The famed electro house duo open up about their 2024 album and the challenges of touring live.
In the mid-'00s, songs like "D.A.N.C.E." and "We Are Your Friends" emerged as stadium-sized anthems during a new wave of electro house that weaved in elements of rock and disco. The architects behind these hits were Parisian duo Justice, AKA Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay. Together with their Ed Banger contemporaries, they rode a craze that took over airwaves and dance floors, alongside peers like label founder Busy P and the late DJ Mehdi. Their first album, Cross, quickly became a classic, helping to establish Ed Banger as the flagbearer for French electro. Justice went on to tour a dynamic live show with spectacular lights and visuals, and later released two more albums before taking an eight-year hiatus and largely disappearing from the spotlight.
Last year, Augé and de Rosnay returned with their fourth studio album, Hyperdrama, which features a GRAMMY-winning collaboration with Tame Impala. Referencing indie rock and early '90s hardcore techno, the LP sparked a revived interest in the duo—if you watched last year's Olympics in Paris, 18 minutes of their music featured in the closing ceremony.
In this RA Exchange, Augé and de Rosnay talk to Resident Advisor's editor, Gabriel Szatan, about being back on the road and balancing touring with family life, a rhythm that hasn't felt natural to them after so much time off. They open up about dealing with technical issues and making mistakes when performing, despite having played countless iterations of their live shows. The conversation also touches on their earliest influences—like gaming culture and bands including the White Stripes, and how they've cultivated such a dedicated international fanbase. This episode was recorded over the course of multiple backstage conversations. Listen to the episode in full. -Chloe Lula