So Who Are All These People On The New Daft Punk Album?

There’s been a whole lot of news about the new Daft Punk LP, Random Access Memories, slated to come in May. And among that news has been the talk of the duo’s many collaborators on the record—many of whom you may not know. So allow us to sketch out the details of some of the folks who are said to appear on the record.

Nile Rodgers
The man most commonly tied to the new LP is disco legend and producer Nile Rodgers. In fact, the Chic guitarist become a de facto spokesman for the tight-lipped Daft Punk, announcing that the new album is smoking, and being one of the first to talk about his involvement in the record last year at IMS. What else should you know him for? His and partner Bernard Edwards’ amazing balearic production of Carly Simon’s “Why,” for one.

Paul Williams
We’re extremely curious as to where American songwriter Paul Williams fits into theRAM equation. In the past, he penned hits for Three Dog Night, David Bowie, and the Carpenters.

Panda Bear
Panda Bear is the nom-de-tune of Animal Collective’s Noah Lennox, who struck out on his own from the band with the hugely successful 2007 LP Person Pitch. Known for his—and Animal Collective’s—extremely psychedelic wall-of-sound approach to music-making, Panda Bear has become quite a well-known collaborative quantity in the indie world, working with the likes of Atlas Sound and Zomby, so Daft Punk seems a logical next step.

Chilly Gonzales
Chilly Gonzales is another serial collaborator, having worked with Feist, Mocky, Buck 65, Jamie Lidell, and Drake, but there’s a good reason why—despite being a goofy indie rapper, he’s also an accomplished piano and songwriter.

Giorgio Moroder
Moroder, as you likely know, is a straight-up disco and synthesizer music legend, who’s worked with Donna Summer, Sparks, David Bowie, Japan, and tons of others. So hey, why not the biggest duo in house music, too?

Pharrell Williams
When it comes to hip-hop producers of the last decade, Pharrell Williams has got to be somewhere in the top five. Having supplied beats for Jay-Z, Gwen Stefani, and tons more—not to mention often crooning on the tracks as well—the huge creative force behind NERD and the Neptunes production duo knows no studio limits. We’re psyched to see what he brings to the table.

Nathan East
Bassist Nathan East may not be the most well-known in dance-music circles, but amongst jazz and R&B aficionados, he’s a force to be reckoned with. His list of collaborators is a mile long, but it starts something like this: Anita Baker, Babyface, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Elton John, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Sting, Quincy Jones, Al Jarreau, Kenny Loggins, The Manhattan Transfer, Herbie Hancock… you get the gist. He also wrote the music for Phil Collins’ “Easy Lover,” which we can guess is high on Daft Punk’s list of favorite radio-rockers of the ’80s, and with a quick listen, you can see why this would factor so well into the duo’s old-school-favoring aesthetic.