Justice
If you don’t know who Justice are then either dance music could not be less your thing, or you’re a member of the Taliban and been hiding in the Afghan mountains for the past ten years (perhaps you’re still there, Osama?). Back in 2003, Frenchmen Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay were nothing more than a newly formed production duo, making songs for Eurovision-inspired concept compilations and submitting tracks to radio competitions. It was one of those tracks, a remix of ‘Never Be Alone’ by obscure Manchester indie band Simian, that set them on the path to superstardom.
The influential Ed Banger label picked up on the track and released it in 2004, gaining the attention of DJs and critics worldwide. The track first penetrated the underground scene, becoming a favourite in the revived indie disco climate of the mid 00s, before it was given a commercial UK release in 2006 on Ten Records, re-named as ‘We Are Your Friends’ and released under the name Justice Vs Simian. The billing of Justice not simply as remixers, but as artists on a par with Simian set them up for their own run at the industry, having released their debut ‘solo’ track ‘Waters of Nazareth’ the previous year. It also convinced Simian to ditch being an indie band entirely, and undergo a thorough rebrand – they’re now Simian Mobile Disco.
The mainstream success of ‘We Are Your Friends’ led it to becoming a club favourite, driving kids into states of ecstasy, and reducing final-year students to blubbering emotional messes (trust us, we’ve seen it happen). A re-release of ‘Waters of Nazareth’ followed, whipping up a frenzy of expectation ahead of their debut album.
The speaker-destroyingly loud and symbolically titled † was released in 2007, described by the band as an opera-disco concept album and containing both ‘Waters of Nazareth’ and their catchiest and most successful song to date, ‘D.A.N.C.E.’. The sound of the album demonstrated the band’s love for trance and disco, but incorporating elements of the heavy rock of the 70s and 80s. The band themselves don’t look like electronica artists, probably fitting in more comfortably with The Strokes than Hot Chip.
Justice were a feature of almost every major European festival in 2007, with huge crowds gathering to see the duo perform behind their trademark illuminated cross. Their live sets incorporate their own material with their seemingly endless catalogue of remixes, including but not limited to remixes of Franz Ferdinand, MGMT, Daft Punk and Britney Spears.
After seemingly being everywhere for a couple of years after their debut album, the band retreated to work on new projects, including the soundtrack for Quentin Dupieux, aka Mr Oizo’s film Rubber (it’s about a killer tyre, obviously). The band announced their return in early 2011 with a new single ‘Civilisation’, and the promise of an album release by the end of the year.
As you might have been able to tell from the weather, the end of the year is upon us, and the band have managed to live up their promise, releasing second album Audio, Video, Disco this week. The album continues to see the duo blurring the line between rock and electronica, with the band describing the sound as being slightly ‘softer’ than on their debut.
Justice’s rise from being amateurs to international superstars seems to be continuing with their second effort, with the band regularly featuring in fashion magazines and in global advertising campaigns, and all on the back of adding a funky bass line to an indie track. It’s amazing what a good remix can achieve.
Links
Videos
Civilisation
Franz Ferdinand - The Fallen (Ruined by Justice)
D.A.N.C.E.