Good Morning Mix: Revisit Daft Punk’s visionary 1997 Essential Mix – Dancing Astronaut

It’s true: everybody hates Monday mornings, but that’s not to say they can’t be improved with some good old upbeat tunes. Today, we take a trip down memory lane, revisiting Daft Punk‘s 1997 Essential Mix, where the pioneering French duo show their mastery in all things house and disco across 2 hours of inundated 90’s mixing.

Released nearly 25 years ago, Daft Punk’s first Essential Mix represents a simpler time for the robo-electronic outfit, pre-dating iconic releases like Discovery, Random Access Memories, and Alive 2007 by years, if not decades. While more recent live performances, particularly the aforementioned Alive set, focus on the raw-electro power and musical synergy of the group’s more contemporary productions, their Essential Mix debut falls closer to the realm of two music junkies experimenting with new sounds and just throwing down some of their personal favorites.

Tracklist:

01. Daft Punk – ‘Wdpk Essential Intro’
02. Paul Johnson – ‘Summer Heat’
03. Armand Van Helden – ‘Funk Phenomena (Dope Mix)’
04. Czr – ‘Chicago Southside’
05. Unknown – ‘Git Down Saturday’
06. Remix Delux #1 – ‘Dee’s Knots’
07. Parris Mitchell – ‘Ghetto Shout Out’
08. Daft Punk – ‘Teachers’
09. Martin Luther King – ‘I Have A Dream’
10. The Godson EP – ‘Drum Patterns & Memories’
11. Jammin Gerald – ‘Get The Ho ’94’
12. Dj Attack – ‘Da Way U Work’
13. Thomas Bangalter – ‘Spinal Beats’
14. Thomas Bangalter – ‘Spinal Scratch’
15. Tha West Siders – ‘Waxscratch Trax’
16. Fantom – ‘Faithfull (Prassay Mix)’
17. Fantom – ‘Faithfull (Original Mix)’
18. Fantom – ‘Faithfull (Da Cracy Mix)’
19. I:cube – ‘Disco Cubizm (Daft Punk Mix)’
20. Daft Punk – ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll’
21. Dj Hyperactive – ‘Chicago’
22. Daft Punk – ‘Oh Yeah’
23. Cajmere – ‘Only 4 U’
24. Trankilou – ‘Champagne’
25. Unknown – ‘And Da Beat Goes On’
26. Dj Funk & Gerald – ‘Hold Up’
27. Ween – ‘Freedom Of ’76’
28. Zdar + Boombass – ‘Foxy Lady’
29. Gusto – ‘Disco’s Revenge’
30. Dj Deeon – ‘Deeon Doez Disco’
31. Sweet – ‘Somebody’s Watching’
32. Da Mongoloids – ‘Spark Da Meth’
33. Roller Rink 2000 – ‘Shining’
34. Roy Davis Jr. – ‘Gabrielle’
35. Robert J. Hairston – ‘Preacher Man’
36. Daft Punk – ‘Around The World (Motorbass Mix)’
37. Kenny Dixon Jr. – ‘U Can Dance If You Want 2’