Daft Punk
From a Melody Maker put-down to five Grammys: how Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo built the biggest act in French house.
- Paris duo of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, active from 1993 to 2021.
- Debut album Homework (Virgin, 1997), with “Da Funk” and “Around the World”.
- Random Access Memories (2013) and “Get Lucky” won five Grammys, including Album of the Year.
Daft Punk took French house from a Paris bedroom studio to the Grammys. In 28 years Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo released four studio albums, became the most recognisable helmets in pop and left a run of club records that DJs still play.
Darlin’ and a bad review
In 1992 Bangalter on bass, Homem-Christo on guitar and Laurent Brancowitz played in an indie band called Darlin’, named after a Beach Boys song. It lasted about six months. In Melody Maker, Dave Jennings dismissed their music as “a daft, punky thrash”. The two friends kept the insult as a name and, from 1993, turned to electronic music.
Soma, “Da Funk” and Homework
Their first single, “The New Wave”, came out in a limited run on the Scottish label Soma Quality Recordings in 1994. “Da Funk” followed on Soma on 8 May 1995: 2,000 copies on 12-inch, with “Rollin’ & Scratchin’” on the B-side. Bangalter programmed its bassline on a Roland TB-303 he had bought in 1993, after the pair spent weeks listening to American G-funk.
Virgin signed them and released Homework on 20 January 1997. Reissued that February, “Da Funk” reached No. 7 in the UK and No. 1 on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart, with a Spike Jonze video about a dog with a leg in a cast walking through New York. “Around the World” went to No. 5 in the UK and No. 1 on the US dance chart; the title phrase is repeated 144 times on the album version, and Michel Gondry shot the video. After Homework each member also ran a label: Roulé for Bangalter, Crydamoure for Homem-Christo. Roulé first pressed Stardust’s “Music Sounds Better With You”, made by Bangalter with Alan Braxe and Benjamin Diamond.
Robots, Discovery and the pyramid
Around Discovery, the duo started appearing in public only as robots. The album came out on 12 March 2001, reached No. 2 in the UK and was led by “One More Time”. Human After All followed in March 2005. The Alive 2006/2007 tour, built around an LED pyramid, ran for 48 dates, and the live album Alive 2007, released in November 2007, won a Grammy in 2009. In 2010 they composed the score for Tron: Legacy.
Random Access Memories and the end
After leaving Virgin, Daft Punk released Random Access Memories on Columbia on 17 May 2013. Its lead single, “Get Lucky”, was their first UK No. 1. At the 2014 Grammys the album won Album of the Year, Best Dance/Electronica Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, and “Get Lucky” won Record of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. On 22 February 2021 they posted “Epilogue”, a video ending on the card “1993–2021”. Their publicist confirmed the split later that day.
Back to the floor
For DJs, the Homework records remain the core: “Da Funk” at 111 BPM, “Around the World” for its bassline. The Paris scene around them is covered in our history of French electronic dance music, and the next generation of French electronic acts in our profile of Justice.
FAQ
Who were the members of Daft Punk?
Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, two friends from Paris who worked together as Daft Punk from 1993 to 2021.
Where does the name Daft Punk come from?
From a Melody Maker review by Dave Jennings that called the music of their earlier band, Darlin’, “a daft, punky thrash”.
When did Daft Punk split up?
On 22 February 2021, with a video called “Epilogue” ending on the title card “1993–2021”. Their publicist confirmed the split the same day.
How many Grammys did Random Access Memories win?
Five at the 2014 ceremony, counting the album’s three awards, including Album of the Year, and two for “Get Lucky”, including Record of the Year.
