Ryan Shea

Daft Punk is a renowned electronic duo band from France formed in 1993 known for revolutionizing the electronic music scene for their long-lasting tenure. Earlier this week, however, they announced the duo had decided to part ways, which came as a shock to many who had been following them for the past three decades and enjoyed them all throughout that time. What needs to be explored further is what provoked such a breakup of the band in the first place with the legacy they had set for themselves.

When Daft Punk split up, their way of announcing the event was by releasing a video entitled “Epilogue”, showing a recap of what they had managed to accomplish within the span of 28 years, which came as an unexpected shock to many, as it was a rather roundabout way to announce the end of their tenure, rather than any sort of public announcement or the like. Moreover, when the news of their split first caught wind, Daft Punk refused to comment on the matter of why they even decided to call it quits in the first place. This led to many of their fans, primarily on Twitter, to speculate as to why they did so, with Twitter user Gabriella Paiella half-humorously claiming that, “Daft Punk is simply breaking up because in France, you can retire at 50”. As of now, the reason for Daft Punk’s breakup still remains yet to be seen, but the impact they left on the music industry is still able to be analyzed.

At the time of Daft Punk’s formation in 1993, most bands only used electronic instruments as a means of enhancing their already-established genres, which were starting to grow a tad stale by the 90s in the public eye. Electronic music had existed by that point already, but it was through the experimentation brought about by Daft Punk that helped push the genre into the forefront, allowing listeners to view it as a viable music genre. From there, multiple generations were able to identify the style brought about by Daft Punk, with Generation X jamming to the likes of “Around the World”, millennials indulging in “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger”, and Generation Z listening in awe to music like “Get Lucky”. Even if their music won’t continue on into future generations, the style of Daft Punk won’t fade anytime soon after their departure, influencing the music industry for years to come.