Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, techno, rock and synth-pop. Known for their robotic identity, eclectic live performances and vocoder-laden music, they are regarded as one of the most influential acts in electronic dance music.
Daft Punk formed after their previous group, the indie rock band Darlin', disbanded. They were managed from 1996 to 2008 by Pedro Winter, the head of Ed Banger Records. Their debut album, Homework, was released by Virgin Records in 1997 to positive reviews, backed by the singles "Around the World" and "Da Funk". From 1999, Daft Punk assumed robot personas for their rare public and media appearances, with helmets, outfits and gloves to disguise their identities. Daft Punk's second album, Discovery (2001), earned acclaim and further success, with the hit singles "One More Time", "Digital Love" and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger". It became the basis for an animated film, Interstella 5555, supervised by the Japanese artist Leiji Matsumoto.
Daft Punk's third album, Human After All (2005), received mixed reviews, though the singles "Robot Rock" and "Technologic" were successful in the UK. Daft Punk directed an avant-garde science-fiction film, Electroma, released in 2006. They toured throughout 2006 and 2007 and released the live album Alive 2007, which won a Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album; the tour is credited for broadening the appeal of dance music in North America. Daft Punk composed the score for the 2010 film Tron: Legacy.
In 2013, Daft Punk left Virgin for Columbia Records and released their fourth and final album, Random Access Memories, to acclaim. The lead single, "Get Lucky", reached the top 10 in the charts of 27 countries. Random Access Memories won five Grammy Awards in 2014, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for "Get Lucky". In 2016, Daft Punk gained their only number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with "Starboy", a collaboration with the Weeknd. Rolling Stone ranked them the 12th-greatest musical duo of all time in 2015, and included Discovery and Random Access Memories on their 2020 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Daft Punk announced their split in 2021.
