Justice (French band)
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| Justice | |
|---|---|
 Gaspard Augé (left) and Xavier de Rosnay
|
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Paris, France |
| Genre(s) | Electro house, dance-punk |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Label(s) | Ed Banger |
| Website | Justice at MySpace |
| Members | |
| Gaspard Augé Xavier de Rosnay |
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Justice is a French electronic music duo consisting of Gaspard Augé (b. 21 May 1979) and Xavier de Rosnay (b. 2 July 1982).,[1] They are the most successful group on Ed Banger Records,[2] and are managed by the label's head, Pedro Winter. Their debut album † was released in June 2007 to critical acclaim.[3] It was later nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Electronic/Dance Album" and came in at number 15 on Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2007[4] and number 18 on Blender's "25 Best Albums of 2007" list.[5] Justice is known for incorporating a strong rock influence into their music and image.[6][2]
Contents |
[edit] History
.jpg/180px-Gaspard_Augé_and_Xavier_de_Rosnay_(Justice).jpg)
Justice first produced tracks together for Musclorvision's Hits Up To You, a concept compilation where tracks were meant to sound like they were meant for the Eurovision song contest.[7] The compilation included two of their songs, and a track by Gaspard's alter-ego Microloisir.[7] Justice first came to prominence through their 2003 remix of Simian's track "Never Be Alone," created for a Paris college radio station's remix contest.[6] The remix resulted in the group being signed to Ed Banger (who released it) and became a hit in clubs and on the internet.[6] The song was re-released in 2004 on DJ Hell's International DeeJay Gigolo Records[8] and eventually given a commercial release in the UK in the summer of 2006, under the title "We Are Your Friends," on Ten Records, a sub-label of Virgin Records.
After the original release of "Never Be Alone", Justice worked on remixes[8] for a number of French groups (Vicarious Bliss, Scenario Rock, Gambit) as well as for larger mainstream acts such as Britney Spears,[8] N*E*R*D,[8] Fatboy Slim[8] and Daft Punk.[8] Justice's first solo single, "Waters of Nazareth", was released on Ed Banger Records in September 2005 and was championed by DJs such as Erol Alkan, Tiga, 2 Many DJ's and Ivan Smagghe. The track was re-released in 2006 with additional remixes. The duo's prolific remix work continued, as they turned in mixes for Franz Ferdinand, Mystery Jets, Soulwax and Mr. Oizo.
Justice won the award for Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2006, for Justice vs. Simian - "We Are Your Friends". Augé and de Rosnay were not present at the ceremony, and the award was accepted by label art director "So Me" and video director Jérémie Rozan. So Me was famously interrupted mid-speech by rapper Kanye West, who went onto the stage arguing that he should have won the award instead.[9]
Their debut album, titled †, was released on Ed Banger Records on 11 June 2007. The album was released in the United States on Downtown/Ed Banger. The album was preceded by the D.A.N.C.E. EP, released on 28 May 2007, which featured the tracks "Phantom" and their own remix of "D.A.N.C.E." titled "B.E.A.T". "D.A.N.C.E." was nominated for "Video of the Year at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. On the first of November Justice received the "Video Star" award at the European Music Awards in Munich and also picked up the best French act of the year. Justice was chosen to do a mix for the Fabriclive series in 2008, but Fabric rejected it. Xavier de Rosnay said that, "[t]hey weren't ready for something like this." Now titled "Justice Xmas Mix," the mix is available on the web.[10] Justice's second submission to Fabric will be released as Fabriclive 40 in June 2008.
Justice appeared as a Live PA at the 2007 Coachella festival, the Fuji Rock Festival in Niigata, Japan, the Hultsfred Festival in Hultsfred, Sweden, the Oxegen festival in Kildare, Ireland, the Vieilles Charrues Festival in Carhaix, France, the Roskilde Festival in Roskilde, Denmark, Pukkelpop, in the "I LOVE TECHNO" festival in Ghent - Belgium. Dour Festival in Belgium and the Lowlands festival in The Netherlands, also at Tennents Vital in the Radio One TentBelfast and at the Phoenix Park Marquee in Dublin. Justice's performance at Coachella in 2007 was their first ever live music performance per se. The band's performances before Coachella had seen them DJ using either turntables or CD mixers.
Justice was nominated for Best Dance Recording (for D.A.N.C.E.) and Best Electronic/Dance Album (for †) at the 50th Grammy Awards.[11]
The video clip for "Stress" was boycotted by several TV-stations for being "racist", so the band dumped the video on YouTube where it was seen by 14,000 people within 24 hours after having been posted on 1 May 2008. The video soon garnered much attention in the French and international press. The music video features a group of young men, a number of whom are black, committing acts of vandalism, battery, and destruction of property while wearing matching jackets with the album cover art on the back.
[edit] Musical style
Justice is known for their blend of rock music and Electro house.[citation needed] Their music uses a heavy amount of synthesizers, often focusing on the bass sounds. They also use vocals for some of their songs, almost using the them as instruments of their own.[citation needed] Their music also seems to use a heavy amount of syncopation in the various beats for their songs. Their music has also been known to use keyboards and bass guitars on numerous occasions.
Equipment used by Justice in their productions include an Apogee Ensemble Recording Interface, the Power Mac G5, GarageBand software, and Cubase SX.[citation needed] Their Live setup includes a JazzMutant Lemur Input Device as their main instrument, plugged to Ableton Live. [12] They have also been seen using Pioneer's CDJ-1000MK2 turntable and Korg's microKONTROL midi controller live.[citation needed]
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[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Title | Release date | Chart positions | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| † | 11 June 2007 | UK #49, Australia #61, CMJ Radio 200 #5, CMJ RPM Chart #1,FR #11 | Downtown/Ed Banger |
[edit] EPs
| Year | Title | B-sides | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Never Be Alone" (Vs Simian) / "Steamulation" (Vs Gambit) | Espion - "Anything Is Possible" (Château Flight Remix), "Anything Is Possible" (Château Flight Bonus Beats) | 12" | Ed Banger Records |
| 2004 | "Never Be Alone" | Remix by DJ Hell | 12" | International DeeJay Gigolo Records |
| 2005 | "Waters of Nazareth" FR# 88 |
"Let There Be Light", "Carpates" | 12" | Ed Banger Records |
| 2006 | "Waters of Nazareth" (Part 2) | Remixes by Erol Alkan, DJ Funk and Justice feat. Feadz | 12", CD | Ed Banger Records / Because Music / Vice Recordings |
| 2006 | "We Are Your Friends" UK #20 |
Remixes by Lee Cabrera, Radio Slave & Spencer Parker, Milke and Edison | 12", CD | Ten Records |
| 2007 | "Phantom" | Limited edition promo, backed with 27-second preview of "D.A.N.C.E." | 12" | Ed Banger Records |
| 2007 | "D.A.N.C.E." UK #48, ITA #41, FR # 11 |
"B.E.A.T, D.A.N.C.E." (Extended), "Phantom" | 12" | Ed Banger Records / Because Music |
| 2007 | "D.A.N.C.E." Remixes | Remixes by Jackson & His Computer Band, MSTRKRFT and Alan Braxe & Fred Falke as well as a live version | 12" | Ed Banger Records / Because Music |
| 2008 | "DVNO" | Remixes by Justice, Surkin, Sunshine Brothers, LA Riots, & Petits Pilous" | 12", CD | Ed Banger Records |
[edit] Remixes
| Year | Artist | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Vicarious Bliss | "Theme from Vicarious Bliss" |
| 2003 | Gambit | "Steamulation" |
| 2004 | N*E*R*D | "She Wants to Move" |
| 2004 | Scenario Rock | "Skitzo Dancer" |
| 2005 | Britney Spears | "Me Against the Music" |
| 2005 | Death from Above 1979 | "Blood On Our Hands" |
| 2005 | Fatboy Slim | "Don't Let the Man Get You Down" |
| 2005 | Daft Punk | "Human After All" |
| 2005 | Soulwax | "NY Excuse" |
| 2005 | Mystery Jets | "You Can't Fool Me Dennis" |
| 2006 | Franz Ferdinand | "The Fallen" |
| 2006 | Mr. Oizo | "Nazis" |
| 2006 | Justice | "Waters of Nazareth" |
| 2007 | Justin Timberlake | "LoveStoned" |
| 2007 | Justice | "D.A.N.C.E." |
| 2007 | ZZT | "Lower State of Consciousness" |
| 2007 | Klaxons | "As Above, So Below" |
| 2007 | Metallica | "Master Of Puppets" |
| 2008 | Justice | "DVNO" |
| 2008 | Justice | "Stress (Auto Remix)" |
| 2008 | MGMT | "Electric Feel" |
[edit] Other work
The Justice track "D.A.N.C.E. (MSTRKRFT Remix)" was used in the motion picture Meet the Spartans.
The Justice track "DVNO" was featured in the motion picture Hitman.
The Justice track "One Minute to Midnight" was featured on the 2005 French compilation Toxic.
Xavier de Rosnay worked with label-mate SebastiAn on the Ed Banger's All Stars Remix of "La La Land" by Play Paul, which was released in July 2006 and has also produced for friends/label connectees Poney Poney.
The Justice track "Phantom Pt. 2" was used in the Telus television advertisement titled "Meet Awesome" from their fall 2007 advertisement campaign. This track is also used as the theme music for Football Italiano on Five (UK).
The track "Genesis" was featured on UK TV Channel ITV1's advertising of the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix in 2007. It has also been featured in commercials for the Cadillac Escalade in January 2008 and in an episode of Doctor Who Confidential documenting the episode "The Doctor's Daughter".
The track "Waters of Nazareth" was used in a commercial for the online music service, Rhapsody.
They appeared on The Album Chart Show on 11 February 2008 at KOKO.
Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly recently covered "D.A.N.C.E." on an NME CD free with the magazine.
The track "Waters Of Nazareth" is featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV on the "Electro-Choc" radio station.
The track "Waters of Nazareth" is featured in the game 'Gran Turismo 5 Prologue' for the Playstation 3
The track "D.A.N.C.E." is played in the popular clothing store American Eagle.
The track "Waters of Nazareth" is in the television advertisement for Randy Jackson Presents America's Best Dance Crew (Season 2)
[edit] Music videos
- Justice vs. Simian - "We are Your Friends" (dir. Rozan & Schmeltz)
- Justice - "D.A.N.C.E."(dir. Jonas & François)[13]
- Justice - "DVNO" (dir. So-Me)
- Justice - "Stress" (dir. Romain-Gavras)
[edit] Awards and nominations
[edit] Nominations
Grammy Award 2008
- Best Short Form Music Video - "D.A.N.C.E."
- Best Dance Recording (for D.A.N.C.E.)
- Best Electronic/Dance Album (for †)
- Video Of The Year - "D.A.N.C.E."
[edit] References
- ^ Eric Dahan: Que justice soit fête. In: Libération, 7 June 2007, online
- ^ a b http://www.residentadvisor.net/feature-read.aspx?id=821
- ^ Justice: Cross (2007): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
- ^ Pitchfork Feature: Top 50 Albums of 2007
- ^ The 25 Best Albums of 2007 :: Blender.com
- ^ a b c French Electronic Dance Music - New York Times
- ^ a b [1], t.
- ^ a b c d e f http://www.residentadvisor.net/dj-profile.aspx?id=865
- ^ EMAs Shocker: Kanye Stage Invasion! | MTV UK
- ^ Pitchfork article http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/47956-update-rejected-justice-fabric-mix-turned-xmas-gift
- ^ 50th Annual Grammy Awards Nominations List http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/50th_Show/list.aspx
- ^ Sterling, Scott T. (2007-08-01). Cross Examinations. Remix. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
- ^ Music video and interview with directors Jonas & François and art director So_Me
