Thomas Bangalter rules out Daft Punk reunion
Thomas Bangalter has poured scorn on the idea of a potential Daft Punk reunion.
While their final album, Random Access Memories, which arrived in 2013 and topped the charts across the world, it took until 2021 for Daft Punk to confirm their split.
In 2023, Bangalter first opened up on the split, admitting, “Daft Punk was a project that blurred the line between reality and fiction with these robot characters. It was a very important point for me and Guy-Manuel to not spoil the narrative while it was happening.”
He also stressed, “We were always on the side of humanity and not on the side of technology… 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.”
Now, three years later, Bangalter still doesn’t want to return to being a robot and maintains that Daft Punk will not be reuniting for a money-spinning tour.
In a recent interview with The Times, when asked about a possible reunion with Daft Punk in the future, Bangalter delivered a simple one-word response, replying, “No.”
Bangalter elaborated on his stance, “I’m really happy that throughout our long run we were able to not screw it up. There are other things to explore.”
He also reflected on his post-Daft Punk life, sharing, “I was one of the robots, but now I’m just a human without any superpowers.”
Bangalter, who has embarked on a solo career since 2022, which began with Mythologies, an orchestral score for a ballet, discussed how he’s attempted to express a different side of himself since their split, admitting, “After Daft Punk, I almost took the resolution of saying, ‘I don’t want to program things.’ It’s a very tedious [means of] construction.”
The French musician elaborated, “Mythologies was a way to work with musicians and orchestra and instruments without any kind of technology.”
A Daft Punk reunion won’t be happening, but if their fans need a new music fix, then look no further than Bangalter’s latest album, Mirage: Ballet for 16 Dancers, which arrived on June 5th.
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