1987–2000: Early years and Daft Punk formation Bangalter met Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo while attending the
Lycée Carnot in 1987. 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." They and
Laurent Brancowitz eventually joined to form an
indie rock trio called
Darlin', in which Bangalter performed bass guitar. Bangalter felt that "It was still maybe more a teenage thing at that time. It's like, you know, everybody wants to be in a band." which inspired Bangalter and de Homem-Christo's new band name. Vangarde was thanked for his efforts in the liner notes of
Homework. The title of the album is partially attributed to the fact that
Homework was recorded in Bangalter's bedroom. As he remarked, "I had to move the bed into another room to make space for the gear." Bangalter's solo works were released on two vinyl-only EPs titled
Trax on da Rocks in 1995 and 1998 respectively. The songs "Outrun", "Extra Dry", and "Turbo" from the EPs later appeared in the video game
Midnight Club II. The track "On da Rocks" was featured in a "
Da Funk" behind-the-scenes video included with
D.A.F.T.: A Story About Dogs, Androids, Firemen and Tomatoes. Bangalter collaborated with
Alan Braxe and
Benjamin Diamond and in 1998 released the club hit "
Music Sounds Better with You" under the name
Stardust. Just as for
Homework, the single was recorded in Bangalter's home studio. 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. "Gym and Tonic" became a number one single in the United Kingdom shortly after "Music Sounds Better with You" had peaked at number two in the same chart. During 1998, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo collaborated with Romanthony in what would become the first of the
Discovery sessions. In 2005 Daft Punk released their third studio album,
Human After All. As de Homem-Christo noted, "Every album we've done is tightly linked with our lives. [...] The internal, personal stuff Thomas went through during
Human After All made it closer to where he was at the time". Bangalter was the sound effects director for the 2009 film
Enter the Void, his second work with filmmaker
Gaspar Noé following
Irréversible. 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. Bangalter instead provided various clips of drones and ambiance for the film to be accompanied by music by other artists from the 1960s and 70s. He is billed in the credits as sound effects director, and the film features his track "Désaccords" originally composed for
Irréversible. In 2010, Bangalter and Homem-Christo were admitted into the , an order of merit of France. The two were individually awarded the rank of
Chevalier (knight). In 2011, Bangalter directed and choreographed a short film featuring
Élodie Bouchez that served as an advertisement for the fashion line
Co. A year later, Bangalter scored the short film
First Point directed by Richard Phillips and starring
Lindsay Lohan. In 2013, Bangalter and Homem-Christo released their fourth studio album,
Random Access Memories. 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. 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. In June 2017, Daft Punk also produced and co-wrote a single for the Australian electropop band
Parcels. Bangalter was one of the producers on
Arcade Fire's album
Everything Now, which was released in July 2017. In 2018, he worked with Noé again, providing two tracks for the film
Climax, including the previously unreleased “Sangria.” He also co-produced and co-wrote two tracks from
Matthieu Chedid's 2019 album
Lettre infinie, while also mastering the album. 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. Bangalter's label Roulé was liquidated the same year. The remaster released on 28 June 2019.
2021–present: Daft Punk disbandment and solo projects On 22 February 2021, Daft Punk released a video announcing their disbandment. 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. Friend and collaborator
Todd Edwards clarified that Bangalter and Homem-Christo remain active separately, and that Bangalter in particular was looking into potential solo projects. The two still share a studio and equipment. In July 2021, it was announced that Bangalter's first major solo project following Daft Punk's split would be providing the score to a French ballet titled
Mythologies, presented by Ballet Preljocaj. The 90-minute ballet, premiering in July 2022, features direction and choreography by
Angelin Preljocaj and original music by Bangalter, with musical direction by Romain Dumas. The ballet premiered at the
Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux, with the show having plans to tour. An album version of the score was later announced for release on vinyl and CD in April 2023 by
Erato Records, in conjunction with a new solo label from Bangalter called Alberts & Gothmaan. 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. He noted that he would eschew his robotic persona, citing concerns in AI and technological developments: "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." 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. In July 2024, a ballet, entitled
Apaches, premiered with choreography by Lehlouh and music scored by Bangalter. In November 2023, Bangalter worked with the artist
JR and choreographer
Damien Jalet on an art project called
Chiroptera presented in front of the
Place de l'Opera. Bangalter composed music for the project, with Jalet choreographing over 150 dancers in a cavernous art structure. It was performed to the public for free twice on the evening of 12 November. The soundtrack was released in June 2024 on digital platforms and released on vinyl in August via
Because Music. Alongside the finished music of the performance, a nearly six-hour track of raw music by Bangalter from the
Chiroptera sessions was released as well. 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. Bangalter would provide music to a ballet choreographed by Jalet in 2024 called
Mirage. After meeting Kunihiko Morinaga collaborating on
Mirage, Bangalter composed original music for Anrealage's fall 2025 and spring 2026 shows for
Paris Fashion Week. The work would be released as a solo album from Bangalter in June 2026. Bangalter composed the original score for
Quentin Dupieux's film
Daaaaaalí! which premiered at the 2023
Venice Film Festival and had a wide release in 2024. Bangalter's music was released on streaming services and on a limited 10" vinyl via
Ed Banger Records in February 2024. In 2022, Bangalter was seen in the studio with rapper
Lil Nas X. In November 2024, Lil Nas X released the single "
Light Again!" written and produced with Bangalter. In 2023, it was reported that Bangalter would appear on two tracks of the solo album
Times from former
Kraftwerk member
Wolfgang Flür. The tracks, released in March 2025, supposedly featured Bangalter under the name "Thomas Vangarde" alongside
Peter Hook. However, it was revealed after the album's release that the person Flür had collaborated with was an online imposter impersonating Bangalter. In April 2025,
Sons of Raphael released the main theme to the
Amazon Prime Video series
Étoile. Both the theme tune and a
B-side were produced by Bangalter and released under his Alberts & Gothmaan label. Bangalter was cast in the film
Chien 51 directed by
Cédric Jimenez. It is his first acting role in a film other than a cameo in Quentin Dupieux's 2014 film
Reality. In October 2025, Bangalter was announced as a surprise performer alongside
Fred Again,
Erol Alkan, and
Pedro Winter at
Because Music's live show at the
Centre Pompidou before its closing for renovations. It was Bangalter's first public DJ set since 2009. In February 2026, Bangalter was announced as a special guest performer at Fred Again's closing show of his two-day residency at
Alexandra Palace in London during his USB002 Tour. The performance was Bangalter's first public DJ set in the United Kingdom since 2007, when Daft Punk performed at
Wireless Festival during their Alive 2007 Tour. Bangalter featured on
Orelsan's album
La Fuite en Avant, released on 7 November 2025. Bangalter worked on the track "Yoroï", the title track for the French film of the same name starring and co-written by Orelsan. Following their collaboration on
Chiroptera, Bangalter will reunite with JR on another art installation,
La Caverne du Pont Neuf. The Installation will consist of converting the
Pont Neuf into a cavernous structure, in homage to the 40th anniversary of
Christo and Jeanne-Claude's work,
The Pont Neuf Wrapped. Bangalter will compose music for the event, and the installation will be free and open to the public from 6 June through 28 June 2026. That same month, on 8 June 2026, Bangalter and
Cédric Hervet, Daft Punk's creative director, will participate in a live Q&A session following a 4K rescreening of the 2006 film ''
Daft Punk's Electroma'' that will premiere at
Tribeca Festival for the film's 20th anniversary. On 20 June 2026, Bangalter will work with French-Swiss conceptual artist
Julian Charrière and German DJ and producer Rampa to present another art installation,
Warehouse Artefacts, taking place during
Art Basel at
Messe Basel. The collaboration integrates the experience into the broader cultural agenda of the fair, linking modern art with electronic music in a common environment. ==Personal life==