Random Access Memories is the fourth and final studio album by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk, released on 17 May 2013 through Columbia Records.

They spoke with Chris Caswell, a well-connected musician in the industry who had previously composed arrangements for Legacy, and commissioned him to gather a group of experienced session artists to perform for the record.

"[17] He explained that Daft Punk prompted him at the piano in the same manner that a film director coaches an actor, and Gonzales left the Los Angeles studio without knowledge of what the final product would sound like.

[31] Use of electronics was limited to drum machines that appear on only two tracks, a large custom-built Modcan modular synthesizer performed live by Daft Punk, and vintage vocoders.

[33] Although Daft Punk felt that the presets and parameters of digital tools would inhibit creativity and innovation,[8] they said Random Access Memories could not have been made without of computer technology.

"[7] Daft Punk felt that while current technology allows for an unlimited capacity to store recorded material, the content produced by contemporary artists had diminished in quality.

[23] The opening track, "Give Life Back to Music", features guitar by Rodgers and Paul Jackson, Jr., keyboards by Chilly Gonzales, drums by John "J.R." Robinson, and vocals performed by Daft Punk using vocoders.

"[27] Jeremy Abbott of Mixmag wrote: "So many things I don't understand is the prominent lyric and Chilly's chords combined with grazing cymbals make for a beautiful summer lullaby.

"[47] "Instant Crush" was based on a demo that Daft Punk presented to the Strokes singer Julian Casablancas; he became enthused upon hearing it and provided vocals.

"[51] Louis Lepron of Kombini saw the multitude of styles and science fiction aesthetics as a homage to musical films including Phantom of the Paradise, the soundtrack of which Williams had composed.

[60][61] In January 2013, de Homem-Christo revealed that Daft Punk were in the process of signing with Sony Music Entertainment through the Columbia Records label, and that the album would be released in early 2013.

[64] On 2 March, a 15-second television ad aired during Saturday Night Live (SNL) depicting an animated, stylized version of the band's logo and the aforementioned image of the helmets.

[9][67] A second TV ad also premiered that was similar to the first on Saturday Night Live, but with a different music clip and the title Random Access Memories in place of the stylized Daft Punk logo.

[7] Daft Punk approached Columbia with a specific agenda for the campaign; Rob Stringer of the label recalled said they had showed him the book Rock 'n' Roll Billboards of the Sunset Strip as an example of what they wanted.

"[7] The campaign was handled by a small group led by Daft Punk and manager Paul Hahn, with assistance from Kathryn Frazier of the public-relations firm Biz 3.

[75][76] Colbert nevertheless broadcast an elaborate sketch of himself dancing to "Get Lucky" with various celebrities, including Hugh Laurie, Jeff Bridges, Jimmy Fallon, Bryan Cranston, Jon Stewart, Henry Kissinger, Matt Damon, and the Rockettes.

[63][70] The track titles were initially withheld from online retailers and later revealed through Columbia's Vine account on 16 April 2013, as a video relaying a series of images from the back cover of the record.

[79] On 13 May, Daft Punk's official Vevo channel posted a video revealing the artwork packaging of the vinyl version of the album, as well as the first few seconds of the opening track.

[83] A video series called The Collaborators, directed by Ed Lachman and produced by The Creators Project, a partnership between Intel and Vice, was featured on Daft Punk's Random Access Memories website.

He felt that the record can be enjoyed by people of all ages due to the accessible nature of music, and concluded that Daft Punk "could just get back on the spaceship that brought them here and go, and leave us.

[89][57] For the sixth episode, Gonzales recalled Daft Punk's joy listening to the raw session recordings made early in the production, and said it took years to finish the album.

[46][90] The seventh episode features Stéphane Quême, otherwise known as DJ Falcon, who spoke of first meeting Daft Punk when they began recording their debut album Homework.

Sony commissioned the design and construction of a custom-built stage for the Wee Waa album launch event, and the Daft Arts production house assembled a LED circular music space that became Australia's biggest-ever outdoor dance floor.

The record label described the creation, which was illuminated by a giant disco ball and complemented by four speaker towers and flood lights, as "Saturday Night Fever meets Close Encounters of the Third Kind".

[115] Mark Richardson of Pitchfork echoed this sentiment, calling the record "a mix of disco, soft rock, and prog-pop, along with some Broadway-style pop bombast and even a few pinches of their squelching stadium-dance aesthetic".

Phares concluded her review by saying, "Random Access Memories is also Daft Punk's most personal work, and richly rewarding for listeners willing to spend time with it.

[122] In a 2023 interview, Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows cited Random Access Memories as a major inspiration for their album Life Is But a Dream..., praising its approach to analog production and sonic experimentation.

[123] Shadows credited Daft Punk with broadening his perspective on composition and album structuring, incorporating elements such as extended instrumental sections and dynamic transitions.

[137] In the United States, Random Access Memories debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 339,000 copies, Daft Punk's first number-one album on the chart.

[147] Random Access Memories debuted at number one in several countries across continental Europe, including Austria,[148] Belgium,[149] Czech Republic,[150] Denmark (where it sold 5,392 copies in its first week),[151] Finland,[152] Germany,[153] Ireland,[154] Italy,[155] Norway,[156] Portugal,[157] Spain[158] and Switzerland.