By Lieu Pham
Justice’s Gaspard Auge and Xavier de Rosnay are not sleeping too well these days. The French duo prefaced the interview with an apology that they were sleep deprived and still working in their studio. Considering their current status, it’s no surprise that they’ve become quasi-insomniacs. Since the ubiquitous remix of Simian Mobile Disco’s You Are Not Alone. Justice have been inundated by requests to apply their aesthetic to songs by Britney Spears, Franz Ferdinand, Soulwax, N.E.R.D., Daft Punk, Scenario Rock, just to name but a few. They have just recently released their much-anticipated and symbolically titled album «†». The guys chose the cross symbol because they saw the parallels between music and religion –”we like the feeling it evokes, people can go into a trance when they dance, just like when they are being religious”, explains Auge.
Justice’s debut album, which features the heady house single Waters of Nazareth, is a brilliant interpretation of electro-rock: jarring electro synths injected with cues to pop culture and featuring the surprise nostalgic rewind. The gratifying difference between this album and their remixes is that the album is structured like a story. One track moves fluidly to the next, all songs unique from each other but still cohesive as a collection, like chapters which have been masterfully edited by the author.
To the world, Justice seemed to break out of nowhere and their acceleration to fame was extraordinary as We Are Your Friends become an dancefloor anthem across the globe. To the accidental dance act, their success was unexpected and very slow to the uptake. “It took four years from when we first released We Are Your Friends”, explains Auge, “it was really the beginning of the Ed Banger label, I think it stayed very underground for almost three years.” Surprised by the track’s success, the French dance outfit were encouraged to produce more remixes and their own album. “We weren’t really into dance music at the time” explains Auge, “We just wanted to do electro things, we like electro music because it’s part of pop music.”
Auge and de Rosnay first met at a party when they were asked to do a parody of the Eurovision contest by producing a ‘hit’ for their friend’s compilation. With a boombox and a sampler, they produced a tribute to the Buggles, which Auge admits was “rubbish”. However it was good enough for the boys to recognise that they should do music together and in 2003, operating under the name “Justice”(a name easily translated to English), the duo remixed the Simian Mobile Disco track Never Be Alone which caught the attention of Pedro Winter (the Manager of electro act Daft Punk and also the boss of Ed Banger Records). It was then picked up in 2004 on DJ Hell’s International DeeJay Giggolo Records and was eventually given a commercial release on Ten Records (a sub-label of Virgin Recors) in 2006 and was re-named We Are Your Friends. “It’s funny because the Simian mix was made for a remix contest for the launch of a College Radio in Paris as sort of a joke” says Auge of Justice’s success. “At the time, the Simian guys didn’t like the song …now we are releasing our albums at the same time!” When asked whether there exists an animosity between the two groups, Auge is quick to bat away any suggestion of rivalry. “We’ve met them a couple of times since and we have become friends…there is no anger.”
Remixing a hit can be a diplomatic minefield. The blacklash can be harsh. For Justice, making people happy isn’t a priority. “Yeah, we really don’t care about making a hit, or making something danceable. It’s kind of like a playground for us, the artists are a bit surprised by the remix we give them. We’ve received no direct feedback apart from Franz Fernidand who said they were happy with what we did but it’s not something we are really worried about. We just want to keep free to do what we do.” Perhaps its their disregard for the musical egos of others which makes Justice so good at their craft. Gone are the days when remixing was considered a lower form of musical talent, and sometimes even considered an injustice to the original composition. Today, remixing has become somewhat of an artform, with groups like Justice, raising the bar much to everyone’s appreciation.
Regardless of the fact that Justice’s music is primarily based on sampling, remixing and editing, they have injected a much-needed freshness into the repetition of the current dance scene acts. Humbly, Justice denies bringing anything new to the arena. “It’s impossible to come up with unheard style” claims Auge. “Everything is a revival….since the fifties, nobody has come up with anything original.” Auge describes Justice’s style as merely a blend of their favourite sounds. “We are definitely not trying to make a revolution, we are not underground…we are just trying to blend all our influences…without thinking too much about creating something new.” Not in any danger of taking their music too seriously, Justice’s main aim is to create pop music. “We are not offering anything unique, explains Auge, “We are just trying to make the disco of 2007.”
To promote «†», Justice will bring their disco to Australian shores this September. Audiences should expect a show of epic proportions. “We have built our own synthesiser, it is really big and we are controlling with it with machines.” The guys are keen to learn more about our musicians too. “We don’t know that much about the Australian scene but we are really into Midnight Juggernauts…they are really the most exciting band we have been listening to for years”, says Auge enthusiastically. “We also like the Presets, we toured with them last year. So yes, we are looking to visiting Australia.”
