Daft Punk announce split after 28 years

The legendary French duo are responsible for some of dance music's biggest tracks

French electronic music duo Daft Punk announce their split. AP
Powered by automated translation

Daft Punk have announced their split after more than 28 years together.

The electronic duo, made up of Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, first formed in Paris in 1993, and were instrumental in establishing the French house music genre.

They broke the news of their split with an eight-minute video uploaded to their YouTube channel on Monday, titled Epilogue, which was taken from their 2006 film Electroma.

While the cryptic video was posted with little context, the band’s longtime publicist, Kathryn Frazier, confirmed the split to music website Pitchfork, but gave no further details.

Daft Punk's winning combination of house, punk, techno, disco and synth pop ensured their staying power, with a catalogue spanning almost three decades. But it was their debut album, 1997's Homework, that really catapulted the band's international status. UK dance music magazine Muzik described it at the time as "one of the most hyped debut albums in a long, long time."

By the time the pair released their second album, Discovery, they had started to wear shiny helmets and robot outfits during public appearances and performances, a look which went on to define them.

Perhaps their most well-known singles include One More Time and Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, which cemented their place as global superstars, as well as 2016's Get Lucky featuring Pharrell Williams.

The pair have also performed at some of the world’s biggest music festivals, including Glastonbury and Coachella.