Justice - Radio One Essential Mix 6.10.07

Justice one of the hottest electronic acts out of Paris since Daft Punk's emergence in the mid 90's. Justice took over BBC's Radio One this past weekend and rocked out for the whole of the world to hear simultaneously and live. Justice's set-list for the evening ended up being pretty eclectic; about 3/4 way through the two hour set it diverged into a realm of eclecticism typified with extremes such as a acoustic serenity and orchestral sonicscapes. Which to an uninformed ear might illicit a 'so what?' but once you become familiar with Justice's signature style of filter-house and glitch-rock you will begin to understand how unique and unprecedented a set like this from a seminal electro group really is.

Their set started off fairly standard with house's ode to the disco sound of yesteryear. It began innocuous enough with a track from earth wind and fire which then proceeded in Janet Jackson's "What Have You Done For Me Lately" and Prince's "Earthquake". What came next is the true testament to Justice's skill on the tables... a rapid fire of successive albums from DMX crew, Daft Punk, Busy P, France Gall, and Justice's own "Valentine" culminated the mash-up mini-run. The tone was set... the order of the night was house. Alan Braxe, M83, I Robot, Hall and Oates, Chic, Dj Medhi, Kavinsky, the Klaxons, and the list goes on.

Besides their excellent choice in records the actual technical prowess of the duo was on display and in full effect all night. The seamless transitions between Chromeo's "Tenderoni" and Tepr's "Minuit Jacuzzi (Data Remix)" were flawless. The duo juggled the two tracks on different BPM cycles flawlessly without dropping the beat or creating that drowning effect that is all too common when house producers and Dj's try something as complicated as that. The highlight of the evening was a live version of their number one dance hit; aptly called D.A.N.C.E. The raw energy behind the remix had countless fans dancing in their flats, houses, clubs, and cars worldwide.

The set as a whole flowed inexplicably well regardless of genre or beat. The duo made everything work including such odd choices from the likes of Joni Mitchell, Modest Mussorgsky, and Jamelia. The duo once again proved themselves in yet another environment. Check out Justice's newest 12" "Waters of Nazareth" or their first feature length album "†" (aka the symbol [of the cross]).

-James (Postal)

Check the set here.