Much like the title of their biggest hit, Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay of Justice are excited to make new fans "D.A.N.C.E." When PAPER catches up with them at Kilby Block Party, they're in the middle of doing just that — telling us backstage that one of the most exciting recent occurrences of their nearly two-decade journey has been reaching new, more diverse fans. "The world has changed, not always for the best," de Rosnay tells us. "But in terms of the audience, there’s a positive change we can see in the sense that, we feel, when we meet audiences, they’re a lot more diverse than they used to be in terms of everything. And that feels amazing, to see that the music that we’re making in our living room three years ago can connect with so many different people."
Last April, the pair released their first new music in eight years, receiving rave reviews for finding the balance of staying true to their sound while also collaborating with the likes of Thudercat and Tame Impala's Kevin Parker (the latter of which nabbed them a Grammy) to continue to evolve. Speaking of collabs, earlier this year they earned their first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 for their work with The Weeknd on his blitzy track “Wake Me Up.”
Below, right before they stunned a packed Salt Lake City crowd with vibrating speakers and a stunning light show, the French electronic duo spoke to PAPER backstage about picking up Grammys, working with The Weeknd, and what it was like to return to fans after nearly a decade away.
You recently released a remix EP of different versions of your track “Afterimage." Was the live reaction to the track the reason you wanted to share different versions?
Xavier: Yeah, actually, the remix that we put out is the live version that we play. The live version that we play every time we play a show, so it’s something we had to remix anyway more than a year ago. After doing the single, we had the remix. We released it. But we never think that something deserves to be released, other than if we liked it or not. And we think it’s fun so that was good enough for us to release it.
How has it been to get back in front of audiences after almost a decade? What does it feel like to be back?
Xavier: It’s good because the world has changed, not always for the best, but in terms of the audience, there’s really a positive change that we can see. When we meet audiences, they’re a lot more diverse than they used to be in terms of everything. That feels amazing, to see that the music that we’re making in our living room three years ago can connect with so many different people and ultimately, even if we do music based on our tastes and everything, it’s amazing to witness that people from any age, country, gender, anything can connect. People very different from us, actually. That’s the best reward for us.
Earlier this year, you won the Best Dance/Electronic Recording Grammy for "Neverender." What did receiving that accolade mean to you?
Xavier: It’s great to be Grammy-fied. It’s great for us for a lot of reasons and we’re not obsessed with awards ... [but] the Grammys, because as French people, even for us, we knew what it was before working in the music industry. It’s a ceremony, it’s like the Academy Awards and it’s something everybody knows. We never imagined one day we’d win a Grammy for any reason, so it’s great. When you get a prize like this [it means] a bunch of people are celebrating a record or an artist. It doesn’t mean it’s the best record of the year, and sometimes when you don’t win, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have the best record of the year. So for us, that level of praise is recognition from peers and sometimes from the audience, it depends on the award ... [but] it feels good.
You recently worked with The Weeknd on "Wake Me Up." How did that collab come about?
Xavier: Abel called us a long time ago, because we were still working on our album. I think it was in maybe ‘21 or early 2022 or something like this. But he called us because he was starting to work on his album and he had this very simple idea but it connected with us. He wanted us to make an intro that was orchestral, something that would reference classical music. We found it fun to work on the maybe two, three minute songs that had orchestra and a bit of synth. And then, naturally that song developed into the other half of the track that’s a bit more poppy, but yeah, we just liked the idea.
What are you some of your favorite recent live memories now that you're able to get in front of fans with new music again?
Gaspard Augé: Especially in the first festivals and venues we played last year, just to see that the new tracks had as much impact, or even more, than the golden nuggets, the older hits. It felt great. The first two gigs we played last year at Coachella ... just to see that we had the positive reaction on the new tracks was very rewarding.
What can fans expect next from Justice?
Gaspard: There’s always something cooking in the Justice kitchen. We’re going to tour until the end of December and then we’ll see what’s coming. But definitely something is coming.
Photography: Eric Tra
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