Credit: Unsplash

After 28 years, the techno duo has called it quits.

Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, better known as the faces (ironically, as few have seen their faces) of the modern electronic music scene, Daft Punk, have been in the music business for 28 years now. Starting from humble beginnings in Paris, France, this robotic dynamic duo took the European techno and electronica scene by storm with their powerful synthesized beats. Sadly, even mechanical lifeforms don’t last forever, it seems.

Today, the official Daft Punk YouTube channel posted a new video simply titled “Epilogue,” containing an excerpt from the duo’s 2006 film Electroma, followed by the message “1993-2021.” Immediately, the industry needed a proper answer, and one was swiftly provided by Daft Punk’s publicist Kathryn Frazier: Daft Punk has officially broken up, though no precise reason has been given as to why.

Daft Punk’s debut album in 1997, “Homework,” was what got them started in the European dance scene, but it wasn’t until 2001’s “Discovery” that they truly became the global music sensations they are today. Alongside “Discovery,” they co-created Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem, an animated movie using the tracklist of “Discovery” to shape its narrative that was produced alongside Japanese animation studio Toei and legendary artist Leiji Matsumoto. They also got the chance to produce an entirely original film score for TRON: Legacy in 2010.

Daft Punk.

Game changers.
Legends.
🤖🤖

1993 – 2021 pic.twitter.com/p6BUJQAa9n

— Defected Records (@DefectedRecords) February 22, 2021

In 2013, their renown hit its peak with the release of “Random Access Memories” and their hit single “Get Lucky,” which sold millions worldwide and netted the duo two Grammys. Around that time, Daft Punk was interviewed for Pitchfork magazine, where they were asked why they put so much work into maintaining their robotic personas.

“When you know how a magic trick is done, it’s so depressing,” Bangalter said. “We focus on the illusion because giving away how it’s done instantly shuts down the sense of excitement and innocence.”

While Daft Punk’s time in the limelight may be over, I don’t think anyone will be forgetting their contributions any time soon, not just to the electronic music scene, but the greater pursuit of art and creativity.