WHAT DA FUNK? FAMOUSLY UN-FAMOUS FRENCH DUO DAFT PUNK SPLIT UP!

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Daft Punk has split up. Has ended things. Called it quits. Called it a day. Broken up. Turned off the lights. Disbanded. Bid adieu. Said farewell. Are now officially defunct. (Or should that “de-funked”?)

“Say it isn’t so!” we hear you exclaim in a despondent, urgent tone. “It is so,” we sagely confirm.

The ground-breaking electronic French duo behind a string of masterful, landmark albums made over a span of nearly three decades, that earned six Grammy awards out of 14 nominations, and effortlessly crossed genres, announced the news of their split Monday with a video simply titled “Epilogue.”

In the video, the duo are seen walking across some desert flat. One ahead of the other. But gradually one of them starts to slow down, walking slower and slower, eventually stopping in his tracks, hanging his head in an exhausted gesture of defeat. The other realizes the other has stopped. He doubles back. The duo look at each, silently communicating for what seems an eternity. The video itself is actually excerpted from a 2006 film called “Electroma.”

Then the one that has slowed down removes his studded leather jack, and turns around to reveal a control panel on his back. The other one stares at it for what seems like yet another eternity. Then, he reaches for the control panel and flicks a switch. It’s for a timer, and it starts counting down from 60 seconds. The slower one starts walking away and the seconds count down. He stops at a safe distance. A moment later, there’s an explosion. He’s self-destructed.

And that’s it. It’s the end of an era. But as LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy once crooned, “Daft Punk is playing in my house.” We should amend that to “Daft Punk is still playing in our house.”

One thing haunts us about this announcement: We can’t help but think whether this is all just a stunt? And even if it’s not a stunt, is it only a matter of time until Daft Punk reunites? They seem to have put a whole lot of effort into this, which suggests maybe not a stunt. In any case, the video is a pretty damn cool way to make the announcement.

Au revoir, Daft Punk.