Inside The Pyramid: Daft Punk’s Live Gear

This is not necessarily breaking news, since this info was first published a while back on Mixmag magazine…but it’s always good to share it with newcomers, considering that Daft Punk are one of the best and most creative electronic artists today. And, like many successful artists, they chose to mix top of the line expensive gear and some surprisingly cheap gear…proof that the most important thing when purchasing something is to use your ears! Sometimes cheap is good!

Anyway, here’s a closer look at Daft Punk’s live setup!

Inside Daft Punk's Pyramid

1. ABLETON
“The show revolves around Ableton Live software on custom made super-computers, which we remotely access and control with Behringer BCR2000 midi controllers.” (for those not familiar with Ableton, there’s a really good tutorial DVD available quite cheaply – view here)

2. SCREENS
“Next to the ethernet remote computer screens there are four Minimoog Voyagers, the classic analog synthesizers. They’re a 30-year old design.”

3. MOOGS
“We can mix, shuffle, trigger loops, filter, distort samples, EQ in and out, transpose or destroy and deconstruct synth lines. We keep some surprises on the side too!”

4. VISUALS
“There’s a direct connection between our rig and the lights and visuals of the show. The light and video engineers can also add or control layers during the show.”

5. SYNTHS
“Inside the pyramid are synthesizers and remote controls connected to the rest of the music equipment and computers, which are in rack-mounted towers off stage.”

6. TEAMWORK
“Working the music equipment, lighting and video equipment, and building the pyramid for each show takes around 10 people, including both of us.”

Not mentioned in the original Mixmag article, an important component of Daft Punk’s live setup is the fantastic Jazz Mutant Lemur. The Lemur is an innovative input device to control computer real-time applications. It combines a distinctive industrial design, a brilliant modular graphic interface concept, and a unique and patented touchscreen technology that can track multiple fingers simultaneously. 

You can see Daft Punk using their Lemurs in this video of their live performance with Kanye West at the 2008 Grammy Awards: