Daft Punk have scored the biggest hit of their careers in the U.S. with the Tron: Legacy soundtrack — interesting, since it barely qualifies as a typical Daft Punk album with its meloncholy, dancefloor-unfriendly vibe. Thankfully, the party can officially get started with Tron: Legacy R3C0NF1GUR3D (out April 4), featuring remixes of cuts from the soundtrack. We’re disappointed that the French duo aren’t remixing their own tracks, but we’ll assume leaving the remixing to others gives them ample time to produce another awesome album. Track list below.

Tron: Legacy R3CONFIGUR3D Tracklist

01. The Glitch Mob – Derezze
02. M83 vs. Big Black Delta – Fall
03. The Crystal Method – The Grid/Game Has Changed
04. Teddybears – Adagio for Tron
05. Ki:Theory – The Son of Flynn
06. Paul Oakenfold – C.L.U.
07. Moby – The Son of Flynn
08. Boys Noize – End of Line (Boys Noize Remix)
09. Kaskade – Rinzler
10. Com Truise – Enron Part II
11. Photek – End of Line
12. The Japanese Popstars – Arena
13. Avicii – Derezzed
14. Pretty Lights – Solar Sailor
15 Sander Kleinenberg – Tron Legacy (End Titles)

Makes sense there would be two remixes of “Derezzed”, since that’s the most energetic song on the original soundtrack. We’re genuinely curious to hear how they pumped up the rest of the mostly morose film score.

Head to the Tron soundtrack’s official website to choose from a variety of cool bundles, some which include a rad poster of the helmet-headed duo.

[Consequence Of Sound]

Do you ever think the members of Daft Punk yearn to reveal their faces just so they can get a breath of fresh air? The French duo’s helmets are the second coolest thing about them (the first is obviously their music, including the new TRON: Legacy soundtrack), but Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter must be sweltering under there, especially while making the long walk down the red carpet at their film’s Hollywood premiere. Of course, we already know what they look like under that sleek headgear. One more photo of the clandestine pair making a rare public appearance after the jump.

They must have slipped off their helmets to partake in the buffet and open bar at the after party, no?

The release of TRON: Legacy is now a week-and-a-half away, TRON-o-philes. And in case you’ve had a short circuit, Daft Punk’s soundtrack is out today. So what better time for the French duo’s official “Derezzed” video to premiere? Watch the pair step into Flynn’s arcade and have a video game face-off below.

The first thing that becomes apparent once these electronic wiz kids get zapped into the Derezzed game is that—holy Bruce Boxleitner!—the graphics are more 1982 TRON than 2010 TRON: Legacy. (Actually, as MTV Buzzworthy points out, combine the original movie’s lo-fi effects with the eye-popping look of the new one.)

Thomas and Guy-Manuel cycle around their digital landscape and have a jousting match, but their can only be one winner. And finally, when the last one is standing, they lift their helmet to reveal—gasp—it’s actually TRON: Legacy actress Olivia Wilde underneath. Sigh.

It would be a fantastic understatement to say that we’ve been looking forward to hearing Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy soundtrack since the project was announced last year. So there was no way we were skipping a listening party and Q&A with Tron: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski (moderated by the film’s music supervisor and KCRW Music Director Jason Bentley), co-presented by KCRW and Disney at Apogee Studio in Santa Monica. The French electro duo was not in attendance, though they could have been there without their helmets on, for all we know. Jump below for highlights from the hour-long discussion and music clips from the most highly anticipated soundtrack of 2010. (Sorry, Burlesque.)

Director Joseph Kosinski wanted Daft Punk (Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo) for the movie’s soundtrack not only because he’s a giant fan of electronic music, but because of the work Bangalter and de Homem-Christo have done outside of Daft Punk. (Bangalter did the score to the 2002 French movie Irreversible, and the duo made the film Electroma together.) He knew they were “more than just dance music guys… There’s a lot going on behind those masks.”

Kosinski explained that Disney expressed interest to the band, and when word got back that DP was also interested in the gig, he had a “pancake meeting” with the group at Café 101 in Hollywood to make it happen. They all had the same goal in mind: to create a “classic film score that blended electronic music and classical in a way that had never been done before.”

DP recorded the album across the pond at AIR Lyndhurst Studios in England, but the final mix was at Skywalker Ranch (which Kosinski calls “the most gorgeous slave labor camp”) in Northern California. Thanks to Daft Punk’s music, the folks at Skywalker called Tron: Legacy “the loudest film they’ve ever mixed.”

Creating the soundtrack was a back and forth process that took over two years — Bangalter and de Homem-Christo would send over demos from their England studio to Kosinski in California. One particularly funny anecdote the director shared was the horror he had upon recieving an email from the band saying that they lost all the tracks on their hard drive, and they needed all the demos they had sent to him thus far to be shipped to some random address in France. Kosinksi called DP in a flush, and Bangalter said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Basically, Daft Punk fans are so desperate to hear new Daft Punk music, they’ll do whatever they can do get their hands on it.

We know you Punkheads are more interested in the music than anything else — so here it is. Kosinski previewed this track, “Adagio For Tron”, which takes place during a flashback sequence in the film. He calls the sweet and sorrowful tune “out of the box” for Daft Punk:

Daft Punk - Adagio For Tron

This next track, “Recognizer”, was also previewed at the listening party. Kosinski says this track shows up in the film when “3-D really kicks in”. It’s another threatening-sounding tune, and has some Inception-esque brass horn wails:

Daft Punk - Recognizer

Pretty much all of the soundtrack is as dramatic and somber as these two tracks. (“Derezzed” seems to be the only truly upbeat, cheerful tune on the whole CD.) This isn’t Discovery Part II, or similar to any Daft Punk album you’ve ever heard, but it’s a gorgeous mix of classical and electronic. You won’t be dancing to this melancholy soundtrack – you may drive furiously in the rain while weeping, though. But still, it’s an evocative and cathartic listen.

As reported, the band does make a cameo in the movie, though the director had to persuade them to do it. “We have a nightclub scene, which is our [Star Wars] Cantina scene. It made sense that the house DJs would be Daft Punk.”

“They’re guys dressed as robots,” he says. “It’s not a huge leap.”

Unfortunately, don’t expect any live shows from the duo to promote the soundtrack — Kosinski says it’s unlikely. “They want this music married to the picture,” he says. “That’s the mystique of Daft Punk. But it works for them.”

Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy soundtrack drops December 7. The film is released in theaters December 17. Watch the entire Q&A over at KCRW.

A great way to cap off your Thursday — another uptempo snippet from Daft Punk’s Tron: Legacy soundtrack surfaced today, and it’s jammin’. Jump below for the funky track as well as the soundtrack listing, featuring 22 delicious new musical morsels from the electro duo.

Daft Punk – “Outlands”

Tron: Legacy Soundtrack

1. Overture
2. The Grid
3. The Son of Flynn
4. Recognizer
5. Armory
6. Arena
7. Rinzler
8. The Game Has Changed
9. Outlands
10. Adagio For Tron
11. Nocturne
12. End of Line
13. Derezzed
14. Fall
15. Solar Sailer
16. Rectifier
17. Disc Wars
18. C.L.U.
19. Arrival
20. Flynn Lives
21. Tron Legacy (End Titles)
22. Finale
23. Tron: Legacy Enhancement Multimedia Track

YouTube user MsAMOURAMOUR claims he’s got some Daft Punk tracks rejected by Disney for the Tron: Legacy soundtrack — give the tunes a listen over at his channel and judge for yourself. Sounds like Daft Punk, but even if it’s not, hey, it’s still some pretty sweet electro music. We can dig it.

[Consequence of Sound]

Fresh from San Diego Comic-Con, here are a few bits on the Daft Punk-helmed soundtrack for Tron 2.0—now called Tron Legacy—and how it came about: “Tron Legacy director Joseph Kosinski described his meeting with Daft Punk as being a ‘mysterious pancake breakfast in L.A.’ And yes, they were wearing the helmets. Asked if they tour in support of the soundtrack, he said there would definitely be Daft Punk Tron-themed events on the horizon.” Wait, wait… how did they get pancakes through those helmets? We need more details! [Movieline]