Thomas Bangalter

Infobox musical artist 2
Name = Thomas Bangalter

---

Img_capt = Thomas Bangalter as one-half of Daft Punk
Img_size = 200
Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name =
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|197 5|1|3
Died =
Origin = Paris, France
Genre = House
Years_active = 1992-present
Label = Roulé
Associated_acts = Darlin'
Daft Punk
Stardust
Together

Thomas Bangalter (born January 3, 1975) is a French electronic musician and founding member (along with Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo) of the French house music duo Daft Punk. He has also produced music for the band Stardust, as a member of the band Together, and for the film "Irréversible". His music is sometimes known as French house.

Thomas Bangalter owns a music label called Roulé. Outside of music production, his credits include film director and cinematographer. Bangalter resides in Beverly Hills, California, with his wife, French actress Élodie Bouchez, and his two sons, Tara-JaySuzanne Ely, "Return of the Cybermen" "Mixmag" (July 2006)] and Roxan. [http://www.purepeople.com/10223-PHOTOS-Elodie-Bouchez-maman-d-un-petit-Daft-Punk-reactualise-.html Elodie Bouchez maman d'un petit Daft Punk] purepeople.com. Retrieved on July 24 2008.]

Biography

Thomas Bangalter began playing the piano at the age of five.Michael Hamersly, [http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/entertainment/weekend/15967428.htm "Ask the DJ"] "Miami Herald" (November 10, 2006).] Bangalter stated in a [http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=8943495939887017057 video interview] that his parents were strict in keeping up his practice, for which he later thanked them. His father, Daniel Vangarde was a famous songwriter and producer for such performers as the Gibson Brothers, Ottawan, and Sheila B. Devotion.Chris Gill, [http://remixmag.com/mag/remix_robopop/ "ROBOPOP"] "Remix Magazine Online" (May 2001)] As expressed by Bangalter, "I never had any intention to do what my father was doing."Suzanne Ely, "Return of the Cybermen", "Mixmag" (July 2006)]

Bangalter met Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo while attending the Lycée Carnot school in 1987. [http://web.archive.org/web/20060410194554/http://www.daft-musique.com/ Daft Punk Musique Vol. 1 Official Website] . Archived from April 10 2006.] It was there that they discovered their mutual fascination of films and music of the 1960s and 70s, "very basic cult teenager things, from "Easy Rider" to the Velvet Underground."Matthew Collin, "Do You Think You Can Hide From Stardom?" "Mixmag" (August 1997) ( [http://www.techno.de/mixmag/97.08/DaftPunk.a.html archived] at techno.de)] They and Laurent Brancowitz eventually joined to form an indie rock trio called Darlin', in which Bangalter performed bass guitar. Bangalter felt that "It was still maybe more a teenage thing at that time. It's like, you know, everybody wants to be in a band." A negative review referred to the act as "a bunch of daft punk", which inspired Bangalter and de Homem-Christo's new name.

Shortly before reaching the age of 18, Daft Punk grew interested in electronic music, which led Brancowitz to leave the group in pursuit of efforts with fellow Parisian band Phoenix. [http://www.discogs.com/artist/Darlin' Darlin' biography] at Discogs. Retrieved on February 20 2007.] In 1993 Bangalter presented a demo of Daft Punk material to Stuart Macmillan of Slam that led to their first single "The New Wave". Daniel Vangarde provided valuable advice for the duo. "He helped us by presenting to us what the situation was with the record industry and how it worked. Knowing that, we made certain choices in order to achieve what we wanted."Alan Di Perna, "We Are The Robots" "Pulse!" (April 2001).]

Vangarde was thanked for his efforts in the liner notes of "Homework". The title of the album is partially attributed to the fact that "Homework" was recorded in Bangalter's bedroom. As he remarked, "I had to move the bed into another room to make space for the gear." In the years following the 1997 release, Bangalter focused on his own record label, Roulé ("rolled" in French). The label released singles by Romanthony, Roy Davis Jr., and Bangalter's own solo material, among others. Bangalter collaborated with Alan Braxe and Benjamin Diamond and in 1998 released the club hit "Music Sounds Better with You". Just as for "Homework", the single was recorded in Bangalter's home studio.Discogs release|name=Music Sounds Better With You|id=4087]

Around the same time of "Music Sounds Better with You", Bangalter co-produced Bob Sinclar's second single titled "Gym Tonic". The song used samples from a Jane Fonda workout tape. Fonda later refused permission for clearance of the sample.James, Martin. "French Connections: From Discotheque to Discovery". London, United Kingdom: Sanctuary Publishing Ltd., 2003. pg 201. (ISBN 1-8607-4449-4)] A band named Spacedust released a single titled "Gym and Tonic" that recreated elements of "Gym Tonic" and "Music Sounds Better with You". Their song became a number one single in the United Kingdom. [ [http://www.discogs.com/artist/Spacedust Discogs entry of Spacedust] Discogs. Retrieved on October 1 2007.]

During 1998, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo collaborated with Romanthony in what would become the first of the "Discovery" sessions. [http://web.archive.org/web/20060410194554/http://www.daft-musique.com/ Daft Punk Musique Vol. 1 official website] . Archived from April 10 2006.] One of tracks produced, "One More Time" became Daft Punk's most successful single in 2000. Bangalter also performed on a Yamaha Cs-60 synthesizer on the track "Embuscade" in Phoenix's debut album "United", which was released the same year. [Discogs release|name=United|id=20794. Retrieved on April 7 2007] He also teamed up with DJ Falcon under the name Together to release their eponymous 2000 single. In 2002, Bangalter fathered a son, Tara-Jay with actress Élodie Bouchez.imdb name|id=0001965|name=Élodie Bouchez]

Together released the single "So Much Love to Give" in 2003. The Eric Prydz track "Call on Me" was initially thought to be a follow-up to the Together release due to the similarity between the two songs and DJ Falcon's use of "Call on Me" in DJ sets. [ [http://www.thedjlist.com/djs/ERIC_PRYDZ/ Eric Prydz] at thedjlist.com. Retrieved on April 21 2007.]

Between September 13 and November 9 of 2004, Daft Punk produced and mixed tracks for their album "Human After All". Shortly afterward, Bangalter moved to his current home in Beverly Hills, California. The move is attributable to Bouchez's career in Hollywood and Bangalter's own interests in filmmaking. On June 2 2008 Bouchez gave birth to Bangalter's second son, Roxan.

elected discography

Albums

* "Irréversible" (2002)

EPs and singles

* "Trax on Da Rocks" (1995)
* "Spinal Scratch" (1996)
* "Trax on Da Rocks Vol. 2" (1998)
* "Outrage" (2003)

References

External links

*
*
*
*