DJ Uncovers and Releases Lost Daft Punk Mix From the 1990s
DJ Ralph Lawson has restored and released an hour-long Daft Punk mix that had been stored on tape since 1997. The discovery matters because Lawson says it is not the duo’s known BBC Essential Mix, and he could find no information about this recording.
Daft Punk sent Lawson the tape while promoting their debut album, *Homework*. He found it in 2024, but it was mouldy and tore when he tried to play it, so he sent it to Bristol specialists Great Bear for restoration. Lawson said the vinyl mix was released with its volume raised, but without added compression.
In short
- Ralph Lawson released a restored Daft Punk mix from 1997.
- The hour-long recording is distinct from their known Essential Mix.
- Specialists restored the mouldy tape without adding compression.
Explained simply
Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, who became widely known in the late 1990s. Their debut album, Homework, helped bring house and techno music to a larger audience.
Ralph Lawson is a British DJ who received the tape from the duo while they were promoting the album in 1997. Great Bear, a Bristol-based audio restoration company, works to recover recordings from ageing or damaged media such as tape.
A recording can offer a glimpse of how artists mixed and presented music at a particular point in their careers. Lawson said this mix is separate from Daft Punk’s better-known BBC Essential Mix, and that he had found no information about it.