Chilly Gonzales on the ‘Joyful Challenge’ of Working on Random Access Memories

Chilly Gonzales doesn’t usually go for collaborations.

“I work well when I’m in a joyful challenge,” Chilly says. “I have a feeling Daft Punk enjoys joyful challenges as well. To see the look on their faces as they listen back to some of the recordings they’d done when I was in the studio…and then to say that they’re at the beginning of a three year process. There you have it. You have the joy and you have the challenge.”

Ask by Daft Punk to contribute on their upcoming Random Access Memories album, the famous pianist discussed his brief forays into electronic music don’t normally include him in a leading role.

Daft Punk | Random Access Memories | The Collaborators: Chilly Gonzales

“I’ve always been a tourist in the world of electronic production,” he said. “When I made an electronic album called Ivory Tower, I had Boys Noize produce the whole thing for me. I’m always going to have to be at the piano if I’m going to contribute something.”

Daft Punk asked Chilly to create bridges between tunes and use his scientific, mathematically tinkered harmonies to make your hairs standup “involuntarily.”

“Harmony is still and underused, musical weapon these days in the pop landscape,” Chilly said. “It has the most strong, emotional reaction despite the fact that it has so much science & math involved in it.”

Chilly takes us through a short journey through his bridges between two songs, finding the common chord, like a doctor finding the right cure for a rare, troubling disease.

“The fact that they asked for this bridge, shows that they’ve absorbed a lot of what the classical composers were obsessed with from the 1700s through the early 20th century.

“They’re a very warm, familiar group, despite their mysterious image,” says Chilly. “Every musician feels an emotional connection to them, and we always have a feeling that they’re ahead of us.”

Random Access Memories releases May 21, but is available for pre-order on iTunes now.