Daft Punk were an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (born February 8, 1974) and Thomas Bangalter (born January 3, 1975). Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop. The duo is also credited with producing songs that are considered essential in the French house scene. They were managed from 1996 to 2008 by Pedro Winter (Busy P), the head of Ed Banger Records.
Early in the group's career, the band members were strongly influenced by groups such as The Beach Boys and The Rolling Stones. Bangalter and de Homem-Christo were originally in a band called Darlin', which disbanded after a short period of time, leaving the two to experiment musically on their own. The duo became Daft Punk, and released their critically acclaimed debut album Homework in 1997. The 2001 release Discovery was even more successful, driven by the club singles "One More Time", "Digital Love" and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger". In March 2005, the duo released the album Human After All to mixed reviews. However, the singles "Robot Rock" and "Technologic" achieved success in the United Kingdom. Daft Punk toured throughout 2006 and 2007 and released the live album Alive 2007, which won a Grammy award for Best Electronic/Dance Album. The duo composed the score of the film Tron: Legacy and in 2010 released the soundtrack album of the film. They had also worked with R&B artist The Weeknd on two tracks for his album, Starboy.
Daft Punk is noted for its elaborate live shows, in which visual elements and effects are incorporated with the music. The group is also known for its emphasis on visual and story components associated with their musical productions, as well as for wearing ornate robot costumes in public and while performing.
On Febuary 21, 2021, Daft Punk disbanded. They released a video on their YouTube channel titled "Epilogue", confirming their split. Despite this, the band still announces and releases anniversary-edition news and previously unreleased media.
Discovery era (1999–2004)[]
By 1999 the duo were well into the recording sessions for their second album, which had begun a year earlier. The 2001 release Discovery took on a slicker and distinctly synthpop-oriented style, initially stunning fans of Daft Punk's previous material in Homework. The group states that the album was conceived as an attempt to reconnect with a playful, open-minded attitude associated with the discovery phase of childhood. This accounts for the heavy use of themes and samples from the late '70s to early '80s era on the album. It reached #2 in the United Kingdom, and its single "One More Time" was a major club and mainstream hit, which nearly topped the UK Singles Chart. The song is well known for being heavily auto-tuned and compressed. The song and album created a new generation of fans mainly familiar with the second Daft Punk release. The singles "Digital Love" and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" were also very successful in the UK and on the United States dance chart, and "Face to Face" hit #1 on the USA club play charts despite a limited single release. A 45-minute excerpt from a Daftendirektour performance recorded at Birmingham, UK in 1997 was also released in 2001, entitled Alive 1997. 2003 first saw the release of the feature-length animated film Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem. Daft Punk produced the film under the supervision of Leiji Matsumoto, whom they have said is their childhood hero. The album Daft Club was also released to promote the film. It features a collection of remixes previously made available through an online membership service of the same name.