They mixed their trademark electronics with more traditional soundtrack stylings (at turns tense, epic and moody), in a concoction reminiscent of Vangelis and John Carpenter, while Bridges’ stirring dialogue was also utilized on early highlight “The Grid.” Perhaps surprisingly, they generally steered clear of actual dance music, though single “Derezzed” went some way to satisfy that audience, and “End Titles” throbbed just right for capturing the sense of release one gets at the end of a good movie. They worked on it for two years with an orchestra, and with arranger Joseph Trapanese (who has since gone on to work on box office smashes such as Transformers: Age Of Extinction, Straight Outta Compton and The Greatest Showman). And the thought of following in the footsteps of the original score’s composer, electronic-music pioneer Wendy Carlos, could only have increased their enthusiasm for the project.Ĭlick to load video The soundtrack itselfĭespite the conceptual connections, the hour-long Tron: Legacy soundtrack was quite a departure for Daft Punk.
Fittingly, too, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo were as much trapped in their machines as Tron’s protagonists were film critic Roger Ebert could almost have been describing the French duo when he praised the original 1982 movie for making computers “romantic and glamorous… sensational and brainy, stylish and fun.”įor their part, Daft Punk were doubtless pleased that Tron: Legacy was set to include Steven Lisberger, Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner, lynchpins from the original movie.
From their iconic look, down to promo videos shot by Spike Jonze and Michel Gondry, and their own 2006 sci-fi movie, Electroma, Daft Punk had an advanced sense of visuals that kept them ahead of everybody else. Disney couldn’t have found a better group to provide the future-retro vibe they were looking for.