Justice For All

Paris, late afternoon, a living room in chaos. Gaspard Augé, of French electro duo Justice, reclines on a tatty sofa. From outside can be heard the drowsy bleat of rush-hour traffic, the faint patter of rain on pavement.

“This is not such a great neighbourhood,” sighs Augé, stroking an assiduously cultivated porn star moustache. “There are very many crack-houses nearby. When the crack addicts need some money, guess where they come?” He pauses. “Once, I saw a man killed just up the street. He was kicked to death. He was a junkie I think.”
Augé has lived here for the past five years, together with Justice partner Xavier de Rosnay. In the intervening period, Justice have graduated from clubland obscurity to electro-rock’s major league. “But we’ve never moved,” he says. “No opportunity. We’re hardly ever at home. People assume we’re really well off and live in a very pretty part of the city.”
He surveys the apartment, strewn with clothes, used coffee-mugs and disembowled chunks of electronic equipment.
“The reality is quite different.”
Augé credits Justice’s dizzying rise – just before Christmas they packed a 5,000 capacity tent in the Phoenix Park – in part to Kanye West. Last year, after Justice were named ‘Best Video’ winners at the MTV Europe Music Awards (for ‘We Are Your Friends’, their pounding collaboration with UK act Simian Mobile Disco), West, in a state of champagne-fueled agitation, crashed the stage. Grabbing a mic, he declared that unless he was handed the gong, the awards would have no credibility. Immediately, Justice’s name was up in lights.
“It was great for us because, before that, nobody had heard of Justice,” laughs Augé. “At those awards, there is always one big story. Usually, it will involve Madonna or Britney. And that year it was us.”
West has since apologised for his tantrum. Indeed, you can even trace his current infatuation with European electronica to the incident. Mortified by his antics, the rapper is said to have immersed himself in French techno, from which sprang his recent hook-up with Daft Punk.
Still, while Justice may be at the forefront of the continental techno-rock explosion (they're signed to the ridiculously hip Ed Banger label in Paris), their musical inspirations are decidedly unglamorous .
“We're into the mainstream pop music of the ’70s and ’80s,” explains Augé. “We love heavy metal and, in particular, we love Spinal Tap. If I could be in any band, it would be Spinal Tap.”
Justice have sparked a degree of controversy in electro circles because of their over the top stage show: they perform surrounded by Marshall amp stacks – a key piece of rock iconography – and against the backdrop of a huge flaming cross. The idea, says Augé, is to bring a sense of fun back to dance.
“When we started, a lot of electronic music was very serious, very moody. The big trend was minimalism, which didn’t have much humour. Our goal has been to introduce some humour.”
In these tumultuous times, you might think the adoption of a flaming cross as a logo – you'll also see it on the cover of their debut album – would stir up protest.
“Strangely, we haven’t had any complaints,” Augé proffers. “The other day I received in the post a mock-up of the cross in the style of how do you say, a Jewish star [Star of David]. So I think people of all religions are not offended by the concept.”

† is out now on Ed Banger