Daft Punk Announces Breakup After 28 Years of Success

The French EDM duo, Daft Punk, announced on Monday that its time as band had come to an end. The group posted a video on its YouTube channel titled “Epilogue” announcing the news. Kathryn Frazier, a publicist for Daft Punk, confirmed the split and said they had no further comment.

The video opens on musicians, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, in their iconic gold and silver robot outfits in the middle of the desert. The silver robot takes off his Daft Punk jacket and activates a self destruct timer on his back.

The silver robot walks across the desert, never looking back, until he explodes. The video then cuts to a a slide that says 1993-2021. The end of the video is the gold robot walking in the desert while their song “Touch” plays in the background.

Daft Punk released four albums and won six Grammys during the 28 years they were together. Four of those Grammys were for the album Random Access Memories in 2014.

The band was formed in Paris in 1993. Their debut album Homework was released in 1997. Their album Discovery came out in 2001 and introduced hits such as “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” and “One More Time.”  Daft Punk’s music became iconic, using robotic voices and elements while helping to popularize dance music in general.

Homem-Christo and Bangalter also spent most of their career out of the spotlight. The pair wore robot costumes during most public appearances and rarely spoke in public or to the press.

During the 2014 Grammy Awards, the pair accepted their awards, but the musicians Paul Williams and Nile Rodgers, who worked on their album, spoke for them.

Most recently, Daft Punk collaborated with artist, The Weeknd on the songs “Starboy” and “I Feel It Coming.” The band accompanied The Weeknd at the Grammys in 2017 during what would be their last performance.