Homework is the debut studio album by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released on 20 January 1997 by Virgin Records and Soma Quality Recordings. It was released in the US on 25 March 1997.

Daft Punk received attention from major labels after releasing several popular singles on Soma Quality Recordings, and signed to Virgin in 1996. They initially planned to release the music as separate singles, but decided they had enough material for an album. The title Homework references the album having been recorded in a home studio.

Homework charted in 14 countries, reaching number 3 on the French Albums Chart, number 150 on the US Billboard 200 and number 8 on the UK Albums Chart. "Da Funk" and "Around the World" became U.S. Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play number-one singles, and "Around the World" reached number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100. By February 2001, Homework had sold more than two million copies worldwide and received several gold and platinum certifications. It was influential on dance music and brought worldwide attention to French house.

Background and recording In 1993, Daft Punk, comprising Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, presented a demo of their music to the DJ Stuart Macmillan at a rave at Disneyland Paris.Collin, Matthew (August 1997). "Do You Think You Can Hide From Stardom?" . Mixmag. Retrieved 6 March 2007. The contents of the cassette, including the track "Alive", were released on the single "The New Wave" on 11 April 1994, by Soma Quality Recordings, a Scottish techno and house label co-founded in 1991 by MacMillan's band Slam.The New Wave (liner notes). Daft Punk. Soma Quality Recordings. 5 024856 620149. In 1995, Daft Punk released "Da Funk" and "Rollin' & Scratchin'" on Soma.James (2003), p. 273.Daft Punk in Glasgow: Slam on 'the two quiet wee guys' who used to crash on their sofa , Jules Boyle, Glasgow Live, 24 February 2021

The popularity of the singles led to a bidding war among record labels. Daft Punk signed to Virgin Records in 1996.Woholeski, Peter (May 2001). "One More Time: Four Years After Its Filter Filled Splashdown, Daft Punk Retirns With Discovery – Complete with House Beats, Disco Sweeps and, Yes, Plenty of Vocoders" . DJ Times. Retrieved 5 May 2007. Richard Brown of Soma said: "We were obviously sad to lose them to Virgin but they had the chance to go big, which they wanted, and it's not very often that a band has that chance after two singles. We're happy for them." Virgin re-released "Da Funk" with the B-side "Musique" in 1996, a year before releasing Homework. Bangalter later said that the B-side "was never intended to be on the album, and in fact, 'Da Funk' as a single has sold more units than Homework, so more people own it anyways than they would if it had been on the album. It is basically used to make the single a double-feature."

The album was mixed and recorded in Daft Punk's studio, Daft House in Paris. The name Homework came from "the fact that we made the record at home, very cheaply, very quickly, and spontaneously, trying to do cool stuff". It was mastered by Nilesh Patel at the London studio the Exchange.

Bangalter said that "to be free, we had to be in control. To be in control, we had to finance what we were doing ourselves. The main idea was to be free."Di Perna, Alan (April 2001). "We Are The Robots", Pulse!. pp. 65–69. Daft Punk discussed their method with Spike Jonze, the director of the "Da Funk" music video, who said: "They were doing everything based on how they wanted to do it. As opposed to, 'oh we got signed to this record company, we gotta use their plan.' They wanted to make sure they never had to do anything that would make them feel bummed on making music."Jonze, Spike (2003). The Work of Director Spike Jonze companion book. Palm Pictures. Retrieved 4 May 2012. Although Virgin Records holds exclusive distribution rights over their material, Daft Punk owns their master recordings through their Daft Trax label.James (2003), p. 267.

Music Daft Punk produced the tracks included in Homework without a plan to release an album. According to Bangalter, "We did so many tracks over a period of five months that we realized that we had a good album."James (2003), p. 269. They set the order of the tracks to cover the four sides of a two-disc vinyl LP. Homem-Christo said, "There was no intended theme because all the tracks were recorded before we arranged the sequence of the album. The idea was to make the songs better by arranging them the way we did; to make it more even as an album."Warner, Jennifer. "Interview with Daft Punk" . p. 3. DMA. About.com. Retrieved 30 March 2007. "Daftendirekt" is an excerpt of a live performance recorded in Ghent, Belgium.Homework (liner notes). Daft Punk. Virgin Records, a division of EMI Group. 42609. 1997. It served as the introduction to Daft Punk's live shows and was used to begin the album. The performance took place at the first I Love Techno, an event co-produced by Fuse and On the Rox on 10 November 1995.History – I Love Techno (lineup 1995). ilovetechno.be. Retrieved 3 May 2014. Homeworks following track, "WDPK 83.7 FM", is a tribute to FM radio in the United States. The next track, "Revolution 909" is a reflection on the French government's stance on dance music.Warner, Jennifer. "Interview with Daft Punk" . p. 2. DMA. About.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012.

"Da Funk" carries elements of funk and acid music. According to Andrew Asch of the Boca Raton News, the song's composition "relies on a bouncy funk guitar to communicate its message of dumb fun".Asch, Andrew (18 December 1997). "Daft Punk smashes charts with simplicity" . Boca Raton News. Retrieved 1 May 2012. It contains a sample of "Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll", written by Gregory Bufford, Jerome Bell, and Vaughan Mason, and performed by Vaughan Mason & Crew. Bangalter expressed that "Da Funk"'s theme involved the introduction of a simple, unusual element that becomes acceptable and moving over time.Daft Punk audio commentary for "Da Funk" music video, The Work of Director Spike Jonze (2003). Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine complimented the song as "unrelenting", and Bob Gajarsky of Consumable Online called it "a beautiful meeting of Chic (circa 'Good Times', sans vocals) and the 90s form of electronica".Gajarsky, Bob (28 April 1997). "Daft Punk, Homework" . Consumable Online. Retrieved 1 May 2012.

"Phoenix" combines elements of gospel music and house music.*Warner, Jennifer. "Interview with Daft Punk" . p. 3. DMA. About.com. Retrieved 30 March 2007. It contains a sample of "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and performed by Elton John and Kiki Dee. The following track, "Fresh" contains a sample of "If You Leave Me Now", written by Peter Cetera, and performed by Viola Wills. Daft Punk considered "Fresh" breezy and light with a comical structure.D.A.F.T.: A Story About Dogs, Androids, Firemen and Tomatoes. Virgin Records. 1999. "Around the World" carries influences of Gershon Kingsley's hit "Popcorn". Chris Power of BBC Music named it "one of the decade's catchiest singles". He stated that it was "a perfect example of Daft Punk's sound at its most accessible: a post-disco boogie bassline, a minimalist sprinkling of synthetic keyboard melody and a single, naggingly insistent hook". "Teachers" is a riff on the Parris Mitchell song "Ghetto Shout Out!!", released in 1995 on Dance Mania. The track is a tribute to several of Daft Punk's house music influences, including future collaborators Romanthony, DJ Sneak and Todd Edwards.Gill, Chris (1 May 2001). ROBOPOP. Remix Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 February 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2012. "Oh Yeah" features DJ Deelat and DJ Crabbe. "Indo Silver Club" features a sample of "Hot Shot" by Karen Young. "Alive" is the final version of "The New Wave", released as Daft Punk's first single. The final track, "Funk Ad", is a reversed clip of "Da Funk".

Packaging The artwork for the front cover and inner sleeve was conceived by Daft Punk and photographed by artist and film producer Nicolas Hidiroglou. He met the duo through a connection at Virgin Records, and recalled that it took a week to complete the artwork. Homem-Christo had previously designed the Daft Punk wordmark, which was the basis for the front image of the logo embroidered onto the back of a satin jacket. Variations of the logo would continue to be the front cover image for all of Daft Punk's studio albums until Random Access Memories in 2013.

To create the inner gatefold photo, various items representing track titles were arranged by Bangalter on a table at his home. He noted that many of the pieces reflect Daft Punk's influences, including: a DJ Funk audio cassette; a card with a logo of The Beach Boys; a Kiss tour poster; and a 1970s compilation record featuring Barry Manilow. Other mementos include a token from the Rex Club, the venue in Paris where Daft Punk first performed as DJs. The wall behind the table contains a photo of Homem-Christo singing as part of the duo's first band Darlin', as well as the Darlin' logo next to a portrait of Homem-Christo as a small child.

The black and white image of the duo in the liner notes was photographed by Phillppe Lévy. It was shot during an event in Wisconsin called Even Furthur in 1996, featuring Daft Punk's first live performance in the United States. Additional artwork and the album layout were done by Serge Nicholas.

Release Homework was released in the US on 25 March 1997. The first single, "Alive", was included as a B-side on the single "The New Wave", released in April 1994. The next single, "Da Funk", was initially released in 1995 by Soma and was rereleased by Virgin Records in January 1997. It was Daft Punk's first number-one single on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart, and reached number seven on British and French charts."Archive Chart" UK Singles Chart. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 January 2012."Lescharts.com – Daft Punk – Da Funk" (in French). Les classement single. Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 January 2012. The third single, "Around the World", was Daft Punk's second number-one single on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart, and reached number 11 in Australia,"Discography Daft Punk" . Australian-Charts.com. Retrieved 10 February 2012. number five in the United Kingdom"DAFT PUNK" . Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 April 2012 and number 61 on the Billboard Hot 100.[ "Daft Punk Album & Song Chart History"]. Billboard. Retrieved 1 May 2012.

The fourth single, "Burnin'", was released in September 1997 and reached number 30 in the UK. The final single, "Revolution 909", was released in February 1998 and reached number 47 in the UK and number 12 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play chart. Prior to its inclusion on Homework, "Indo Silver Club" was released as a single on the Soma Quality Recordings label in two parts.Indo Silver Club (liner notes). Daft Punk. Soma Quality Recordings. SOMA 035. The single lacked an artist credit in the packaging and was thought to have been created by the nonexistent producers Indo Silver Club.Silcott, Mireille (3 April 1997). "Personality punks". Montreal Mirror. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2011.

In 1999, Daft Punk released a video collection featuring music videos of tracks and singles from the album under the name of D.A.F.T.: A Story About Dogs, Androids, Firemen and Tomatoes. Although its title derives from the appearances of dogs ("Da Funk" and "Fresh"), androids ("Around the World"), firemen ("Burnin'"), and tomatoes ("Revolution 909") in the videos, a cohesive plot does not connect its episodes.

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