About the time Justice were finishing up their second album, Audio Video Disco, they mentioned that they wouldn't be doing any more remixes. This had me worried, because a big part of why I liked Justice so much was their remixes. Luckily, now that the French duo stopped touring, they've had time to get into the remix business again. For Boysnoize Records' 100th release, Justice have remixed "Ich R U" by Boys Noize himself, their first remix in 4 years. To commemorate, I've compiled a list of my favorite remixes from the past ten years, not including the remixes of their own material. So without further ado, here are my Top 10 Favorite Justice Remixes.
10: Klaxons - As Above, So Below (Justice Remix) (2007)
Justice really know how to make a good song even better. They've turned the original, a noisy but fun indie-rock number, into an instant disco-house anthem. The remix has a calmer edge than the original, but retains all the whimsy. The bulk of the song makes use of a cut-up sample from Chic's "My Forbidden Lover". It's the subtle, yet genius sampling that really makes this stand out.
9: Scenario Rock - Skitzo Dancer (Justice Remix) (2003)
This was Justice's first remix, and they've been playing samples of it live ever since then, mainly the voice loop at the end repeating the word "disco". It's a shame they don't play more of the actual remix, I bet it would go down awesomely live. This remix is reminiscent of early Justice (obviously), sporting a distorted bass right out of "We Are Your Friends" and bubbly videogame synths. It's a fun remix that's good to play when there's a war in your head and you're ready to disco. Disco, disco.
8: Daft Punk - Human After All ("Guy-Man After All" Justice Remix) (2005)
Daft Punk's third album Human After All was not well received by critics, but it left a lasting impression on dance music, inspiring a new wave of dark electro. Justice fit right in here, carrying little but the vocals onto their hyped-out version. This was one of the earliest hints of what Justice would sound like on Cross, transplanting disco elements like Ghostbusters synths onto a rock-meets-electro glitching beat. This stylish motif would later be implemented by labelmate SebastiAn (whose remix of this same track is also pretty darn good).
7: Mr. Oizo - Nazis (Justice Remix) (2006)
How do you even go about remixing Mr. Oizo? His style is so odd that no other producer could ever hope reach his level of addictive delirium. Justice comes the closest by far, on this remix. I expect that Justice listened to the original, thought to themselves, "There's no way we can touch this, let's do something completely different," and made this. The result is four minutes of deliciously insane noise. It's as if they took their Waters Of Nazareth, threw it in the washing machine, sprinkled it with Dupieux™ brand confetti, and folded it into a neat origami swan.
6: Justin Timberlake - LoveStoned/I Think She Knows (Justice Remix) (2007)
When this came out, the hipsters must have cried among themselves. Hey, if Justice remixed Britney Spears, they can remix whoever they want. Besides, Justin Timberlake is admittedly a pretty good musician. Even you don't like him, you'll still find something to like in this remix. Justice's brand of glitchy dance music goes hand-in-hand with Timberlake's suave vocals. The violins and piano are a nice touch, and who can resist that epic drop 3:29 minutes in?
5: ZZT - Lower State Of Consciousness (Justice Remix) (2007)
This is one of their more obscure remixes, and I have no idea why. The original song is pretty noisy, but Justice manage to make it even noisier. It's a bit like the Oizo remix except more refined and stylish. It's a bit harsh on the ears (there's that GRATING siren four minutes in), but if you don't mind that, this remix is amazing. It also contains a minuscule sample of a snare from "Billy Jean", a small touch that shows Justice's craftsmanship.
4: Lenny Kravitz - Let Love Rule (Justice Remix) (2009)
To create a new "2009 version" of Lenny Kravitz's "Let Love Rule", his management commissioned Justice. They couldn't have chosen a better duo for the job. Justice are big fans of Kravitz and similar rock music (an influence that would later turn up on Audio Video Disco), and they knew exactly what they were doing with this remix. They sped up the original track and added their signature touch - bassline, heavy kick, assorted melodies. They even throw in the saxophone solo for good measure. And the music video is clever as well, taking action movie credits to hilarious extremes.
3: Soulwax - NY Excuse (Justice Remix) (2005)
Soulwax are pretty good remix artists themselves, and Soulwax remixing Justice makes sense, but Justice remixing Soulwax? Luckily, Justice have a lot of fun on this one. The track opens with two minutes of chaotic beeping noises that join with the vocals and gather suspense until the beat drops. The rest of the remix is infectious, noisy, and bouncy, there's even an unexpected key change. When they were touring Cross, Justice played this one a lot live, and for good reason.
2: Vicarious Bliss - Theme From Vicarious Bliss (Justice Remix) (2003)
This is by far Justice's least aggressive remix. it's actually pretty calming. While I do like the original song and think it's underrated, there's a lot more to like about Justice's version. The nonchalant vocals fit surprsingly well, considering how the rest of the remix is shimmering with personality. The poppy style works really well for Justice. The best part of this remix comes in about a minute from the end, when the instruments suddenly vanish, and a brand new synth slowly fades in, resulting in a finale. It's reminiscent of Daft Punk's "Aerodynamic", I think. These remixes are all amazing, but my favorite of them all has to be...
1: MGMT - Electric Feel (Justice Remix) (2008)
The original is pretty hard to beat, but Justice manage to completely surpass it. This remix is what got a lot of people into Justice, because it's such a good indicator of what Justice does so well. Just when you think the remix is getting stale, Justice pull another trick from up their sleeves. While their style has been copied numerous times since five years ago, this remix still holds up today. It contains that Justice spark of originality that their fans know them for.
No comments:
Post a Comment