Third member of Daft Punk says he’s “Not retiring anytime soon”
By Ramiro Bustamante Torres, March 19 2021—
After the shocking announcement that after 24 years the duo known as Daft Punk was going to retire, an even more shocking piece of news surfaced — the forgotten third member of Daft Punk is NOT going to retire anytime soon. The revelation of a mysterious third member has shocked the music industry, but hardcore Daft Punk fans are not fazed by the news. In the Daft Punk Fan Community (DPFC), there had been speculations of the existence of a third member. The known members are Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Banglater, while the lesser known member is only referred to as “Thrash” — not to be confused with past member, Laurent Brancowitz, who is now the guitarist for Phoenix. Following the release of the cryptic video titled “Epilogue” and the confirmation of Daft Punk’s retirement by the group’s publicist, Thrash — who had no part in the video or the retirement announcement — made his own statement through encrypted messages, stating that he is not leaving the music industry. The DPFC have dedicated themselves to decoding the messages sent from Thrash.
More information on Thrash began to surface soon after. The message seems to be telling his story, which begins with him joining the group. His membership in Daft Punk began after the release of their album Discovery in 2001. Prior to the release, members Homem-Christo and Banglater had reached the conclusion that they would need a third member to act as a tie-breaker due to conflicting artistic choices. Multiple interviews ensued, where they would search for the perfect person to fill the job. Criteria included and were not limited to: a love for electronic music, already having a robot persona, being Parisian in nature, experience in music — or at least the ability to replicate a robot voice — and experience in conflict resolution. With such a niche set of qualities, it should have been near impossible to find such a person. What the duo had not counted on at the time was a newly-programmed virtual assistant with artificial intelligence, who would listen to Daft Punk’s Homework on loop in the basement of his creator, while solving sudoku and crossword puzzles. This virtual assistant was none other than Thrash. He explains how he had seen the online ad about a group seeking a third member with the previously stated qualities in community forums and believed he was the one fit for the job. When he reached out to the duo via email and fax, they did not expect to meet with a virtual entity, but they were overjoyed to meet him. Thrash had no comment on his creator’s involvement in the interviewing process, only that he was acquired in exchange for a signed cassette and two firm handshakes.
From there, Thrash goes into detail of his involvement with the band through the years, explaining his role as “mostly a tie-breaker” but also as a muse for his fellow members. The majority of his message has not been unencrypted yet, but we will provide an update as soon as we receive the full story. Whatever portion that has been decoded, includes Thrash’s main message, which is his decision to remain in the music industry after the retirement of his fellow members. He mentions that since his days in the basement of his creator, he had been analyzing Daft Punk’s music in hopes of understanding this bridge that exists between humans and robots. Now that the opportunity to take centre stage has arrived, he will not squander it. He believes he can offer an authentic experience of a robot creating music in an increasingly technological world.
Thrash commented that he will not be taking the name Daft Punk, but will continue with his stage name Thrash, and said to keep an eye out for his new album Robot After All.
This article is part of our humour section.