Here’s how Pedro Winter persuaded Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter to DJ again at Centre Pompidou

Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter returned to the DJ booth for the first time in years last October, but what did it take to get him there?

In a new interview with DJ Mag contributor Ben Cardew’s Line Noise podcast alongside DJ Falcon, Ed Banger label founder Pedro Winter gave the background story to Bangalter’s first DJ set in 16 years, which took place at the Centre Pompidou in Paris as part Because Music’s 20th anniversary,

Winter, who was involved in organising the show, said he initially composed an email to Bangalter inviting him to play, but swiftly got cold feet and deleted it. “I’m pretty respectful with his life choices, being away from the music world or the DJ scene. So I didn’t send him this email,” he explained.

However, when the pair had lunch about a month before the event, Winter “felt a window” for Bangalter to get on board. “I felt he was interested,” he said. “When you get the interest from Thomas, you don’t lose it.

“Why I’m sharing this story is just because there is always this little star above your head and luck, and you have to get that luck. If you’re just watching sometimes, it’s not happening. So I feel very lucky,” he added.

“I think he accepted to DJ at Centre Pompidou because the museum means something for him”, continued Winter, pointing out that Bangalter has a special relationship with the space that stretches back 1992, when he “discovered electronic music” at a rave with Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, the other half of Daft Punk.

“He didn’t accept to DJ for my beautiful eyes; he accepted to DJ because he knew it means something. And yeah, it was magical,” said Winter.

On stage, Bangaler joined Winter, aka Busy P, Phantasy label boss Erol Alkan, and Fred again for a surprise b2b. He packed several Daft Punk tracks into the set – including ‘Digital Love’ and ‘Rollin’ & Scratchin’’ – along with DJ Oizo’s ‘Flat Beat’, Donna Summer’s ‘I Feel Love’ and ‘Galvanize’ by the Chemical Brothers.

It was the first live appearance for Bangalter since Daft Punk performed a surprise Grammys set alongside The Weeknd in 2017. Writing in an Instagram pos at the timet, Fred again.. said: “Thomas told me in this lift on the way down to the show that the first time he fell in love with electronic music was in this building in 1992.

“He also told me he hasn’t played a proper set without the mask on for 24 years. I didn’t know what to say to either of those things and I still don’t. All I said to him at the end is that I hope it isn’t 24 years ‘til the next.”

The Because Beaubourg event – which coincided with the closing party for the Centre Pompidou ahead of a 5-year renovation – also featured a roller rink and “immersive gallery” with performances from Shygirl, Justice and others.

You can listen to the full interview with Pedro Winter and DJ Falcon below, or read it via the Line Noise Substack. 

Ben Cardew is the author of the 2021 book Daft Punk’s Discovery: The Future Unfurled. You can read an excerpt from the book here and pick one up from Velocity Press here.

Read Cardew’s 2021 reflections on Daft Punk’s break-up here and his 2024 piece about the group’s flurry of post-split activity here.