Daft Punk Break Up After 28 Years

22. February 202115. March 2021 Ashley Perez Hollingsworth

It’s time to say goodbye to our favorite robotic duo. After 28 years, Daft Punk have announced they are calling it quits.

On Monday (Feb. 22), the French electronic music duo of Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter announced their break up with an eight-minute video titled “Epilogue.” The video features clips from Daft Punk’s 2006 film Electroma — including a scene in which one of the robots blows himself up. The video ends with a frame reading, “1993-2021.”

Daft Punk’s publicist Kathryn Frazier confirmed the group’s split to Pitchfork.

Everyone knows Daft Punk, whether you realize it or not. Their irresistible beeps and boops have been a staple of dance music for nearly 30 years. And chances are many of your favorite artists have sampled them at one point. Formed in 1993 by Bangalter and Manuel de Homem-Christo, the two released their debut album, Homework, in 1997, which earned them critical praise. Their 2001 follow up Discovery, made them international superstars thanks to hit singles “One More Time” and “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.” By the time they released their third album, Human After All and the Tron: Legacy soundtrack album, they were legends in the electronic music scene.

Though they’ve always had loyal fans, Daft Punk received mainstream attention again with their 2013 album Random Access Memories. Featuring lead single “Get Lucky,” it became their first number one album in the U.S. selling over 339,000 copies in its first week of release. It would earn them the coveted Album of the Year award at the 2014 Grammys.

Since then, Daft Punk have remained largely inactive. Their final live appearance came in October 2010, as surprise guests during Phoenix’s headlining show at Madison Square Garden. Their most recent release was in 2016 when they teamed up with The Weeknd for “Starboy” and “I Feel It Coming.”

Last year, it was reported that Daft Punk were in talks to score Dario Argento’s new film. Disney also reportedly approached them to score the next Tron movie.