The years surrounding the release of 2001's Discovery were hugely important for Daft Punk, as that’s when the duo transformed from a pair of French electronica fans into a pair of robots who are definitely not just French musicians in masks, and now those years are going to be chronicled in a new book from Ben Cardew called Daft Punk’s Discovery: The Future Unfurled. This comes from Billboard, which says the book will feature “roughly 25 interviews,” including some with “individuals who worked with the band” like producers, a teacher, journalists, and other artists who were inspired by Daft Punk. There will also be “previously unreleased interview material from a 2013 conversation” with the duo—which is exciting, certainly, but it means there probably won’t be any insights into the group’s breakup earlier this year.
That’s okay, though, because Discovery was a great era! There plenty of good stuff to talk about! “Digital Love” and “One More Time” and “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,” and “Something About Us!” The anime music videos for Interstella 5555! The book is not authorized by the robots, but Cardew told Billboard that part of the idea for it was that “the legend” has overtaken Daft Punk and he wanted to “get behind that.” (Dispelling the legend a bit seems counterintuitive to our collective agreement to accept that they are robots and not guys in masks, but hopefully Cardew is aware of that and doesn’t try to suggest anything else.) Daft Punk’s Discovery: The Future Unfurled will be available from places that sell books in September, and it’s coming from U.K. label Velocity Press—which Billboard says is “an independent publisher that specializes in electronic music and club culture books.” Imagine running something like that and just now getting the call to do a Daft Punk book!