Wolfgang Flür (Kraftwerk) fooled by Daft Punk impersonator
Former Kraftwerk member Wolfgang Flür duped by fake Daft Punk star into album collaboration
Wolfgang Flür, iconic member of Kraftwerk from 1973 to 1987, has fallen victim to a bizarre hoax involving a fake Thomas Bangalter – one half of the electronic duo Daft Punk. The impersonator tricked Flür into what he believed was a legitimate collaboration for his new album “Times”, released on March 28, 2025.
The album features real contributions from electronic pioneers like Boris Blank (Yello), Peter Hook (New Order), and Juan Atkins. But two tracks – “Monday to the Moon” and “Über All” – were falsely credited to Thomas Bangalter under the alias “Thomas Vangarde”.
Check the two falsifications below.
The deception started with a message Flür received on Facebook. The sender, posing as Bangalter, praised Kraftwerk’s influence on Daft Punk’s iconic robotic aesthetic and requested a signed copy of Flür’s 2022 album “Magazine 1”. Flattered by the outreach, Flür invited him to collaborate on a space-themed track. The impersonator responded with audio material that Flür and collaborator Peter Duggal then worked into their compositions.
The ruse went undetected for over two years.
A representative for Daft Punk finally set the record straight on March 31, 2025 – just days after “Times” dropped – stating that Bangalter had no involvement in the project and does not use the alias “Thomas Vangarde”.
PSA: recently a "Thomas Vangarde" was credited on Wolfgang Flür (of Kraftwerk)'s latest album, and it was assumed/reported that this was an alias of Thomas Bangalter. This is confirmed false!! Unfortunately it is not Thomas of DP on the project and news otherwise is inaccurate 💔
— Artie 🍉 (@sodasprouts) March 31, 2025
Even more puzzling: the supposed collaboration had already been public knowledge since February 2023, when Flür detailed it in an interview with Blitzed Magazine. In that conversation, he described how the connection started and praised the supposed Bangalter’s warmth and professionalism. Yet no one close to the real Thomas Bangalter flagged the claim or intervened.
Neither Flür’s team nor the label, Cherry Red Records verified the contributor’s identity. The hoax, which persisted for more than two years, was only debunked after the tracks were officially released and media interest spiked.
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