Daft Punk, the musical duo who are responsible behind some of the most well known dance and pop songs ever, have broken up. They released the news to their fanbase through an eight minute long video entitled “Epilogue,” using excerpts from their 2006 experimental film Electroma.
Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo formed Daft Punk in Paris in 1993, pioneering and assisting in the creation of French style house music. Their debut album, 1997’s Homework, was a landmark album in the electronic music scene which released Daft Punk from the underground to a popular artist. By the release of the sophomore album, Discovery, the duo had trademarked their classic robot look and singles such as “One More Time” and “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” transformed them into international superstars. Their imprint upon popular music continued in subsequent years through their third album, Human After All and various soundtrack and live performances.
Twenty years into their career, they blew up once more by releasing “Get Lucky”, the lead single off their 2013 album Random Access Memories. The ubiquitous track sold millions of copies around the world and won two Grammys for the duo and guests Nile Rodgers and Pharrell Williams, both of whom also featured on follow-up single “Lose Yourself to Dance.” Their fourth studio album would be their last large project and the duo would then only be recluded to single features and production oversights until their disbandment.
Journalism’s music connoisseur, Drew Dattilo, spoke to Daft Punk’s split and focused primarily on the legacy they had on music on a broad spectrum. Dattilo says, “They’ll go down as one of the most influential, beloved musical acts of all time, and they deserve every praise they get…Daft Punk defied the boundaries of what music could truly be, they pushed and pushed until they got the absolute best result…” Dattilo ends with, “…no one will ever do it like Daft Punk did, and that’s enough of an accomplishment to make their departure a bittersweet one.”
For those of you who are interested in traveling back in time with Daft Punk’s music, we will be embedding a greatest hits playlist underneath.
