Introduction
Long time no see... A lot has happened since last time hasn't it ? I guess making this a monthly occurrence was a bit of an overshoot. But no issue, it is now back and will update whenever it feels like it (I do not have any control on my fingers, it's true, it's true).
Well, where to even start ! MITOBs are no more, Justice are gearing up to play in Miami this March, and the live album is on its way, alongside a movie ! Lots of exciting things for the near future... But what about the present ? The only space of real action, what can we do here to brighten the day of our fellow Justice fans and absolute devotees ?
March finally came and with it budding plants and a slight uptick in temperature, with one less layer to worry about. Soon we will bring back t-shirts and shorts with an added zest of nothing else, and isn't that exciting...
Well, in those warmer days, one of which I'm currently writing all this during, I'm reminded of various things. Justice's DJ set tour of summer 2022, bar outings with friends, and pearling sweat on the forehead of inspired fans. How can I use those fleeting thoughts of mine to write something that might interest you ?
Let's find out :)
- LesReptiles.
Paradise 18's Astrobox
Second edition of this recurring section, Today we will look into music you've probably heard before, but maybe never gave much attention. The theme is Justice in DJ sets, in three parts, let's go back to some exciting tracks Justice have played before...
Jackson and His Computerband - Pump
To start in style, a track from one of my favorite electronic musicians, Jackson and His Computerband. If you think French Touch 2.0 was born alongside Justice, You would in fact be... Mostly right. Bar from the fact Justice were inspired by other guys from the scene to make music the way they did. Guys like the infamous Mr. Oizo with his Moustache record, and, oh, Jackson ?
No, not Michael Jackson. Another type of Jackson, who's french, actually has Jackson as his first name, and makes music that sounds avant-garde even today. But I will develop more on that in a later section of this newsletter. For now, enjoy this track Justice started playing before it even had a title, as they loved it so much Jackson gave them a demo of to be played in sets !
J Paul Getto - Space Disco
If you've been to any gig of Justice's 2022 DJ set tour, Space Disco will be very familiar to you. Catchy, obviously disco, this track is probably the best way to start a day alongside a bowl a cereal, open curtains on a sunny city and a glass of fruit juice. It sucks you right in, with incredible chord and vocal chops, a buildup supplemented with a walking bass line, some nasty compression, and corny lyrics like Justice love. A true banger for the disco lovers, and the party goers ;)
The Rocketman - Pain
Now a bit harder, the very slightly progressive techno of The Rocketman with Pain, another heavy hitter of Justice's 2022 tour. Pretty punchy from the get go, this track is quite interesting to me for a specific reason : at 3:39, the proper addition of a syncopated chord hit contrasting with the preexisting acid-y bass line after having teased it in the first two minutes or so of the track. It gives the track groove I don't have the pleasure of hearing often despite the fact it is such an important component of a good techno track. The use of bass and chord as rhythmical drives always fascinates me, and here it hits just the spot. With only two additional notes per bar, Pain manages to do what many strive for. Bravo !
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Find all the songs played on the Astrobox in this convenient Youtube playlist, that I'll update with every new post !
Who lives on the Moon ?
I don't think it is groundbreaking or shocking information to you that Justice have friends (or is it)... Since their Musclorecords days, and snaking through the music industry after that, Xavier and Gaspard have made many friends and acquaintances, from simple artistic partnerships to much stronger bonds. Some are well known of the fandom, Like the involvement of Pedro Winter or So-Me/Bertrand de Langeron in their career, but other links and more so the works these people make stay hidden, or well-kept.
In this new recurring section, Who lives on the Moon ?, I will attempt to shed a light on the art of some of Justice's friends and collaborators, one or two at a time as to not make this newsletter a million words long ;)
For this post, we will look at a very influential person in Justice's career, avant-garde in his music making, a hidden gem of the "French Touch 2.0" scene.
Jackson Fourgeaud, born June 15th, 1979... Is a low-grade nepo baby. But it's okay, as his mom Paula Moore is more into folk, and him into experimental electro, and a bit before that, acid house. You'd think him on Record Makers maybe, or F Communications, but surprisingly Jackson ended up on Warp, home of artists like BoC, Aphex Twin or Hudson Mohawke. A big prize for the slightly insular french musician, who didn't know he was going to revolutionize his scene, (and probably still doesn't know he did).
After a few unnoticed EPs, Jackson released in 2005 his first of two albums, Smash, a true UFO in the electro landscape. It's music that takes its time, full of microsampling, bathing in an unsettling ambiance and so, so much reverb. Just like Justice's †, Smash was an album of experimentation, learning to make music with a computer without predefined expectations of what it needed to sound like, just a momentum fueled by an artistic drive and his inspirations.
Smash is a great album, toeing the line between palatable and too experimental, sustaining just enough groove to keep people hooked while he engages in many producing acrobaties. Spoken word, rap, short interludes with a singular but strong idea, anti-dance dance tracks, undefined complex amalgamations of sound... The most intriguing thing is that Jackson sometimes seems to try to make something we recognize, such as Fast Life, but it is just that weirdly executed.
Though the critics are mostly unanimous at that point : Smash was an ambitious project, a precursor of a style that was only beginning to bloom while he was already refining it and taking it further, exploring the many possibilities of microsampling and turbine as early as 2005. Justice but also people of the later generation like Myd or Ouai Stéphane have cited Jackson as a huge source of inspiration, revealing the timelessness and originality of Jackson's proposition.
In fact, Jackson makes a huge point of keeping artistic integrity and personality. Refusing to stray away from music despite his dwindling finances, yet abhorring the idea of making an album "to make an album", Jackson survived between Paris and Berlin by DJing and playing shows before and after Smash's release. He also did a few remixes for some of his friends, including the elephant in the room, his 11 minutes long D.A.N.C.E. remix, unfortunately so often regarded by the fandom as strange or unlistenable.
Weaving Justice's catalogue together by also including bits from Waters of Nazareth, Stress or Genesis (and most likely many more), Jackson interrogates us, for example on what the purpose of a remix should be, or how far from the original you can stray and still call it a "remix". Is it just a question of intention ? One thing's sure though, Jackson always tries his best to push all boundaries and explore new fields, as it is his main driving force.
And after 8 years of Smash's timid but satisfying reception, Jackson's second album, Glow, finally comes to light.
If Smash was a weird little alien, Glow is... The slightly less weird, adult alien. Furthering the proposition on the building bricks that was his first album, Jackson brakes a little bit to perform a well calculated turn towards something a bit more polished, understandable. With carrying singles such as the wannabe rock anthem G.I. Jane (Fill Me Up) or the destabilizing pop track Memory, Jackson raises from the ashes and cigarette smoke floating around in his field of view to align forms with deep intention and precision.
The grey scale and muted colors of Smash, a project that's a bit depressed and experimental, step aside to reveal something more conventional but also sinister, a white pocket of almost psychological horror conveyed through multiple genres Jackson greedily absorbs to make his own. Rock, pop, techno, house, Jackson walks on the grass lining of many roads, creating something deeply personal with each step... Before dumping entire buckets of reverb onto the print of his shoes in the dirt, transforming the experience into something almost transcendental by the creation of artificial space not unlike a cathedral. This unsettling, artistic maximalism reaches a rarely matched intensity on tracks such as Dead Living Things or Orgysteria, the first being almost a litany, a personal anthem of mental resilience, and the second displaying an orgasmic quality, exalted and almost breathless.
Jackson will then become Jackson and His Computerband, personifying his equipment into a living, pulsing thing with a personality of its own, adding to the horror and mystery of Glow.
...And since, what happened ?
Well, Jackson went on to give himself new challenges, in the form of experimental art & sound installations. He since left the realm of music to simply be listened to, joining the one of reflection and contextualization of his vision and practice. Smash and Glow were and will remain important pieces in the landscape, while the man is now nose deep in the strings of conceptualization, forever pushing further his limits and leaving for good the last few conventions he used to identify with. Jackson and His Computerband was merely a fraction of his voyage in the vastness of the sonic world... And I'm very grateful it existed <3
The new stuff, the new stuff, the new stuff
After this long dossier on Jackson, how about we go back on track a bit more, get a bit less experimental ourselves and look at some of the cool stuff that's been done in the fandom recently ? Let's go !
the_board - Corpus
Two anonymous writers teamed up to deliver their own vision of GasXav. Those who know, know, but for the others, let me tell you that this debut is not only fantastic in terms of lore and dynamics, but prefaces what probably will be the most exciting fic of the year. Fasten your seat belts, hold onto the headrest in front of you, do whatever you can to stay strapped because this fic has a lot in store and you will not look the same by the end of it. Sending all my kudos to the writers !
celsiusbydesign - South By Southwest
A 3 page comic with a nebulous meaning, but beautiful nonetheless ! As always, Celsius impresses with creative compositions and such a specific way to line and render, this time in muted pink and orange hues like a soft sunset before a chilly night. Additionally, I personally love the way the various states were drawn ;)
Hyperzine Vol. 7: Audio, Video, Tableau.
The seventh volume of Hyperzine is out, with the theme being a transformation of historical art pieces into Justice fanworks. Every participant gave their all as usual, it seems that every edition of Hyperzine looks even better than the previous one ! And for that, bravo everyone. You outdid yourselves and the result is fantastic !
DRAMAPOLICE
A bit less recent, but it'd be a shame not to mention this collaboration of many artists ! A huge 100-something pages comic fanzine dedicated entirely to Justice, with comics of course, but also interviews of fans, fake ad pages, and other cool stuff. A real-fake comic magazine (fake-real comic magazine ?) inspired by Métal Hurlant and Justice's own core inspirations.
@bbbntyy - "flopesque"
A very cute fanart by Célia of Xavier with a mustache ! He's a bit sweaty, but don't worry, it's just the weather ;) The pinkish red on white for shadows always works exceptionally well with her style, especially paired with the blues. Super nice !
@undecim_ign - Hyperdrama World Tour
A beautiful simplification of Justice's light rig, I love this slightly more abstract take on what a Justice show looks like. Xavier and Gaspard in the middle truly bring the piece together with the cross of light, framing almost everything in an inverted triangle for the pleasure of the eyes.
Conclusion
I want to thank everyone who took the time to read this third post of the newsletter ! And even those who skimmed through it, rolling their eyes at my lengthy tangents ;D Means the world to me that some people are interested by my writings however how much, and I hope you learned a thing or two !
For the next newsletter post, (that will happen sometime this year if nothing terrible happens), you can expect more Astrobox, a dossier on one or two other people living on the Moon, and some little fun facts about Justice you might not know about !
What's New on Paradise 18 ? Now you know. But the planet doesn't stop spinning !
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Parfois, la vie est meilleure sur Paradise 18. Quand les principaux fauteurs de trouble sont au cachot, le reste du peuple peut danser. Mais la menace persiste, les antagonistes se succèdent et, oh... Y survivrons-nous toujours ?