Daft Punk have SPLIT: French dance music duo announce they’ve retired after 28 years

Daft Punk have split after 28 years together.

The French electronic dance duo confirmed they’d parted ways in an emotional farewell video released on Monday, after an incredible career boasting four chart-topping albums and six Grammy wins.

The split comes eight years after Daft Punk, formed by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter in 1993, released their last album Random Access Memories, featuring the track Get Lucky which topped the charts worldwide. 

It’s over! Daft Punk have split after 28 years together. The French electronic dance duo confirmed they’d parted ways in an emotional farewell video released on Monday

Following the release of the goodbye video, titled Epilogue, the band’s longtime publicist Kathryn Frazier confirmed the split to Pitchfork.com, but did not give a reason.

The clip showed the pair, famed for their robotic headpieces, walking towards one another on a barren desert.

Nodding in agreement the pair activate self-destruct buttons on their outfits and disintegrating into dust.

Done: The French electronic dance duo confirmed they’d parted ways in an emotional farewell video released on Monday

It’s done: The clip showed the pair, famed for their robotic headpieces, walking towards one another on a barren desert

A title card stating 1993-2021 confirmed the end of Daft Punk as a band, with a choral version of their 2013 song Touch playing out the seven-minute video. 

Since forming in Paris, Daft Punk have been one of the defining duos in dance music despite multiple breaks from the spotlight between their four albums.

Their debut release Homework in 1997 featured the chart-topping hits Around the World and Da Funk, and by the time their follow-up Discovery was released in 2001, the pair have become known for their famous robotic outfits.

Farewell! Nodding in agreement the pair activate self-destruct buttons on their outfits and disintegrating into dust

End of an era: A title card stating 1993-2021 confirmed the end of Daft Punk as a band, with a choral version of their 2013 song Touch playing out the seven-minute video

One More Time and Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, which featured on their second album, turned Daft Punk into global stars, and their next album, Human After All, was released in 2005.

The subsequent years saw Daft Punk somewhat disappear from the music scene, though they played a historic set at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2006, and recorded the soundtrack for Disney’s Tron: Legacy in 2010.

In 2013 the band launched a monumental comeback with their album Random Access Memories, which saw them collaborate with Pharrell Williams on the single Get Lucky, which topped multiple charts worldwide. 

The pair famously performed the song as part of a medley with Nile Rodgers and Stevie Wonder at the 2014 Grammy Awards, where they scooped four gongs including Record of the Year.

Legends: Daft Punk was formed by French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter in 1993 (pictured in 1995)

Daft Punk also joined forces with The Weeknd for Star Boy and I Feel It Coming in 2016.

The pair discussed their music style in a rare interview with Interview Magazine in 2001, with Thomas saying: ‘We incorporate a lot of American and English-based influences, but take them completely out of context. 

‘The way we listen to Chicago house music, disco, heavy metal or punk is completely artistic, without the political side of it. 

‘But then we used it in a political way ourselves, which is making music at home, recycling and by combining those styles at home and doing it in a very new way.’

Legends: The music duo won six Grammys throughout their career, including four awards for their 2013 album Random Access Memories (pictured in 2014)