The band was formed in Providence, Rhode Island in 2011 by electronic musician Nicolás Jaar and multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington, both of whom were students at Brown University at the time.

[1][9][10] Jaar has described the project as blues-oriented and more guitar influenced than his previous work, stating in an interview with i-D magazine that Darkside is "the closest thing to rock & roll I've ever done.

"[13] The duo debuted their live show in December 2011 to a sold out crowd at Music Hall of Williamsburg, stretching their three-song EP into an hour-long set.

[15] Pitchfork has credited the project with allowing Jaar to transition forward into a "proggier and more narcotic-sounding" space while still maintaining his unique aesthetic, in part due to Harrington's influence.

[17][18][19][20] The project, which was uploaded to a SoundCloud account under the pseudonym DaftSide, is a remix of Daft Punk's 2013 album Random Access Memories in its entirety.

[21] The remix album received positive reviews from critics and was described as "a dark, nearly industrial romp through a disjointed abandoned disco" by Death and Taxes.

[28][29] "Golden Arrow", the album's first song, was made available as a free download on August 23, 2013 via the band's website and Jaar's label Other People.

[43][44] On January 8, 2025, the band debuted the single "S.N.C", and revealed the cover art and release date of their third studio album, Nothing, out February 28 via Matador.

[45] The nine-track album is described on the group's Bandcamp page as "nine transmissions of negative space, telepathic seance, and spectral improvisation" which "[reflect] a search for form borne out of spontaneous elliptical jams, acoustic riffing, and digital levitations" and "[slip] through the cracks of convention with serpentine guitars, extraterrestrial static, and cavernous drums".