Daft Punk
Darlin’s guitar recordings and Daft Punk’s first EP mark the change from a Paris trio to an electronic duo.
ListenCindy So Loud · 1993
Darlin’ — “Cindy So Loud,” from Shimmies in Super 8.
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1993 · Duophonic Super 45s
Shimmies in Super 8
Before Daft Punk, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo played with Laurent Brancowitz in Darlin’. Their two tracks on this small-label compilation prompted the review that gave Daft Punk its name. [1] [2]
| Accession | OMMA-0118 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Darlin’ / Various artists |
| Release | 1993 · United Kingdom |
| Label | Duophonic Super 45s · DS45 05 & 06 |
| Format | Two 7-inch vinyl records · 45 rpm |
| Issue | Numbered UK compilation · copy 000058 |
| Runouts | Not documented |
| Recorded grade | NM · VG+ sleeve |
Release history and significance
Released by Stereolab’s Duophonic label in 1993, Shimmies in Super 8 places Darlin’ alongside Huggy Bear, Colm and Stereolab. Darlin’s side contains “Cindy So Loud” and a version of the Beach Boys’ “Darlin’.” All three musicians are credited on both tracks. [1]
Dave Jennings reviewed the double single in the 1 May 1993 issue of Melody Maker. His dismissive description of Darlin’s music supplied the name Bangalter and de Homem-Christo would use for their next project. Music writer Ned Raggett identified Jennings by locating the complete reviews page in his own collection of the magazine. [2]
The three musicians went on to two very different groups: Bangalter and de Homem-Christo became Daft Punk, while Brancowitz became a member of Phoenix. This compilation captures the shared starting point before those paths diverged. [2]
Market context
Discogs reports recorded sales of US$162.16–581.40, with a median of US$291.89, for the numbered white-and-green edition as checked on 14 September 2026. The original inserts and numbered sleeve are significant components of the complete set. [1]
Physical Description
The set contains one white-vinyl and one green-vinyl 7-inch in a numbered sleeve. This copy is numbered 000058. Darlin’s two tracks occupy side B; the other three sides feature Huggy Bear, Colm and Stereolab. [1]
Condition
The records are graded Near Mint and the sleeve VG+. There is a small crease at the lower-left corner of the cover. The original inserts are absent.
Provenance
Acquired by the Origins of Modern Music Archive in June 2026 from Luke Perez, who trades as “The Daft Punk Historian.”
Sources
- Discogs, Various – Shimmies in Super 8, release 306155. Original numbered white-and-green double single, tracks, credits and recorded sales.
- Ned Raggett, the Melody Maker review that named Daft Punk. 14 May 2013; identification and reproduction of Dave Jennings’s 1 May 1993 review.
Catalogue text reviewed 13 September 2026.
ListenThe New Wave · 1994
Daft Punk — The New Wave, full-length version from the 1994 EP.
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1994 · Soma Quality Recordings
The New Wave
Daft Punk’s first release grew out of an encounter between two young Paris musicians and Glasgow’s Soma label. The New Wave appeared in 1994, introducing Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo through a four-track techno EP. [1] [2]
| Accession | OMMA-0008 |
|---|---|
| Artist | Daft Punk |
| Release | 1994 · United Kingdom |
| Label | Soma Quality Recordings · Soma 14 |
| Format | 12-inch vinyl EP |
| Issue | Hand-stamped white-label promotional issue |
| Runouts | A: Not documented B: SOMA-14-B1 MA |
| Recorded grade | NM · generic sleeve |
Release history and significance
Soma co-founder Glenn Gibbons recalled meeting the musicians through a fanzine writer at a rave near Disneyland Paris. The introduction led him and Stuart Macmillan to a top-floor home studio in Montmartre, where Bangalter played their four-track recordings. Gibbons remembered leaving the session convinced that they had heard something special. [2]
Soma 14 contains edited and full-length versions of “The New Wave,” followed by “Assault” and “Alive.” The music reached listeners through an independent Scottish label and its network of DJs, well before the duo’s global success. This copy is the hand-stamped white-label promotional edition. [1] [2]
“Alive” returned on Homework in 1997, connecting the first EP to the album that brought Daft Punk a much wider audience. The New Wave preserves the harder techno setting in which that music first circulated. [3]
Market context
Soma 14 exists in commercial, promotional and test-pressing configurations. This hand-stamped white-label promo belongs to the first release’s DJ circulation. Its stamped identification and inscriptions distinguish the edition within a catalogue that also includes separate white-label and factory-test entries. [1]
Physical Description
Black vinyl with plain white labels bearing hand-stamped identification. The copy is housed in a generic sleeve. The four-track program places two versions of the title track on the first side and “Assault” and “Alive” on the reverse. [1]
Condition
The vinyl is graded Near Mint, with light superficial hairlines and faint spindle traces. Slight wear is present on the B-side label.
Provenance
Acquired through Discogs from seller technobot on 7 April 2025.
Sources
- Discogs, Daft Punk – The New Wave, release 1742511. 1994 UK white-label promotional EP, track order and B-side runout.
- Linn, Daft Punk listening presentation. Soma co-founder Glenn Gibbons’s recollection of the Paris meeting and studio visit.
- Insomniac, Daft Punk artist biography. The first Soma release and the subsequent appearance of Alive on Homework.
Catalogue text reviewed 13 September 2026.