Stream: Nicolas Jaar - Daftside (Random Access Memories Remixes)

Just so you know, the adornment of Nicolas Jaar has now exploded ten-fold. The visionary 23-year-old producer, two years after the release of the seminal Space Is Only Noise LP (and numerous other small efforts in between), has crafted the otherwordly Daftside. The album (named in the same ilk of his 2011 EP DARKSIDE) completely recraft's Daft Punk's Random Access Memories into something completely new and bewildering. While some arrangements and signatures from the original album are still in tow, Daftside is largely a completely new sounding concept. It's an absolute must-listen, below.

DJ Falcon and Paul Williams on Daft Punk

In the latest additions to the The Collaborators, The Creators Project introduced a pair of new interviews from fellow Frenchman DJ Falcon and singer-songwriter/actor Paul Williams, the man most famous for writing "Rainbow Connection," on their roles with Daft Punk's Random Access Memories.

While the latter contributor may be a bit perplexing, both give unique perspectives that weren't apparent in the previous episodes of the series  DJ Falcon (Stéphane Quême) began his rise in France around the same time as Daft Punk as an atypical house DJ, and gives the view on working together as actual long-time friends rooted in similar origins. While the latter talks of a person feeling and mature connection to what the music can be.

Check out both interviews below. Random Access Memories is set for release May 21.

Chilly Gonzales on Daft Punk

Moving forward with part six of The Creators Project series on the making of Random Access Memories, the focus moves towards Chilly Gonzales.

Generally, Gonzales is more of a composition player in the musical landscape, earning fame not only as a pianist, but as a complimentary piece to more familiar artists like Jamie Lidell and Feist. During the interview, the classically trained Gonzales, rather than focusing on the emotionalism and subject matter, discusses what he knows best - composing. One moment in particular stands out, when Gonzales professes his adoration of the signature on "Digital Love."

Keep checking back, because this series isn't over yet.

Pharrell Williams on Daft Punk

There's no trying to escape it, the campaigning Daft Punk have done for Random Access Memories is totally engrossing. No album in recent memory has done so much to garner this amount of hype and done it so effectively well as have the electro pioneers, asking the question, are Daft Punk ready to be the biggest thing in music?

After teasing fans at Coachella and during Saturday Night Live with a preview of "Get Lucky" with Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers, the first and only song fans have heard from the album, the star-studded tracklist was unveiled. Then, the duo's Saint Laurent ad campaign debuted. And now, we have the fourth installment in the Creators Project series, featuring the aforementioned Williams.

Watch below and keep waiting until May 21.

Nile Rodgers on Daft Punk

In the latest installment of The Creator's Project documentary series on the making of Daft Punk's Random Access Memories, the focus moves to super producer/musician Nile Rodgers. Opening up, Rodgers talks about feeling the same way as when he met David Bowie and Duran Duran as he does with the electro idols, and how much things have evolved since his hey-day.

Rather than on the Giorgio Moroder and Todd Edwards portions, however, Rodgers largely discusses the processes he used in creating his past hits and how that's transferred to Random Access Memories, rather than simply drooling over how good the duo actually are.

Watch below while we count the days down until May 21.

Todd Edwards on Daft Punk

Last week, the Creators Project (of Vice) released the first of a continuing series of interview about this year's biggest album, Daft Punk's Random Access Memories.

Going from Giorgio Moroder, the second installment in the series focused on Bloomfield, NJ producer Todd Edwards, who fans might be familiar with previously worked with Daft Punk, supplying the vocals on Discovery standout "Face to Face."

Edwards details his participation, but what really stands out is his unabashed love for what the duo are doing. So much so, he reveals, that he actually moved because of his short time working with them. Check Part Two below and stay tuned for more soon.

Giorgio Moroder on Daft Punk

Fans familiar with Vice may recognize another one of its side pieces, The Creators Project. While not only focusing on music, a la Noisey, The Creators Project does highlight the more artsy of music videos, so there's some crossover.

The newest and most damn exciting series from the group is a collaboration series about the upcoming Holy Hell it's actually coming new album from electro deities Daft Punk. The first of the series features insight from Italian disco pioneer Giorgio Moroder, who helped out on Random Access Memories.

Moroder discusses the duo's penchant for supreme perfectionism, exuding unmistakable high praise for the French giants. Watch part one of the series below and get ready for Random Access Memories May 21. A new national world-wide holiday.

Lollapalooza and the current state of music festivals

Why can't you get tickets?

There's a permanent sway that has held over the music festival market, drifting in one improbable direction in the past six years. Availability for music festivals, such as Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, and Coachella, have become slim in recent years, selling out earlier and earlier every season. What results is a fundamental change in the way we, as fans, approach the idea of festivals.



What resulted of this furious whirlwind attempt to get tickets started six years ago, at the financial boom of music festivals. Tailing back to 2007 and 2008 and you'll notice a striking contrast between the lineups of those years and after. What happened between, of course, is the financial collapse of 2008. Though what a housing market bubble exactly has to do with festival lineups is perhaps beyond me, it was clear that the entire economic system suffered.

Coachella 2007: Bjork, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against The Machine
Bonnaroo 2007: The Police, Tool, The White Stripes
Lollapalooza 2007: Daft Punk, Pearl Jam, Muse
Bonnaroo 2008: Pearl Jam, Metallica, Kanye West, Jack Johnson
Lollapalooza 2008: Radiohead, Rage Against The Machine, Kanye West, Nine Inch Nails

Since those years reunions have grown scarce, Rage Against The Machine left us again, and Daft Punk became the music festival version of Moby Dick. It's not as if the major three festivals cannot replicate those large-name headliners again (Coachella has done a mighty fine version in the last two years), but you'll be hard pressed to see anything like Lollapalooza 2008 ever happen again.

But the following years the unexpected force of economic fragility and the ever-growing demand of music festivals coincided. So while the viability of the festival seemed to stay afloat because of the demand, say, aside for a bevy of smaller East coast festivals (R.I.P Vineland Music Festival and All Points West) the overall ability to book top flight acts has slipped.

Combining the two elements you'll see larger festivals (Lollapalooza has expanded its size and barriers every year since 2008) for more consumers, who are forced to purchase tickets for either weaker lineups or lineups they haven't even seen yet.

Contrasting 2008 with 2013 is more than just headliners. Lollapalooza, for instance, releases three-day passes in April of every year. It's hard to believe that a festival that sold out its general admission passes in roughly three hours last week took months to sell out a lineup that had Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, and Kanye West in it. That was a reality just five years ago, when fans actually had a chance to say,

OK, we'll go if the lineup is good.

In time that decision had to be significantly altered. Music festivals ceased to be a weekend off and turned into a vacation for most of the consumers, which bode even better for the financial stability of the festival. But those decisions had to be made ahead of time. "OK, we'll go if the lineup is good" turned into "Are we going this year or not?"

Turning the conversation away from a weekend to a vacation altered the demographics as well. Music festivals are populated by two broad groups: Those who travel and those who live within a close proximity. The latter of which always had an obvious advantage, not having to exude travel expenses, hotel, etc. Thus, the ultimate effect of the rampant ticket spree went to them:

Those who live within a close proximity have all the advantage.

Vacations take time, money, and the always casually underrated planning. Combine the obvious factor with the still prevailing fact that the economy is still largely in flux for most prospective festival demographics and the travel crowd has been significantly deterred.

Having to buy a ticket means much less of a hassle for those who live close, hence, why buying one as soon as it is on sale isn't much of a question. Acclimating demand slowly forces out casual outside consumers, which eliminates exposure to something those outside rarely get to see.

I think back to myself as a 19-year-old, sitting on a bench at college, calling my friends about when the idea first came to me. It was April 2008, Radiohead was my favorite band in the world, and Lollapalooza was something I wanted to do for years. I think back then and I realize there's no possible way it would have happened for any of us today. The tickets would be gone and I would have missed something so revitalizing and important to me. Part of it is luck and timing, but another part can't help but feel for that kid today who doesn't get the chance.