Daft Punk: announced the dissolution of the historic duo

An epilogue that shook the world of music: Daft Punk today announced their dissolution after almost 30 years of career. A video posted on YouTube entitled Epilogue marked the farewell of the historic Parisian duo, putting the word "end" to the group's electro-dance music.

The duo has recorded some of the world hits of the last decades , starting from “Da Funk” up to “Get Lucky”, passing through “Around the World” and many others. In record silence since 2013, the year in which they released the album "Random Access Memories", the two came back today giving a news that the fans never wanted to receive.

Daft Punk: disbandment after 28 years of career

It is 1987 and Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo are two ordinary high school students from Paris. In that year they met, made friends and, driven by a common passion, in 1992 they founded a rock group called Darlin ' . In the same year they release a cover of the Beach Boys and an original song, but they receive a very negative review from the magazine Melody Maker , who called their music “a daft punky trash”. It is the end of Darlin 'and the beginning of Daft Punk .

The first debut single was The New Wave , but the duo achieved their first success with Da Funk . From here the road begins to go downhill: the group gains more and more positive feedback from the public, captured by synthesizers and drum machines. Their unmistakable style finds a label in the French house , of which they were among the main exponents.

Their sounds range in electronics and its sub-genres and variants, based on samples of songs from the 70s and 80s. The two have always put themselves on the line, sometimes getting closer to rock, others to melodic, and others even to soul. With continuous experimentation, Daft Punk have never settled on a single style , while maintaining the characteristics that distinguish their songs and make them unmistakable. Famous is their collaboration with Disney for the film TRON: legacy , of which they curated the soundtrack.

The farewell

Today, February 22, 2021, a bolt from the blue has arrived: Daft Punk have announced their dissolution. After a career that lasted almost 30 years, the two French artists have released an evocative but also very direct video . In the clip, the two wander the desert in their robot masks, and one of them has a timer behind his back. They look at each other from behind their helmets, in silence, one waiting for the other. Suddenly the timer of the first is activated by the second, which subsequently moves away. At the end of the countdown the first explodes into a thousand pieces; an image, then, takes the place of the scene: two hands touching and the writing “1993-2021”, which leaves no doubt about its meaning .

After a few hours from the publication of the video, which left the whole web shocked, the agent of Daft Punk confirmed the news. At the moment neither the duo nor the record company have released any comments or explanations on the reasons for the dissolution.

The unmistakable "robotic" look

In addition to the great musical influence they had worldwide and the hits that made us dance, we will also remember Daft Punk for their eccentric look. Futuristic and robotic , the two have built a unique image with which to present themselves at concerts and events . The motivation, as well as for a pure stylistic fact, is to be found in the will of the two not to be photographed and to appear in magazines.

The group never showed up without its characteristic helmets, also designed with the help of engineer Tony Gardner and Alterian, Inc., a special effects company founded by Gardner. The helmets have various built-in LEDs, which can produce different lighting effects . Bangalter has often joked about their identities, playing on the human-robot duality.

We didn't choose to become robots. There was an accident in the recording studio. We were working with the sampler when, at 9:09 precisely on 9 September 1999, it exploded. When we regained consciousness we discovered we had become robots.

Thomas Bangalter

The two also directed a film , Daft Punk's Electroma , which also arrived at Cannes 2006. In the film, the artists impersonate two robots trying to become human. The two wore their helmets throughout the shoot; ventilation systems have been added to the helmets to prevent overheating, given the long period of use.

Daft Punk leave behind them a great legacy and a huge mark in the history of electronic music . Their influence on many of today's artists is undoubted, and their sound will always remain unmistakable. We will continue to dance to the notes of their great hits, hoping that one day, even as soloists, they will continue to give us new and surprising songs.

The article Daft Punk: announced the dissolution of the historic duo comes from Tech CuE | Close-up Engineering .