Touch

When you dive into Touch, you encounter a piece that functions as the beating heart of Random Access Memories. It's a ballad that unfolds in several parts, with a changing pulse, starting at 91 BPM and accelerating to 116 in its central section. Critics have described it in very diverse ways: as disco, progressive rock, and even jazz fusion, with a beginning that evokes Cluster, moving through moments reminiscent of Broadway musicals, a dance section with jazz touches, and an imposing choir. It's an ambitious song, where the central idea that love is the answer and the need to hold onto it is built through complex sonic layers.

The genesis of Touch is linked to a very particular encounter. Daft Punk members, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, were working with Chris Caswell and mentioned their admiration for the 1974 film, Phantom of the Paradise, starring Paul Williams. Caswell facilitated the connection, and Williams not only lent his voice to the song but also collaborated with ideas for the lyrics of other tracks on the album. While Daft Punk had an initial melody, they preferred the counter-melody Caswell composed for the strings, which earned him a songwriting credit. The song's length, over eight minutes, and the complexity of its more than 250 tracks, make it one of the most elaborate on the record. Its influence extends to the video "Epilogue," which announced the duo's separation in 2021, where an orchestral and choral version of Touch accompanies images from their film Electroma.