"Fragments of Time" is a song by

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

duo Daft Punk, featuring vocals and co-production by

Todd Edwards Todd Edward Imperatrice (born December 9, 1972), known professionally as Todd Edwards, is an American garage house record producer, DJ and singer from Bloomfield, New Jersey. He began producing primarily for New York's Nervous Records in the 19 ...

. It is included in the duo's 2013 album ''

Random Access Memories ''Random Access Memories'' is the fourth studio album by the French electronic duo Daft Punk, released on 17 May 2013 through Columbia Records. The album pays tribute to late 1970s and early 1980s American music, particularly from Los Angeles. ...

''. "Fragments of Time" charted in France and the United States due to digital downloads of the album.

Background

Edwards had previously collaborated with Daft Punk to create the song " Face to Face" on the 2001 album ''

Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...

''. When he visited the sessions of ''Random Access Memories'' in California, the duo were seeking a "west coast vibe" for the album. At the studio, Edwards was asked to implement his signature "cut-up" method of music production for a portion of "Fragments of Time", which ultimately served as the chorus section. Edwards initially thought his production section would be used as an eight-bar break rather than the chorus. Daft Punk was especially thankful to Edwards for his cut-up effects, as the duo felt the song had been lacking in electronic elements. Edwards also recalled that the microphone he sang on for his contribution to the album is "more than my car is worth" and had previously been used by Frank Sinatra. Much like the rest of the album, "Fragments of Time" makes use of session musicians for most of the instrumentation.

Paul Jackson, Jr. Paul Milton Jackson Jr. (born December 30, 1959) is an American fusion/urban jazz composer, arranger, producer and guitarist. He was born and raised in Los Angeles. Jackson knew by the age of fifteen that he wanted to become a professional musi ...

played rhythm guitar for the song as Chris Caswell and Daft Punk were responsible for the keyboards. Nathan East and

James Genus James Genus (January 20, 1966) is an American jazz bassist. He plays both electric bass guitar and upright bass and currently plays in the Saturday Night Live Band. Genus has performed as a session musician and sideman throughout his career, hav ...

performed on bass while

Omar Hakim Omar Hakim (born February 12, 1959) is an American jazz, jazz fusion and pop music drummer, producer, arranger and composer. He has worked with Weather Report, David Bowie, Foo Fighters, Sting, Madonna, Dire Straits, Bryan Ferry, Journey, Kate ...

played drums and Quinn provided percussion. In addition to the lead synthesizer played by Daft Punk, the song includes pedal steel guitar work by

Greg Leisz Gregory Brian Leisz ( ; born September 18, 1949) is an American musician. He is a songwriter, recording artist, and producer. He plays guitar, dobro, mandolin, lap steel and pedal steel guitar. Biography Leisz grew up in the garage band cultu ...

. Daft Punk sought to use the pedal steel in a way that bordered between electronic and acoustic.

Composition

"Fragments of Time" is performed in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note val ...

and at a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 132

beats per minute Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery ...

. It is in the key of C Major, and the vocal ranges from G₃ to A₄.Daft Punk "Fragments of Times" Sheet Music - Download & Print
musicnotes.com. Retrieved 6 January 2014. Edwards commented that the lyrics were inspired by his desire to capture the moments he experienced during his visit to the duo's studio sessions in California; in particular he desired to stay in the area and to reminisce. More specifically he sings about "the gold and the silver dream", and creating "these random memories".''Random Access Memories'' (

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desc ...

). Daft Punk. Columbia Records, a division of

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainmen ...

. 2013. William Goodman of '' Fuse'' wrote that "Fragments of Time" is "a total

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

nod and it's on a road to paradise". Ryan Schreiber of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' compared the song to the "80s country pop" of

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...

"The Writing of Fragments of Time"

On 22 February 2023, exactly two years after Daft Punk announced their breakup as a duo, a " 10th Anniversary Edition" of ''Random Access Memories'' was announced. The anniversary reissue, releasing on 12 May, includes 35 minutes of previously unreleased demos and studio outtakes. One of the bonus tracks, called "The Writing of Fragments of Time" was released on 22 March as the first single from the reissue. The documentary-styled track contains spoken discussions and sung improvisations between

Thomas Bangalter Thomas Bangalter (; born 3 January 1975) is a French musician, record producer, singer, songwriter, DJ and composer. Son of French music composer and artist Daniel Vangarde. He is best known as one half of the former French house music duo Daft ...

and Todd Edwards, as they work on the lyrics and melody of the song. These outtakes were edited and compiled excerpts from a studio session recorded on 29 February 2012. Bangalter and Edwards did not know that the engineers were recording the session at the time. The single was accompanied by a music video directed by Daft Punk's creative director Cédric Hervet. In an interview with

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

Apple Music 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod) ...

following the premiere of the track, Edwards said "You’ll hear me laughing because Thomas angaltercame up with some really damn witty lines in it." He also expressed that he was not shocked by the duo's breakup and expressed hope that younger producers would be more willing to follow Daft Punk's example and take risks in the industry.

Personnel

* Daft Punk – synthesizers, keyboards, production, songwriting * Todd Edwards – vocals, co-production, songwriting * Paul Jackson Jr – guitar * Chris Caswell – keyboards * Nathan East – bass * James Genus – bass * Omar Hakim – drums * Quinn – percussion

Chart positions

References

{{authority control Daft Punk songs Todd Edwards songs 2013 songs Songs written by Thomas Bangalter Songs written by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo