Thomas Bangalter's Father Steps Into The Light
Daniel Vangarde's first-ever English language interview — and a preview of what's to come
It’s always nice to bag an exclusive. It’s even nicer if that exclusive is 75 years in the making.
I suppose this now functions as ‘opening my account’ with Substack — hello loyal, kind and handsome early adopters — as well as being the first big reveal of who’s in After Daft. It’s a day we started to launch social pages, too, so that’s a triple buzz.
Said exclusive is Daniel Vangarde, née Bangalter, father of Thomas, in the first published English-language interview he’s ever granted.
Given the extreme influence which Daniel wields over the early arc of Daft Punk, and the fact he’s never publicly spoken about his son’s work or even his own, this was a pretty nifty ‘get’. Billboard kindly carried the piece (cheers Katie, Andrew) and you can read it here.
Daniel granted over 2hrs of conversation on a surprisingly stable link from the remote forests of southern Bahia. We spanned his life in music, gradually moseying out of the late 1950s and into the present day, with an explicit focus on a (delightful) retrospective of the ‘70s & ‘80s output of his label, Zagora.
If you’re unfamiliar with DV’s work as an early disco magnate, I’d recommend Yamasuki’s “Kono Samourai” or Starbow’s “Voyager II” as great places to start.
I was particularly enthused to hear about his strong ethical grounding in pacifism and fair remuneration for artists, which he parlayed into prison spells, radio bans and a very high-profile fight against SACEM at the turn of the century. As we know next-to-nothing about Daniel’s life outside of disco megahits, this was all tantalising detail to receive.
2-for-1; more Bang for your buck
But — here’s the hook. Although I feel the piece stands up on its own two feet, it’s only truthfully an appetiser.
A substantial amount of Daft-relevant material has been withheld for the book, covering everything from Daniel’s rumoured contractual advise during the making of Homework and Discovery, up to legend-bothering at the Grammy Awards 2014, and some other information so unknown I can’t even really allude to it.
I’m not especially noted for restraint as a person, so this is a strange and confusing new mode for me. But I hope it’s heading some place good.
Just to wrap everything up with all the confidence of someone who’s checked for their keys three times before leaving the house: In case you’re a new subscriber or had this forwarded and are wondering what gives, the below post is a spot of window-dressing about what you’re reading and why not to hit the ejector seat yet.
Alright, have a good yam-a-geddon for those who celebrate this week 🦃
Cheerio
