"Face to Face" is a song by Frenchelectronic music duoDaft Punk, featuring vocals and co-production by American house music producerTodd Edwards. It was released as the fifth single from their 2001 album Discovery. Promotional 12" singles were released for those who pre-ordered the 2003 remix album Daft Club, and a CD single containing a remix of the song by French producer Demon was released commercially. As part of Discovery, the song appears in the film , and the section of the film in which the song appears serves as its music video. The song topped the BillboardHot Dance Club Play chart in 2004.
Background
"Face to Face" was co-produced, co-written and features a vocal performance by American house music producer Todd Edwards. Daft Punk considered Edwards to be one of the biggest influences on their work, and were delighted at the opportunity to collaborate with him. The duo initially wanted to work with him on Daft Punk's debut albumHomework, but had difficulty convincing Edwards as the two were not as well known at the time. When the three later recorded "Face to Face", the duo directed him to "sing a little raspier, like Foreigner". Thomas Bangalter of the duo recalled: "Todd Edwards sings sometimes but not like that. I think we were all very excited and surprised by the way he could sing this song." Recording took place in New York and New Jersey as well as in Paris. The duo expressed gratitude in working with Edwards, and stated that after they did so, "we are free to explore other areas. It will be interesting to see what we'll do next. Now we can work with other people." Daft Punk would later reunite with Edwards for the song "Fragments of Time", from their 2013 album Random Access Memories. Edwards also noted that despite his success in the garage house scene, he is occasionally greeted with surprise and praise for being the singer in "Face to Face".
Composition
"Face to Face" is composed in a common time of 4/4, with a tempo of 118 BPM in the key of G-sharp minor. The song features Edwards' signature "cut-up" production style of editing samples and creating spaces in between segments to create a rhythmic, "futuristic" effect. In the context of the album, Bangalter noted that the preceding track "Short Circuit" represented the act of shutting down, "and you regain consciousness and you are more face to face with reality".
Music video
"Face to Face" is featured in the 2003 animated film , which acts as a visual realization of Discovery. The film was directed by Kazuhisa Takenouchi under the visual supervision of Leiji Matsumoto. The "Face to Face" segment follows the aftermath of the extraterrestrial pop band The Crescendolls seemingly subduing the villain, Earl de Darkwood, at his Manor. Construction crews unearth the space vessel that had been piloted by Shep; he had rescued the band from enslavement and brainwashing by Darkwood, who had taken on the guise being of their manager. Police investigate the Record company the band had been signed to, and search every part of Darkwood Manor. A news report depicts montage scenes of an operation to send The Crescendolls back to their home planet using Shep's ship. The report also explains the situation and shows that The Crescendolls were not the only group to have this happen to them. One of the band members, Octave is shown in a hospital having recovered from an earlier altercation with security guards at the Record company. As the band prepares to leave Earth, people wave goodbye to the band from all over the world.
