Daft Punk split and hang up their helmets

An eight-minute clip and almost 13 million views marked the farewell announced by the famous French electronic music duo, Daft Punk.  

Artists Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo have announced their split, after 28 years of collaboration, with an unequivocal video titled Epilogue. The news came out of the blue, leaving fans totally speechless and in a melancholic mood. On Monday afternoon, the reactions following the goodbye video were so numerous that there were almost 30 tweets posted every second. 

The group, originally known as Darlin’, began its “journey” with Laurent Brancowitz (current Phoenix guitarist) and split in 1993 after only one year of collaboration. In the same year Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo decided to continue their career as Daft Punk, after critic Dave Jennings published a review in the music magazine Melody Maker calling them “daft punky trash”. 

The two helmets, one gold and the other silver, have become the symbol of anonymity that the two artists have decided to maintain since the early years of their career, an anonymity that has made them two timeless icons. In the past, in an interview, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo ironically said: “We’re not performers, we’re not models – it would not be enjoyable for humanity to see our features. But the robots are exciting to people”. 

Homework, which includes the single Around the World, was their debut album launched in 1997. The Discovery album, containing the hit songs One More Time, Digital Love and Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, was released in 2001. The third album, Human After All, arrived in 2005 after only six weeks of production. The fourth and final album, Random Access Memories, was released in 2013 and contains the single Get Lucky featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers. 

Over the years Daft Punk have been able to climb the charts all over the world and have helped to define the French Touch style. 

Epilogue shows the scene of the 2006 film Electroma, directed by the French duo, in which the two artists walk together in a desert before stopping face-to-face. One member, after taking off his jacket, walks away exploding into a thousand pieces. The scene ends with the other artist walking off into the sunset while the single Touch begins to play “hold on, if love is the answer, you’re home”. The video ends with 1993 – 2021 dates. 

The “explosive” farewell announced by Daft Punk has also caused reactions among their colleagues. Pharrell Williams posted a simple but meaningful sentence: “Forever legends”. Producer and DJ Habstrakt said: “As a French producer its hard to describe the huge impact Daft Punk had on my life, my music and career. Thank you for forever changing the landscape of music”. 

After 28 years, Daft Punk hang up their helmets, they are human after all.