Justice caught up with NME at Glastonbury 2024, and opened up about fans’ response to new music, what goes into their live show, and the one thing all their collaborators have in common. Watch the interview above and read the full chat below.
The French electronic duo, comprised of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, spoke to us backstage at the Worthy Farm festival, shortly before they took to the West Holts Stage to headline the final night (Sunday, June 30).
The interview came following them sharing their fourth album ‘Hyperdrama’ in April, which also marked their first new material in eight years. Looking at the time since they shared the LP – which they said themselves was not meant to be fully absorbed the first time around – they revealed that they have actively tried to avoid public opinion.
“It’s difficult for us to talk about this album because, even though it’s been out since late April, we haven’t really seen any feedback,” de Rosnay told NME. “We didn’t read the press reviews or go on the internet, so the only feedback we’ve had is from those inside [our inner circle]. For what it’s worth, it’s not very accurate feedback either! Honestly, we don’t really know how people have perceived it.”
“We have gotten some visual and audio feedback from the live shows though, and we’re very happy to see that the new songs are working well there,” Augé added, before de Rosnay explained how they adapt the songs for their gigs.
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“In a way, the live show is almost like the opposite of the album, in the sense that we want the live show to be digestible in one go. Everything is meant to be a bit simpler and more straightforward when we play live, but ideally, we want our albums to give you new surprises with every listening session,” he explained.
“We don’t want all of it to be fully legible the first time around with the album, but at the shows we don’t really care if you even know our music; we just want it to be catchy and fun.”
Later in the interview, the duo also looked back at the star-studded run of collaborations on ‘Hyperdrama’ – joining forces with Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, Thundercat, Miguel and others. Reflecting on their time working with the artists, they revealed the one thing each had in common that made them the perfect fit for the project.
“When we work with other musicians – and this was the case with Thundercat, Kevin, RIMON, Miguel and The Flints – the first thing is that we have to love their music. Their voice too because we ask them to sing on the record. Most of them are also producers and instrumentalists, but it’s the voice that we’re really looking for,” said de Rosnay.
“What they all have in common is that they are very independent in the sense that all of their projects are almost like a one-person band. Even when they work with other people, they’ll write, they’ll play on the songs and they’ll produce them,” he continued. “Even if their music is very different from Justice, it’s that which gives us common ground.
“We know that when we listen to Tame Impala or Thundercat, everything [of theirs] sounds a bit different – but we can hear that we have the same goal in music. That’s very important to us because you can be with the best singer in the world trying to make music, but if there’s not a common goal and a common sensitivity, it’s not going to produce anything good.”
Looking forward to more potential collaborations they have in mind for next time around, they said that there are still numerous artists they have “stored in a compartment in our minds” for upcoming projects. However, they also shared how they know that the process can’t be forced.
“There are a lot of people that we have discovered, but there’s also been a handful of people that we tried to work with but it didn’t materialise. Sometimes it’s just not a good time. For example, with Miguel, we were trying to make music with him for six or seven years before we made the ‘Saturnine’,” de Rosnay said.
“Sometimes it takes a couple of trials because before it works out… But yes, there are some new artists and some more established artists that we love and we’re hopeful we can work with.”
Justice’s headline set at the West Holts Stage was given a four-star review by NME and praised for having “stagecraft that speaks loud and clear for itself”. “The light show is utterly bedazzling,” it read. “The stage adorned one minute with TV screens that pop like flash bulbs and then lasered with red beams that resemble something you’d expect to encounter up at Arcadia.”
Following their upcoming run of festival appearances, Justice are set to head Stateside for a run of US tour dates. The shows will kick off on July 25 with an opening slot in New York City and end in Chicago on October 23. Visit here for remaining tickets.
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