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The dance world is in mourning today after it was confirmed that Daft Punk split after 28 years together. The multiple Grammy award-winning French duo announced their split via an eight-minute video titled, Epilogue.
From Darlin’ to Daft Punk
Originally known as Darlin’, Thomas Bangalter and de Homem-Christo met at a Paris school in 1987 and formed a rock and roll band. Critical response was unkind to the pair and an infamous review dubbed the music “a daft punky thrash.”
Rather than being deterred by the criticism, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo used it as fuel, adopting the Daft Punk moniker and shifting their focus to dance music.
Before long they had built an avid following throughout Europe, buoyed by the success of their 1995 record, Homework and hit single, Around The World.
Daft Punk Explode
But Daft Punk truly arrived on the world stage with their second album, 2001’s Discovery. The record was a high energy mix that cemented Daft Punk as one of dance music’s most unique acts.
A solid record from start to finish, Discovery became best-known thanks to the lead single, One More Time, the track quickly becoming Daft Punk’s signature tune. Discovery also included Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.
It was this track that would help the French pair tap into a new audience when Kanye West appropriated the song and turned it into Stronger, released in 2007. The collaboration with Kanye would continue to pay dividends for Daft Punk, who performed the track at the 2008 Grammy’s alongside West.
Daft Punk would then make a triumphant return to the Grammys in 2014 where they nabbed album of the year for Random Access Memories becoming the first electronic act to win the category.
Daft Punk Split
Random Access Memories would prove to be their final feature-length record before Daft Punk split, though the pair would continue to work together. In 2016 they collaborated with The Weeknd for “Starboy.”
The song later hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Daft Punk’s first number-one song in the U.S. They then teamed up again with The Weeknd once more for “I Feel It Coming” which served as the duo’s final single.
News of Daft Punk split after 28 years was greeted online with a mix of sadness, humour and appreciation for the band’s career.
Forever legends. 🙏🏾 #DaftPunk https://t.co/6nbJZRTJKN
— Pharrell Williams (@Pharrell) February 22, 2021
I feel like someone should tell Daft Punk this is literally the worst time to hang up your masks.
— Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) February 23, 2021
Daft Punk.
Game changers.
Legends.
🤖🤖1993 – 2021 pic.twitter.com/p6BUJQAa9n
— Defected Records (@DefectedRecords) February 22, 2021
Despite some people believing the announcement to be a hoax, Kathryn Frazier, the band’s longtime publicist, confirmed the Daft Punk split to the New York Times.
