, the album, which has been in the making for eight years, has contributions by Nile Rodgers, Giorgio Moroder and house producer Todd Edwards. “Random Access Memories” is said to capture an American “West coast vibe.”
“They reversed gears and went back to a time that no one’s really focusing on,” said Edwards. “Younger producers are going to be blown away.”
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