Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (born August 8, 1974) and Thomas Bangalter (born January 1, 1975) met while studying at the Lycée Carnot in Paris in 1987. In the future, it was they who created the Daft Punk group.
In 1992, friends formed the group Darlin and recorded a single on the Duophonic label. This label was owned by the Franco-British group Stereolab.
In France, the musicians did not become popular. A wave of techno rave spread across the country, and the two friends accidentally took up music again in 1993.
Then they met with the founders of the Scottish label Soma. And the Daft Punk duo released tracks on CD New Wave and Alive. Music sounded in techno style.
Listening to David Bowie's band Kiss since adolescence, the musicians created techno house and introduced it into the culture of the 1990s.
In May 1995, the techno-dance-rock instrumental track Da Funk was released. A year of touring followed, mostly in the rave scenes in France and Europe. There, the group enjoyed huge popularity, demonstrating their talent as DJs.
In London, the musicians recorded the first part of their work, dedicated to one of their favorite bands, the Chemical Brothers. Then Daft Punk has already become a very popular duo. Therefore, the artists used their fame and experience, creating remixes for the Chemical Brothers.
In 1996, the duo signed with Virgin Records. It was in one of the collections of the label that the work Music was released. Source is Daft Punk's first label in France.
Homework (1997)
On January 13, 1997, the single Da Funk was released. Then on January 20 of the same month, the full-length album Homework was released. 50 thousand copies of the album were released on vinyl records.
This disc was sold within a few months with a circulation of about 2 million copies, distributed in 35 countries. The concept of the album is a combination of different genres. Of course, such work was very popular with the young audience of the world.
This album was highly appreciated not only in the specialized press, but also in non-musical publications. The media analyzed the reasons for the overwhelming success of the group, which was famous for its energy and freshness of sound.
The song Da Funk was released as the soundtrack of the Hollywood blockbuster The Saint (directed by Phillip Noyce).
The band began to be invited to numerous festivals around the world, including the traveling American festival Lollapallooza in July. And then to the English festivals Tribal Gathering and Glastonbury.
From October to December 1997, the group began a large world tour, consisting of 40 concerts. Performances were also held on the Champs Elysees on October 17 and in the Zenith Concert Hall on November 27. After Los Angeles (December 16), the musicians performed in New York (December 20). In front of an admiring audience, the duo began an ambitious show that sometimes lasted up to five hours.
In October, Homework was certified double gold in France, England, Belgium, Ireland, Italy and New Zealand. Also certified platinum in Canada. It was an unprecedented success for a French performer.
On December 8, 1997, the band performed at the Rex Club with Motorbass and DJ Cassius. The concert, organized for children from disadvantaged families, was free. A ticket could be obtained in exchange for a toy left at the entrance.
Daft Punk Electronic Music Standards
At first, the duo became famous thanks to their incognito status and the image of independent performers.
In late 1997, they sued a French TV station for unauthorized use of three of the band's audio tracks. The procedure lasted several months until the victory of Daft Punk in the spring of 1998.
The Daft Punk team was noticed by the public not only in Europe, but also in the USA. The musicians could be heard in Liverpool, New York and Paris. Their productions and new remixes have always been eagerly awaited. On the personal label Roule, Tom Bangalter created a musical project - the band Stardust. The song Music Sounds Better With You became popular all over the world.
The duo's work followed on the DAFT DVD A Story About Dogs, Androids, Firemen and Tomatoes (1999). Here you can watch five video clips, four of which were directed by such directors as Spike Jonze, Roman Coppola, Michel Gondry and Seb Janiak.
A year later, the first single in two years, One More Time, was released. This song was released as an announcement about the release of a new album, scheduled for the spring of 2001.
Daft Punk band wearing helmets and gloves
Daft Punk have not yet revealed their identities and appeared wearing helmets and gloves. This style resembled something between science fiction and robotics. The Discovery CD had a cover similar to the previous one. This is an image that consisted of the words Daft Punk.
Virgin Records announced that Discovery has already sold 1,3 million copies.
The duo also asked Japanese manga master Leiji Matsumoto (creator of Albator and producer of Candy and Goldorak) to create a video for the song One More Time.
Taking care of the work and the quality of the promo, the Daft Punk team has placed a map on the CD. It allowed through the site to access new games. The musicians sought to circumvent the principle of free download sites Napster and Consort. For them, "music must retain commercial value" (Source AFP).
In addition, the group was still in conflict with SACEM (Society of Composers-Authors and Music Publishers).
To please the fans, the duo released the live album Alive 2 (2001 minutes long) on October 1997, 45. It was recorded in Birmingham, England, a few months after Homework was released in 1997. At the end of October, a new single Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger was released.
The duo returned in 2003 with a 65-minute film created by Leiji Matsumoto, Interstella 5555. The cartoon is based on Japanese manga clips from the Discovery album.
Human After All (2005)
In the fall, "fans" heard the news about the new album. The duo got back to work. The long-awaited album was announced in March 2005. Due to the fact that the Human After All album got into the Internet, it actually became available on the Internet long before the official release.
Critics did not take the work very warmly, reproaching the two Parisians for repeating themselves both in style and in the composition of the songs.
In 2006, the band first released the best album Musique Vol. 1 1993-2005. It consisted of 11 excerpts from three studio albums, three remixes and one more part, which has not yet been published anywhere. For fans, the Deluxe edition offered a CD and DVD with 12 clips. As well as Robot Rock and Prime Time of Your Life.
In the spring, the duo went on tour (USA, Belgium, Japan, France). Only 9 performances were scheduled. At least 35 thousand people came to the Coachella festival in the United States. And also 30 thousand people in Eurockéennes de Belfort.
Although the latest work did not impress the media, some listeners, the group continued to enliven the dance floor during concerts.
Daft Punk Director's Night
In June 2006, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo switched robot costumes for directing. They were invited to the Cannes Film Festival to present the feature film Daft Punk's Electroma. The film is about two robots in search of humanity. The soundtrack was recorded with the participation of Curtis Mayfield, Brian Eno and Sebastien Tellier.
In 2007, the duo went on tour with two concerts in France (a concert in Nimes and in Bercy (Paris)). The Palais Omnisport has been transformed into a spaceship with laser beams, video game projections and a bright play of light. This incredible show was broadcast in the United States (Seattle, Chicago, New York, Las Vegas). And also in Canada (Toronto and Montreal) from July to October 2007.
In 2009, the band received two Grammy Awards for Best Electronic Album for Alive 2007. This is a live album that includes a performance at the Palais Omnisport Paris-Bercy on June 14, 2007. It is dedicated to the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the career. Thanks to the song Harder Better Faster Stronger, the group won the Best Single nomination.
In December 2010, the Tron: Legacy soundtrack was released. Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo did it at the request of Walt Disney Pictures and director Joseph Kosinski (a big fan of Daft Punk).
Random Access Memory (2013)
The duo has been working on a new album, Random Access Memory. He worked with many singers, instrumentalists, sound engineers, technicians for several months. New tracks recorded in studios in New York and Los Angeles. The fourth album caused a storm of emotions among the "fans".
The first single from the album Get Lucky was released in April and was recorded with American rapper and producer Pharrell Williams.
The album Random Access Memory was released in May. A few days before its official release, the songs were played at the annual fair of the small town of Wee-Waa (Australia).
The composition of the invited performers was significant. Since, in addition to Pharrell Williams, one could hear Julian Casablancas (Strokes), Nile Rodgers (guitarist, leader of the Chic group). And also George Moroder, to whom Giorgio by Moroder is dedicated.
With the electro-funk album, Daft Punk paid tribute to those who have traveled the path to popularity with them.
This album was very popular. And in July 2013, it had already sold 2,4 million copies worldwide, including about 1 million in the digital version.
Daft Punk band now
At the end of February 2021, the members of the Daft Punk duo informed fans that the band was disbanding. At the same time, they shared with the "fans" a farewell video clip of Epilogue.
