Daft Punk announce they've split up after 28 years

The influential French duo announced their retirement in a video named 'Epilogue' which was posted earlier today.

Posted: 22 February 2021 Words: Tom Curtis-Horsfall

Influential electronic duo Daft Punk have announced their retirement.

Revealed in a video titled 'Epilogue', the elusive pair mark the end of Daft Punk by literally blowing their robotic personas up - a clip from their 2006 film Electroma. Their longtime publicist officially confirmed the split earlier this morning, declining to provide further details.

Given their reluctance to perform live, and notably intermittent output, it won't come as a shock to many. What can't be doubted, however, is Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo's influence on contemporary music - one of the first major dance acts to crossover into mainstream success with 1997's Homework, their follow-up Discovery confirmed them as one of the most innovative artists in electronic music, wearing (their now iconic) masks and employing a mystique that was so unusual in popular music.

Their return to live performance in 2006 saw them headline Coachella, and is widely considered to be the festival's greatest ever performance. Grammy Award-winning Random Access Memories was their most recent album, released in 2013, and produced the earworm 'Lucky' that'll likely stick to them whenever they're mentioned.

Bets are already being placed about a reunion at Coachella or Glastonbury in 2022. Maybe we'll 'get lucky'? Bad joke. Check out Daft Punk's exit video below: