Daft Punk's story in 7 songs

The world was introduced to the French duo's sound in a 1996 video directed by Spike Jonze. The artists never appear in "Da Funk," instead a dog-headed man with a cast on his leg hobbles through New York at night on a crutch while carrying a boom box blasting Daft Punk beats. The instrumental clip has a big story to tell — playing out with a touch of melancholy under the big city lights.

The electronic music duo was actually founded in 1993, but Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter began collaborating while in high school in Paris. Their band's name was inspired by a bad review for previous work in another band — which was deemed "daft punky thrash." Daft Punk's debut single, "The New Wave," obtained a limited release in 1994.

Along with "Da Funk," "Around the World" was another hit from Daft Punk's debut album "Homework." Here, too, they teamed up with one of the hippest directors of the day, Michel Gondry, to create a party universe inspired by campy 1970s space operas. Among the various dancing figures were robots, which would soon become Daft Punk's trademark costume.

Daft Punk began wearing various masks in early public appearances. By the time the band released its second album, "Discovery," in 2001, they had developed their iconic robot persona — wearing space suits and helmets. The album became the soundtrack of a Japanese-inspired anime film, "Interstella 5555." The duo's unexpected approach to the interweaving of image and sound was part of its appeal.

They teamed up with Pharrell Williams and Chic's funky front man Nile Rodgers for the 2013 disco hit "Get Lucky." The single from Daft Punk's fourth and final studio album, "Random Access Memories," introduced the duo to a more mainstream audience. The track won Grammy Awards, sold millions of copies globally and inspired many cover versions and parodies.

Surprisingly perhaps, considering their previous hits, but Daft Punk didn't land the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart until 2016, with the song "Starboy," a collaboration with The Weeknd. Another track on The Weeknd's album, "I Feel It Coming," became the duo's final single.

In February 2021, Daft Punk broke the news of their split by releasing an 8-minute video titled "Epilogue," a song from their 2006 film "Electroma." In the clip, the pair parts ways in the desert with one of them helping the other self-destruct. A title card reading "1993–2021" then appears. The iconic duo didn't specify why they were breaking up after 28 years — off to something new?