Daft Punk Announces Split After Nearly Three Decades of Music

The iconic French electronic duo announced their conclusion via an on-brand YouTube video titled "Epilogue," featuring both members self-imploding.

Daft Punk
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Daft Punk

As you may have gleaned from an eight-minute video shared to the duo’s official YouTube channel early morning, the reign of Daft Punk has come to an end.

In the video, titled “Epilogue,” the duo is seen assisting each other in the task of literal self-implosion. Following the members’ destruction, the clip cuts to a confirmation of the group’s conclusion touting its 1993-2021 run. A publicist for the group also confirmed its end in a statement to Variety and others on Monday.

The French electronic duo’s most recent studio full-length was 2013’s Grammy-winning Random Access Memories.

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The duo—comprised of Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter—released their inaugural single “The New Wave” in 1994. Its follow-up, “Da Funk,” became their first full-blown hit and is now widely regarded as a classic of the genre. With Random Access Memories, Daft Punk bagged its first No. 1 entry on the Billboard 200 albums chart. “Get Lucky,” featuring Pharrell Williams, served as the lead single and quickly became one of the most ubiquitous songs of the 2010s.

Daft Punk’s collaborative power spanned years of hits, including “Starboy” with the Weeknd and “Stronger” with Kanye West. The latter, taken from West’s 2007 album Graduation, is built on a sample of the duo’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.” In 2008, Daft Punk made a surprise Grammys appearance alongside West that was billed at the time as the duo’s first-ever television performance.

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Back in 2010, Daft Punk was enlisted to score Joseph Kosinski’s TRON: Legacy, a sequel to the 1982 cult classic. The soundtrack album, which opened at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, saw the duo combining their signature sound with more orchestral elements. 

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Goodbye, Daft Punk. And thanks for the firmly implanted sonic memories.

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