Daft Punk: in "Society", a survey on "the last years of this extraordinary group"

INTERVIEW

Why did the world's best-known French electronic music duo split up, and isn't it just a crackdown?

After its series on the Dupont de Ligonnès affair, this summer the magazine

devotes its investigation to the separation of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, announced last February.

Guest of Europe 1, Wednesday, Grégoire Belhost, journalist and co-author of "

", returned behind the scenes of the investigation of

.

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"As if the circle had come full circle"

"This is a subject on which we have been working for several months with my colleague Raphaël Malkin". The idea for this investigation arose shortly after February 22, when Daft Punk released the video announcing the end of the group. "We wanted to understand the last years of this extraordinary group, the best known French group and by far the most influential internationally," explains Grégoire Belhost. "We wanted to tell about this period of the last few years."

At the Grammy Awards in 2014 in Los Angeles, Daft Punk won five awards, including album of the year, record of the year and best pop performance. So why this separation, when the group was at the top? In its investigation

formulates two hypotheses. "Maybe they felt artistically like they had come to the end of something with their latest album,

, because they had funk and disco musicians playing, the same ones they played. 'they liked to sample years earlier,' explains Grégoire Belhost. "It's like coming full circle with this record."

Another interesting hypothesis, that linked to the evolution of a music industry in which they no longer have their place. "This is the story of a group moving forward in an era that is changing," continues the journalist. "Daft Punk have been around for almost 30 years, and it is true that with their robot appearance and the fact that they create electronic music, they always seemed to be an embodiment of the future." However, in recent years, the Daft Punk seem to have preferred to look behind them. "The most striking example is

, which has something really nostalgic about it."

The largest group of the 21st century is French, and it broke up last February.

As of Thursday, find 15 breathtaking pages on the last years of Daft Punk, since under the helmets, there were humans, after all.

pic.twitter.com/8WeNNacRIh

- Society Magazine (@SocietyOfficiel) July 27, 2021

"From now on, it will be necessary to follow their solo trajectory"

Is this separation final? Is it even real, or can we hope for a communication blow before a potential return? "Even their relatives were very surprised", answers Grégoire Belhost, adding that the former collaborators questioned for the investigation affirmed not to have had wind of the news before its announcement. "It's an astonishing group, a fascinating group which has always known how to renew itself and which has always known how to handle a bit of the opposite," he continues. "But me, I think the group is really finished, it will now be necessary to follow their solo trajectory."

On Tuesday, the Opéra National de Bordeaux announced the upcoming arrival of a ballet whose music will be written by Thomas Bangalter. The entirety of this new show entitled

, and choreographed by the famous Angelin Preljocaj, will be developed by former Daft Punk.