Video: Watch Daft Punk's DJ Set at Winter Music Conference 1999 in Miami Beach

It was 2013, and everyone was convinced that Daft Punk would be making an appearance at Ultra Music Festival that year. The French duo's upcoming fourth and, unknown back then, final album, Random Access Memories, was set to be released a little over a month later. Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo hadn't made any live appearances to promote the album, so it made sense that if they gave a splashy performance, Ultra might be a good place to do so.

It wasn't just wishful thinking. A billboard promoting the upcoming release Random Access Memories sprung up in downtown Miami, just a stone's throw from Ultra's epicenter in Bayfront Park. And a street team handed out robot masks to festivalgoers outside the gates.

But the weekend came and went, and no robots. Even the more prestigious Coachella only got a video teaser for the album.

While many people may remember the time Daft Punk never showed up, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo were regular fixtures in Miami every March, attending Winter Music Conference and the surrounding events. From the mid-Nineties to around the release of 2001's Discovery, the pair often appeared and spun at parties throughout the week. One of Daft Punk's most prolific years was in 1999 when they spun at Cameo Theater and a few days later at DJ Sneak's A Family Affair party at the Mission.
"A lot of the people in the lineup were very close friends of mine," Sneak tells New Times. "I became this group leader; I was already DJ Sneak and getting mine, so for them to give me their music and for me to accept their music as, 'Oh, I can play this within my house music Chicago-style' became a thing. Whenever we needed something, we used to call each other or text each other."

In addition to Daft Punk, the evening's lineup included Armand van Helden, Basement Jaxx, Doc Martin, Junior Sanchez, Mark Farina, Romanthony, and DJ Three.

Getting the then-fairly young French duo to appear at his party wasn't a tall task for Sneak. Daft Punk dropped his name in "Teachers," the track off their 1997 debut album Homework. He also made a cameo in the music video for "Burnin'." However, his most famous collaboration with the group was on Discovery, writing the lyrics for "Digital Love."

Still, Sneak credits the ease of putting together the lineup to an era before music publicists and managers used to interfere with their client's careers.

"Before the agencies, managers, and all that shit, we were communicating as artists ourselves," Sneak says. "I knew WMC was a time everyone would be there, so I took the time to put things together."

During the party, Daft Punk played an all-vinyl set — a rarity these days — of Chicago house classics, which was a pillar of Bangalter and de Homem-Christo's sound, with the influences evident in the pair's work, particularly on Homework and Discovery. They also dropped some early French house tracks from Cassius, DJ Falcon, and Alan Braxe.

"They were just these two French kids that were doing cool house music at that time," Sneak adds. "They were always very influenced by Chicago house, and they played a lot of Chicago house stuff that night."

Daft Punk's last WMC appearance was around 2002, with footage floating around of the duo still in their human forms, dropping tracks like "One More Time" to an adoring crowd.

As for Sneak, he's still making the annual trek to Miami. This year, he's hosting two parties: American House Legends with Josh Wink and Doc Martin at Electric Lady on March 27 and Disco Erotika with Doc Martin and Mark Farina at Uva Wynwood on March 30.

Below, check out the recording of Daft Punk's full set during A Family Affair at the Mission during WMC 1999.