DJ Uncovers and Releases Lost Daft Punk Mix From the 1990s

An England-based DJ has restored and released a lost Daft Punk mix that had been buried in an archive since 1997.

DJ Ralph Lawson put out a video on the hour-long, 30-year-old Daft Punk mix on October 21 after he uncovered it two years ago in a collection of tapes he had stored away, according to posts he made about the discovery. The tape was moldy, and it ripped when he tried to play it following its unearthing in 2024, Lawson said. He sent it to Great Bear audio and video digitizing specialists in Bristol, England for restoration.

“I think that’s fresh,” Lawson said in the video while doing a live release of the mix. “I think that’s new. I guess that must have been exclusive.”

Lawson said the French EDM duo had sent him the tape three decades ago to play on a radio show he hosted while they were promoting their first album, 1997’s Homework. When he first found the old tape, he was nervous it didn’t contain an unreleased mix and worried the content of the tape was the well-known Essential Mix from 1997 that Daft Punk released on BBC radio. But after listening and researching, Lawson found it definitely wasn’t the Essential Mix and couldn’t find any information about the stowed-away mix.

Daft Punk made the mix using vinyl, Lawson said, as the distinct crackles can be heard, and before releasing the mix, he added a bit of volume to bring it up to modern levels. But that was it.

“I didn’t add any compression as Daft Punk were famous for their expert use of side chain compression which gives the tracks on Homework their signature sound, so didn’t want to mess with it,” he said.

Beyond their old mixes being discovered, Daft Punk has a LEGO set coming out and a full-scale partnership with the building-blocks maker.

See where Daft Punk’s Discovery landed on Consequence’s list of The 100 Best Sophomore Albums of All Time.