Thomas Bangalter – one half of French electronic duo Daft Punk – has opened up about the reasons the duo’s split. 

Also starring Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christom, the act formed in 1993 and released a run of four hit albums before parting company in 2021. 

While no reason for their separation was given at the time, in a new interview Thomas reveals what compelled the masked duo to go their individual ways.  

“Daft Punk was a project that blurred the line between reality and fiction with these robot characters,” he told the BBC. “It was a very important point for me and Guy-Man[uel] to not spoil the narrative while it was happening.”

He added: “Now the story has ended, it felt interesting to reveal part of the creative process that is very much human-based and not algorithmic of any sort.”

Another reason he gave was changes in the technological landscape, with the musician citing real-life rise in artificial intelligence as a concern.

“It was an exploration, I would say, starting with the machines and going away from them,” he shared. “I love technology as a tool [but] I’m somehow terrified of the nature of the relationship between the machines and ourselves.”

Admitting their desire to distance themselves from such advances, he added: “My concerns about the rise of artificial intelligence go beyond its use in music creation. I almost consider the character of the robots like a Marina Abramović performance art installation that lasted for 20 years

“As much as I love this character, the last thing I would want to be, in the world we live in, in 2023, is a robot.”