Inside Fred again.. and Thomas Bangalter’s Historic Alexandra Palace B2B

It's been almost six months, and dance music still hasn't fully processed what happened at Alexandra Palace on February 27. Fred again.. closed out the final UK night of his USB002 run by bringing out Thomas Bangalter — one half of Daft Punk — for a two-hour back-to-back that instantly became the most talked-about set of the decade. If you haven't watched the full thing yet, fix that today.

Some context on why this mattered so much. Bangalter had barely touched a DJ booth since Daft Punk split in 2021 — his October 2025 appearance with Fred in Paris, alongside Busy P and Erol Alkan, was his first DJ set in roughly sixteen years. Ally Pally was the follow-up, and this time the two prepared the set together during the week leading up to the show. “There is only one way to end this tour of surreal whirlwind dream-casting, and it is with this man, the greatest,” Fred wrote in his announcement. No pressure, then.

The set itself leaned gloriously into the Daft Punk of it all. “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” blended into Fred's “Delilah.” “Aerodynamic” got mashed with “Victory Lap 5.” “Around the World,” “Technologic” and “Starboy” all made appearances, and “One More Time” was played twice — including as the closer, layered over Chuck Roberts' famous house a cappella. Around those pillars sat a roughly 40-track sprawl pulling in Gil Scott-Heron, Prince, Usher, Caribou, Tessela, LFO and Joy Orbison. It played like a history lesson delivered at rave volume.

The most human detail came out afterward, when Fred shared stories from the night: Bangalter's young son was in the building, singing along. “One of the things that brought me indescribable joy this night, was seeing Thomas' son singing along to every song of his dad's,” Fred wrote. Somehow that image — a kid belting Daft Punk lyrics back at his anonymous-robot-legend father — says more about that band's legacy than any think piece could.

The rollout since has been generous by both artists' standards. After a near-finished edit accidentally leaked in March, Fred announced the official premiere with a handwritten note posted to the Daft Punk subreddit, and the pro-shot 4K recording landed on YouTube on March 28. The full audio mix hit Apple Music in early April, the complete tracklist followed, and the pair even released a free sample pack. Fred, a man who says he usually refuses to rewatch his own sets, admitted this one broke the rule: “With this, I justtttt. Can't. Stop.”

Is this the closest we'll ever get to a Daft Punk DJ set again? Maybe. But between Paris and London, Bangalter looks like he's genuinely enjoying being behind decks again — and if Fred again.. is the guy who coaxed him back out, the entire scene owes him one.