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Daft Punk, French dance music duo, splits after 28 years
The two friends from Paris - now global icons of house and electronic music - announced their split via video
Iconic French electronic duo Daft Punk - widely credited as a leading member of the French house music movement - is splitting up after 28 years.
The group announced the news in an eight-minute-long new video entitled simply “Epilogue", published on its YouTube channel. The video has already racked up more than 11 million views in less than 24 hours.
It includes an extract from the duo’s 2006 film Electroma, and also includes the words “Hold on, if love is the answer, you’re home”. These are lyrics from the song Touch, which came out on the duo’s last album, Random Access Memories, in 2013.
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It shows the two walking apart from each other, and then - appearing to be robots - exploding into pieces. The screen then shows two robot hands, and the dates 1993-2021.
The pair then later confirmed the split via the Agence France-Presse.
The group was formed in Paris in 1993, by lycée friends Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter.
The duo adopted the name Daft Punk after a journalist, Dave Jennings of the UK music magazine Melody Maker, called their first single - released under their previous band name Darlin’ - “daft punky trash”.
They would later begin wearing robot-style suits and rarely showed their faces, which added to their iconic, distinctive image.
Originally seen as part of the early French house movement, the group’s first single Da Funk, released in 1995, was followed by the 1997 album Homework. That album included the single Around the World, which skyrocketed the group to global fame.
Later singles would include the highly popular One More Time, and Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, on the 2001 album Discovery.
The group became known for its innovative music videos which were often made by then-lesser-known directors.
The video for Da Funk was made by film director Spike Jonze, who would later direct the 1999 smash Being John Malkovich; and Around the World was by Michel Gondry, who would later direct the 2004 success Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Mr Homem-Christo and Mr Bangalter sometimes directed their own music videos, as happened for the 2005 single Technologic, from the album Human After All.
Daft Punk has continued to rise in popularity in recent years.
In 2013, the song Get Lucky - with US artist Pharrell Williams and legendary guitarist Nile Rodgers - became a worldwide smash; and in 2014, the group won four Grammy awards, including Album of the Year.
Most recently, they have collaborated with other artists, including working with Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd on the songs Starboy and I Feel It Coming; and producing the track Overnight, by the Australian group Parcels.
