Daft Punk shocked the world a few hours ago after they announced that they were parting ways and bringing an end to their matchup after 28 years. The Parisian duo was responsible for some of the most popular dance and pop songs ever made in history.
Daft Punk broke the news with an 8-minute video titled “Epilogue,” excerpted from their 2006 film Electroma. The reports were confirmed by their longtime publicist Kathryn Frazier but didn’t give a reason as to why they split.
Formed in Paris in 1993, Daft Punk made history when it brought the French underground house music scene to light, building a large following and fan base with their hit songs like One More Time, Da Funk and Around The World topped the charts.
For those who didn’t know who these guys were, you weren’t into the dance and house music scene because the duo redefined the genre with their iconic sounds and style.
According to Pitch Fork, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo helped to define the French ‘touch style’ of house music. Their debut album, 1997’s Homework, was a dance music landmark, featuring classic singles “Around the World” and “Da Funk.”
In 2001, Daft Punk released a follow-up album titled Discovery, which popularised their robot-like appearances and outfits that became their trademark. Singles from the album like “One More Time” and “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” made them a global sensation that won’t be easily forgotten.
Their success didn’t end there, they went on to produce even more music that defined their unique style – bringing to life records like their third album Human After All, live LP Alive 2007, and the Tron: Legacy soundtrack album.
In 2013, Daft Punk cemented its name in history with a worldwide hit with the retro-disco single Get Lucky, featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers. The song was taken from their most recent record, Random Access Memories, which won the Grammy for album of the year in 2014.
The song sold millions of copies worldwide and won two Grammys for the duo and guests Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams, who were featured on the follow-up single “Lose Yourself to Dance.”
Daft Punk will always remain in history as one of the most influential dance and pop duo groups
Random Access Memories earned Daft Punk a further three Grammys, including Album of the Year, and the ceremony hosted one of the last stagings of their spectacular live show. “When you know how a magic trick is done, it’s so depressing,” Bangalter told Pitchfork in a 2013 Cover Story. “We focus on the illusion because giving away how it’s done instantly shuts down the sense of excitement and innocence.”
Since then, the band has kept a relatively low profile – although they were later credited with co-production on several tracks from Kanye West’s Yeezus, and also collaborated with R&B star The Weeknd on two tracks, Starboy and I Feel It Coming, in 2016.
The duo was known to be secretive and publicity-shy as they were rarely seen in public without their robot headgear. They used processed, computerised vocals on almost all of their biggest hits, which only intensified their popularity.
“We’re not performers, we’re not models – it would not be enjoyable for humanity to see our features,” de Homem-Christo once told Rolling Stone magazine, “but the robots are exciting to people.”
‘Beyond the singles, their visual identity, interstellar mystique, and party-music ethos inspired generations of artists across genres’ reports Pitch Fork. They were sampled by R&B greats Janet Jackson and Jazmine Sullivan, parodied in Family Guy and Powerpuff Girls, and celebrated in art galleries worldwide.
Watch Daft Punk’s farewell video below;
The video announcing their split was based on an excerpt from their 2006 film Electroma.
As one of the robot bodies disintegrated, a caption appeared stating “1993 – 2021”. The clip closed with one of the musicians walking into the sunset, accompanied by the song Touch, including the choral refrain: “Hold on. If love is the answer you’re home.”
Source: Spurzine
