When was the last time you saw an artist and a major record label given equal consideration in an advertisement?

Daft Punk’s outlandish creation myth seemed like a silly plot a dozen years ago but as it aged the story became increasingly nuanced — their Alive 2007 tour didn’t ride on the coattails of any album release, but served the defining expression of a breed of singularity that’s already landed on Earth. And it was all wrapped up in the most amazing pyramid that any human or robot has ever built.

A funny thing has happened in the evolution of the Daft Mythology: their deep gaze into the future is always complemented by an equally intense investigation of the past. Thomas Bangalter came forward as a human to discuss the group’s recording of a 90-piece orchestra for the Tron: Legacy soundtrack in 2010: “Synths are a very low level of artificial intelligence. Whereas you have a Stradivarius that will live for a thousand years...[this is the] idea of the ultimate retro-futurism.” These words, as well as some disappointing rumours about their elitist studio demeanor, struck me as elitist blather when I heard them then. But Daft Punk’s greatest ideas sometimes take years to sink into the minds of lowly humans like myself. It all clicked into place just a few weeks ago when I saw this:

When news got out a few months ago that Daft Punk had migrated from EMI to Columbia a strange alarm went off in my head: while this was most importantly an indication that new material would arrive imminently, it also gave me this foreign feeling: “Why the fuck do I care that Daft Punk has changed labels?” It wasn’t like Fugazi was signing a three-album deal with Epitaph or something; in any other case I’d see this as a simple business transaction between businessmen. It’s been a looooooong-ass time since any of the majors have successfully foregrounded themselves as champions of a particular strain or quality of music. Columbia Records: the name itself sounds old; the logo hasn’t changed since 1954, and I challenge any tween out there to name any of the artists on its roster (even though it includes One Direction, Beyoncé, and MGMT). When was the last time you saw an artist and a major record label given equal consideration in an advertisement?

It feels to me like Columbia is asserting itself now not just for the success of Random Access Memories when it arrives on May 21st, but to save the very concept of the major label itself. Although it’s hard to see past its extremes of greed and anachronism throughout the dawn of filesharing, the art of big-budget record releases is something I realize I miss profoundly, and I think Daft Punk’s new album will be just as much as an expression of retro-futurism for Columbia as it is for the band itself.