UPDATE 8:30 PM PST | The original source of the alleged leaked documents has come forward and admitted they were faked. At this time, no new Daft Punk material is expected in the foreseeable future.
Daft Punk leaks and fakes are a dime a dozen. Still, the French duo have become such icons of mystery and desire that literally any possible hint at new material is jumped at. Today, a pair of documents allegedly coming from Sony and Republic suggest that a new Daft Punk album will be released May 26 of this year.
Early this morning on the Reddit r/DaftPunk discord, a user by the name dpthrowaway2020 posted the image with the pair of documents.
The document on top states ‘Product Release Information’ with a release date of May 26, 2020 and distribution on digital, CD, vinyl, and, oddly, laserdisc. Where the album art should have been was left blank.
The document on bottom states the media type (ALBUM) as well as the track count (12 / 13 for Japanese limited release). It also includes various identifying information for the alleged release.
Now, while it’s nice to think that Daft Punk might be releasing something in the next four months, let’s take a critical look at the documents.
First, on the top document, the representative contact is listed as Paul Hahn at Daft Arts. Daft Arts was the name of Daft Punk’s production company, based in Beverly Hills. It was established in 2005, and its director was indeed Paul Hahn. However, Daft Arts was dissolved in June 2018, and an email to the company likely would neither be the point of contact or functional.
Your EDM has reached out to Mr. Hahn at the email address listed, but have not received any response at time of publishing.
Next, the release date of May 26 is a Tuesday. Releasing an album on Tuesday isn’t unheard of, nor is it “against the rules,” per se, but major label release days are by and large Fridays.
Finally, the sheer fact that any alleged Daft Punk leak must be taken with a massive grain of salt. The duo hasn’t released any new original material since their Grammy-winning 2013 album, Random Access Memories, and there hasn’t been any indication that they plan to release anything new anytime soon.
Still, as mentioned before… it’s Daft Punk. And with them, any small thread is worth tugging on to see what comes loose.