Legendary French duo Daft Punk are no more. On Monday morning, the group announced in a video titled “Epilogue” that they were calling it quits. In the clip, the duo is seen walking around a desert with their trademark helmets and jackets on. One of them removes their jacket to reveal a pack on their back and it counts down and explodes. The other one walks away and that’s that.
There has been no reason announced as to why they’re splitting. Daft Punk’s longtime publicist confirmed the news of their breakup to SPIN. Pitchfork was the first to confirm the news.
You can see the video below.
Formed in Paris in 1993, the duo of Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter changed and pushed forward the sound of electronic dance music. Their breakthrough came in 1997 with the release of Homework that featured singles including”All Around the World,” “Da Funk.” Singles like “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” (famously sampled by Kanye West) and “One More Time” made them international superstars. Their iconic set at Coachella in 2006, which included their trademark pyramid set, remains the standard-bearer of what a festival set should be like.
The duo’s last album came in 2013 with Random Access Memories. The record featured singles like “Get Lucky” with Pharrell Williams. It won Album of the Year, Best Dance/Electronica Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical at the Grammys in 2014. In addition to Williams, Random Access Memories boasted collaborations with the likes of Nile Rodgers, Panda Bear and Julian Casablancas.
Following their collaboration, Daft Punk and West were the subjects of a SPIN cover story in 2007. You can read it here.
