[4] They discovered their mutual fascination with films and music of the 1960s and 1970s, "very basic cult teenager things, from Easy Rider to the Velvet Underground.
"[12] They and Laurent Brancowitz eventually joined to form an indie rock trio called Darlin',[13] in which Bangalter performed bass guitar.
"[12] A negative review from Melody Maker magazine referred to their music as "a daft punky thrash",[14] which inspired Bangalter and de Homem-Christo's new band name.
[15] Shortly before reaching the age of 18, the newly formed Daft Punk became interested in electronic music, which led Brancowitz to leave the group in pursuit of efforts with fellow Parisian band Phoenix.
Bangalter collaborated with Alan Braxe and Benjamin Diamond and in 1998 released the club hit "Music Sounds Better with You" under the name Stardust.
[17] A different act called Spacedust released a re-recorded version of the track, titled "Gym and Tonic" under East West Records to wider commercial success.
A soundtrack album of the same name was later released featuring Bangalter's tracks as well as the works by Gustav Mahler, Étienne Daho and Beethoven used in the film.
According to DJ Falcon, Together had previously sampled "Valerie" similarly in their solo mixes prior to Prydz's track, but they had no intention to release it as a single.
[21] Bangalter was the sound effects director for the 2009 film Enter the Void, his second work with filmmaker Gaspar Noé following Irréversible.
[22] He initially had been approached by Noé to compose the soundtrack of Enter the Void, but Bangalter was preoccupied with work on the Tron: Legacy score at the time.
One of the collaborators on the album, Giorgio Moroder, recalled that the duo had a perfectionist approach; he had recorded his vocal contribution on multiple microphones despite the fact that only Bangalter would notice the difference.
[26] In 2016, Daft Punk produced and co-wrote two songs from The Weeknd's third studio album, "Starboy" and "I Feel It Coming," the former of which became the duo's first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
[31] Later in 2018, Alan Braxe and Benjamin Diamond revealed that they and Bangalter returned to the studio to work on a remastered version of "Music Sounds Better with You" for the song's twentieth anniversary.
[34][35] Upon request for an official statement regarding the disbandment, Bangalter released a handwritten note quoting the Daft Punk song "Touch" alongside a clip of the 1936 film Modern Times, in which one character tells another to smile before they both walk away into the distance.
[7] The 2022 film En Corps, directed by Cédric Klapisch, features a score by Hofesh Shechter with a brief contribution from Bangalter.
[41] During the promotion of Mythologies, Bangalter spoke to several news outlets about the solo project, Daft Punk's anniversary releases, and the duo's split.
"[42][7] When asked if he was renouncing electronic music entirely, Bangalter clarified that, while Daft Punk was a "thing of the past," he had no intention of permanently abandoning drum machines and synthesizers for future projects.
[43] The press release of Mythologies included a drawing of his unmasked face by Vulture Magazine illustrator Stéphane Manel, and contemporaneous interviews feature Bangalter without a costume.
[44][45][46] In July 2024, a ballet, similar to the performance, entitled Apaches, premiered with choreography by Lehlouh and music scored by Bangalter.
[47] In November 2023, Bangalter worked with the French artist JR and choreographer Damien Jalet on a unique art project called Chiroptera presented in front of the Place de l'Opera.
[50][51][52] JR and filmmaker Alice Rohrwacher co-directed a 2024 short film connected to the themes of Chiroptera titled An Urban Allegory which is scored by Bangalter's music for the project and choreographed by Jalet.
[65][66] In 2004, they took up residence in Beverly Hills, California, a decision attributable to Bouchez's Hollywood career and Bangalter's own interests in filmmaking.