How Daft Punk's Alive 2007 tour worked (W/ Demo)

Uploaded on Thomas Bangalter's birthday, here is my attempt to explain the setup for Daft Punk's Alive 2007 tour. I don't claim ownership of any of the music played in this video, all clips are used for demonstration purposes.
0:00 Intro
0:41 Ableton rundown
1:52 Mock setup and workflow explanation
3:21 Demo

[@khuutznetsov]

Thomas Bangalter's friend, DJ Falcon, was known to use Ableton in the early 2000s, and through live sets you can find with Thomas & Falcon have a lot of just live-set remixes or samples of songs Falcon would make/loop with Ableton in set, most notably with their earliest versions of "Call on Me" and that entire fiasco. I wouldn't doubt that Falcon also assisted Daft Punk in their 2007 set with making all the remixes, or even taught/helped Thomas & Guy how to use it for their own use.

[@freddieb1903]

I'm pretty sure you're right. For the deluxe edition for Alive 2007. It has a book full of photographs taken by DJ Falcon so I do think he denfinely attended numerous shows on the Alive tour and probably helped them out.

[@paulmark992]

But daft punk started in 1993. How did they do it before ableton existed?

[@khuutznetsov]

@@paulmark992 Because they didn't...? Im not saying they're magic time travelers. Im saying that from the early 2000s on, that Falcon & Bangalter would use Ableton live (and further on if you just re-read my main comment)

[@paulmark992]

@@khuutznetsov Yes I understand. But did they have live performances before Ableton became public/even existed? And what did they use for live performances back then before Ableton if they did live performances?

[@khuutznetsov]

@@paulmark992 They probably had presets on their hardware before it all went digital. If you ever watch any of their Alive 1997 sets, you can see there is a bunch of analog equipment. I personally do not know what they used specifically before Ableton though.

[@JakobeOG]

Wow I've been rocking this album every day for the past few weeks and was trying to figure out how they did it/what they did on stage. And this vid is only 3 days old lol. Good work!

[@jerryseinfeld9815]

This rocks. If you could do an explanation of the 1997 tour equipment that'd be a great help.

[@rct3isepic]

I'd love to, but I don't have the money or place for all the instruments. And neither do I really know they work

[@Sumbot177]

@@rct3isepic can you at least compile or send a link to the list of equipment they’d use in their live shows?

[@rct3isepic]

@@Sumbot177 it was essentially the same setup that they recorded homework with. Here's a link to a list of that gear mixmag.net/read/daft-punk-homework-tech-gear-equipment-news

[@jobzzzz]

I remember looking up how Alive 2007 worked back in like 2009 and never could find a good explanation.14 years later and I stumble into the answer on accident. Thank you sir.

[@Cargo_Bay]

I’m pretty sure their Ableton session was created start to finish, and the only thing they did live was audio filters/effects to the pre-made track. It’s the only thing different if you check audio from various shows. With such a tight audio/visual show, there’s no reason for them to be bothered with actually triggering scenes and clips.

[@rct3isepic]

That would make sense for tempo changes automation like what happens later in the show, but I have noticed certain parts of the show being slightly different in arrangement. For example an entire groove was removed between Coachella and the main tour

[@richardkoncol]

@@rct3isepic think they have changed that/improved that on each show and each show was different to the previous one

[@rct3isepic]

@Grayskull well if you're doing clip launch, you just set each scene and start them when you feel it. That's how I perform actually. Also if they're not doing any sort of clip launch then it kind of negates either the Lemur unless it was used to control the visuals

[@Cargo_Bay]

@@rct3isepichah. I’m responding a year later. Must have missed it. But in regards to the changes you’re referring to: What they did at Coachella, they did at all the other 2006 shows. For the 2007 shows, that’s when they had time to make the encore, and a few other bits and changes to the set (adding Burnin and replacing that groove you’re talking about…the F or part of Touch It, etc). But anyhow, they COULD do it the real way, but there’s no reason for them to have done anything but audio filters/effects to a pre-made track tbh. The lighting and videos on the screens are kind of dependent on this.

[@rct3isepic]

@futureproof84 the only moment that makes me think it's live sequenced is listen to Around the World/HBFS. If it was done in Ableton's arrangement mode, the vocal loop wouldn't cut off the way it does instead of finishing the phrase. It would do that in session mode though

[@sebsonedwg456]

Your demonstration sounds amazing🔥

[@9333Georgy]

this was excellently made thank you 🙏

[@macewbee]

Thank you for posting this I was curious on how everything worked out when they played lived.

[@SpenceOfAthens]

Great job 👏🏻 they way they also triggered the lights was always mesmerizing to me

[@geoffstandee]

This was amazing, I hope you get more views!

[@GeneralWeirdness]

This is so nerdy and excellent!

[@franciscoteixeira1510]

Great Video!

[@weedtaco1443]

Daft punk validates my love for behringer. thanks for the video, keep up the great work

[@imbriankm]

Absolutely excellent- thank you!

[@ZRV13]

Very impressive! Love it

[@teamjg277]

Now you just need a he LED light show and the pyramid to go with it (and helmet if you weren’t wearing it already)

[@bluerocket4377]

great video! you are talented

[@tydenstorff8056]

this was awesome

[@Paulous]

Great video

[@greavery]

this is sick!!

[@DaftRebel]

good job my friend! make more of this videos!

[@udsr]

great content

[@Polygoneer]

It wasn't until I got Ableton myself that I understood how Alive 2007 worked. However, your video helped me clear some doubts that I had!

[@ryanwright905]

This would be amazing to see live

[@MustacheCashStash125]

Good job! I’d like to see how they did the other songs.

[@AutoCost]

Very well made. You should make more. Maybe do a remake of a few songs from the the Alive 2007. You should also do Alive 1997 as well if that interests you. Keep up the great work. Earned a sub and a thumbs up 👍

[@PowerLeaderVideos]

Dude you inspred me to pick up my equipment and try these ideas, it legit felt like I was jn the show jumping up and down🎉

[@theholidayboy543]

Hey great vid I am a HUGE Daft Punk fan

[@florians.8081]

very cool

[@jamisonmac06]

WORK IT HARDER, MAKE IT BETTER, DO IT FASTER, MAKES US STRONGER 🗣️🔥🔥🔥

[@pep.filmmaker]

What you did here is, not just a very great explanation, but a really nice set with the equipment and the gloves 😍 BTW where did you get these gloves? Congrats and I hope you have more views in the future 💪

[@rct3isepic]

The gloves are from a shop on Etsy

[@bombalisa2724]

Cool!

[@Estebanrubik]

papasito delisioso gracias

[@SiHargreaves]

This is stellar work and you did a great job recreating that! Do you think Daft Punk cut up stems themselves or grabbed loops like you did?

[@rct3isepic]

Definitely cut up the stems. The loops here were either looped from stems, or made to recreate them

[@gugalima6426]

❤❤❤

[@ArtistiqueMusic]

As a matter of fact, they never actually used JazzMutant Lemurs at the show. Those 2 screens were just regular monitors connected to a computer down below that they then controlled thru the BCR 2000s. The JazzMutant Lemurs WERE used at the 2008 Kanye West Grammys performance however.

[@rct3isepic]

If that's the case, then why are the drum patterns triggered differently in every version of the show? They play like clip launch and not fader play. Same with the vocals for around the world. If it was just a monitor and everything was in arrangement view, that vocal wouldn't cut off the way it does.

[@spiderman3venom]

can you drop the ableton sets you use for alive 2007 plz

[@joshuacarver9328]

Watched a video with Thomas and he said they did everything live and did not pre do anything so take that as you will

[@bas9682]

I didn't even knew they performed live. I tought it was all prerecorded,

[@lukemccann2024]

Not gonna lie I'm pretty sure its all pre recorded live all daft punk did was play with effects during the live set but in all fairness they did create the live set so its not like they didn't do nothing they pretty much just enjoyed each night with work they done the night before

[@rct3isepic]

​@lukemccann2241 if you listen to any 2 performances from the tour, that debunks that pretty quickly. Each show had subtle to obvious differences. Like one night the synths would sound different or they'd switch rhythms in the drums in different spots

[@lukemccann2024]

@@rct3isepic they had drum machines and synths on their racks but the set was pre recorded they even mention it in the daft punk documentary stating that they showed their manager what they had made for the Coachella show.

[@rct3isepic]

@@lukemccann2024 drum machines were only for the 1997 tour. All the drums in 2007 were in Ableton Live. I mean technically yes there's prerecorded elements since not everything being played is on stage, but they're still actually the ones triggering stuff. I've said in other comments I'm near certain they were using clip launch instead of a predone arrangement.

[@lukemccann2024]

@@rct3isepic if that was the case though they wouldn’t have played the same set list every night which they did

[@Alc0h0lic_G4mer52]

i need this equipment :')

[@person4119]

I really really want to learn this style of DJing and I’ve been trying to find resources to learn for a while and haven’t really found anything any suggestions on where to go to learn how to do this sort of thing?

[@rct3isepic]

There's not really a way to teach it. It's just working with your own stems etc. And essentially building grooves and just transitioning through them

[@Sergio-uy4ew]

This style is known as live remixing and essentially revolves around you understanding the way gear, software, and music work. Get familiar with Ableton and it’s plugins, then learn the equipment that can control Ableton, then take apart the music.

[@mcmillan.2k]

why is there a note missing in the Around The World bassline ;w;

[@maxniftynine]

How did the lights match the song?

[@lorieummusic]

generated by a mac pro in real time behind stage. daft punk did the same thing with their mayan performance in the 90s but instead they used a windows 95 machine with ARKAOS software and hardware

[@Dullahan_1]

They didn't control the lights at all ? Or it was all on the behalf of their team behind the stage?

[@rct3isepic]

I don't know about the lights. This is just how they did the music. I would assume it was done by the offstage LD team like most shows, but I can't confirm that. I just know that all the gear in the pyramid was all music gear.

[@Dullahan_1]

@@rct3isepic I remember seeing video back in 2013 that caught a moment that Guy was apparently screaming at the crew through the microphone he couldn't be heard but you could see the body language , that kinda confirms there's a crew doing the lighting

[@Cargo_Bay]

@@rct3isepic lol no. The performer never controls the lights on a show. Those are done by a team on the side of the stage.

[@AutoCost]

@@Cargo_Bay Actually, they had controllers for the lights. Thomas himself stated they controlled part of the lights within their booth. They did have a team as well that controlled lights and animations too. You can see the controller they used in a picture with all their equipment.

[@macewbee]

I think it was the team behind the stage.

[@MattyMalvs9]

I think they did the same thing deadmau5 does just compose it in the studio and hit play live 😂

[@rct3isepic]

Listen to any 2 performances of the show and you’ll notice differences. They’re not just pushing play, and neither is Deadmau5 for that matter

[@MattyMalvs9]

@@rct3isepic ive been to a couple deadmau5 shows and have listened to the sets before goin to the shows they are prettymuch identical but he has effects like loops

[@Cargo_Bay]

They pretty much did. BUT, they were doing various filters and effects live with those knobs and such. Listen to different show audios. Nothing crazy, but they definitely did a few things there. Regardless, I’d pay to see the light show even if they weren’t standing there, hah. And I did. 3 times. Oh, to be young and reckless with a credit card, traveling to 3 states in the span of a week again.

[@clivemathieu9386]

Didn’t learn anything…..