Paris natives, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, met at Lycee Carnot in Paris in 1987. Taking their name from a Melody Maker reviewer’s description of an earlier project fronted by the duo called Darlin', Daft Punk was born in 1994 when they released their debut 'Alive' on Soma Quality Recordings.
In 1996 they signed with Virgin and released 'Homework' the following year to critical acclaim and commercial success. Both also started their independent house labels during this time: Bangalter with Roulé and Christo with Crydamoure.
Playfully shunning the limelight the pair were often interviewed but their faces concealed in photographs. In September 1999, Daft Punk reinvented themselves as robots, playing the game of the famous 1999 bug:
"We did not choose to become robots. There was an accident in our studio. We were working on our sampler, and at exactly 9:09 AM. on September 9, 1999, it exploded. When we regained consciousness, we discovered that we had become robots."
This new incarnation was more or less inspired by the persona of Andre Lewis AKA Mandré, an American funk artist from the 1970's who had his face covered with a robot mask.
Their second album, 'Discovery', was released in 2001. Its lighter and poppier sound marked a departure from the more orthodox sound of the first album. It featured collaborations from vocalist Romanthony, DJ Todd Edwards and DJ Sneak. In 2003, Daft Punk released their full visual depiction of 'Discovery' with 'Interstella 5555', an anime/manga space opera conceived by Leiji Matsumoto (from the highly popular 1970's anime series 'Albator', 'Space Battleship Yamato' and 'Captain Harlock').
2005 saw the release of 'Human After All'. The third album release retained their trademark Daft Punk sound, but more Electro oriented. However, criticism was less tender regarding this opus, made in 6 weeks, and builded around musical improvisations. Their movie 'Electroma', inspired by the 'Human After All' experience, was released in France, but projected only a limited number of times.
10 years of cult hits and rarities were released in the anthology 'Musique Vol 1 1993-2005' in April 2006. After the popular 'Alive 2007' tour and the release of 'Electroma' in DVD, the duo is now free of contractual obligations with EMI.