Justice
A remix contest entry, a cross for an album title and a children’s choir: how Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay built Justice and won three Grammys along the way.
- French duo of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, from Paris, active since 2003.
- Signed to Ed Banger after a remix of Simian’s “Never Be Alone”, later released as “We Are Your Friends”.
- Debut album † (Cross, 2007) with “D.A.N.C.E.”; three Grammy wins, the latest in 2025 for “Neverender” with Tame Impala.
Justice gave French dance music a harder edge. In 2007 the Paris duo’s debut album, a record with a cross for a title, ran disco bass lines through heavy distortion and added a children’s choir on top. Almost two decades later, Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay are still releasing albums and collecting Grammys.
A remix contest and Ed Banger
Augé and de Rosnay have worked together as Justice since 2003. Their break came that year with a remix of Simian’s “Never Be Alone”, made for a remix contest on a Paris college radio station. It got them signed to Ed Banger Records, the label Pedro Winter, aka Busy P, founded in Paris in 2003. Retitled “We Are Your Friends”, the track became a club hit, entered the UK chart at No. 20 on its 2006 release on Ten Records, and its video won Best Video at the 2006 MTV Europe Music Awards. Their first single on Ed Banger, “Waters of Nazareth”, had come out in September 2005.
Cross: distortion and a choir
The debut album came out on 11 June 2007 on Ed Banger and Because Music. Officially untitled, it is shown as a cross: †. Recorded in Paris in 2005 and 2006, it was conceived as an “opera-disco” album and built from samples and micro-samples drawn from around 400 records, from The Brothers Johnson to the theme of the film Tenebre and, uncredited, Boney M.’s “Sunny”. De Rosnay later pointed out that under all the distortion, the bass lines are basic disco patterns.
“D.A.N.C.E.”, released in April 2007, was a tribute to Michael Jackson sung by a London children’s choir, the Foundation for Young Musicians. It topped the UK dance chart and reached No. 11 in France, and its pop-art video by Jonas & François, animated by So Me, won Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards. The album reached No. 1 on the US and UK dance album charts. At the 50th Grammy Awards it was nominated for Best Electronic/Dance Album, and “D.A.N.C.E.” for Best Dance Recording. “DVNO” and “Stress” followed; Romain Gavras’ video for “Stress” (2008) was banned from French television.
Grammys, Audio, Video, Disco and Woman
In 2009 Justice won their first Grammy, Best Remixed Recording, for their remix of MGMT’s “Electric Feel”. The second album, Audio, Video, Disco, came out on 24 October 2011, and the third, Woman, on 18 November 2016. Its reworked companion, Woman Worldwide, won Best Electronic/Dance Album in 2019.
Hyperdrama and Tame Impala
After a seven-year gap, Hyperdrama arrived on 26 April 2024 with two collaborations with Tame Impala, “One Night/All Night” and “Neverender”. “Neverender” won Best Electronic/Dance Recording at the 67th Grammy Awards in 2025, and the album was nominated for Best Electronic/Dance Album. In 2025 the duo also worked with The Weeknd on “Wake Me Up”, the opening track of Hurry Up Tomorrow.
Where Justice fit
Justice belong to a Paris line that runs from Daft Punk and the French touch to Ed Banger; our history of French electronic dance music traces it. At those 2008 Grammys, Cross shared the Best Electronic/Dance Album shortlist with Shiny Toy Guns’ We Are Pilots, whose “Le Disko” got a Boys Noize remix from the same electro wave.
FAQ
Who are the members of Justice?
Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, from Paris, active as Justice since 2003.
Who sings on D.A.N.C.E. by Justice?
The London-based Foundation for Young Musicians choir. The song is a tribute to Michael Jackson.
What is Justice’s first album called?
It is officially untitled and shown as a cross (†), so it is usually called Cross. It came out on 11 June 2007 on Ed Banger and Because Music.
How many Grammys has Justice won?
Three: Best Remixed Recording in 2009 for MGMT’s “Electric Feel”, Best Electronic/Dance Album in 2019 for Woman Worldwide, and Best Electronic/Dance Recording in 2025 for “Neverender” with Tame Impala.
