Friday, June 15, 2012

Jus+ice: "D.A.N.C.E."

Juke Box Hero ends the week with a short rant and two videos from French electronica duo Jus+ice. If you'd rather dance than rock out to Jack White on Sunday night of Lolla, these are your guys.


Before I get into this nuts French electronic duo, allow me to start by ranting briefly about how hard it was to find this nice HQ video of them performing live. The pile of hand-shot garbage I had to painstakingly sift through was just maddening. It’s not enough that the quote-unquote fans shooting these block everyone’s view with their smartphones or cameras thrust in the air, but they’re subsequently gumming up YouTube with their shaky, distorted smut and making it more difficult to unearth quality reproduction. Snap a few photos if you need a visual memento from the concert (I’m guilty as any), but be discrete and then stow the device. And anyway, I don’t see how people can enjoy a show while constantly re-framing their phone’s viewfinder. Perplexing, annoying, unnecessary, unwanted. Rant over.

So Jus+ice. (The upper-case cross features prominently in the band's visual branding, though they don’t otherwise have an explicit religious persona or message.) The Paris-based pair of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay – kickass names, right? – concoct a Pink Floyd-on-Red Bull blend of electro house infused with epic rock hooks, heavy dance beats and the occasional funky children’s choir. Like School House Rock in da Club.

The boys are well-established in their own right after getting their start by creating wicked remixes, such as this tasty rendition of MGMT’s "Electric Feel":


For obvious reasons, they eventually caught the attention of Daft Punk manager and fellow Frenchman DJ Pedro Winter (aka Busy P) at Ed Banger records. You can’t ask for a much better launch pad than that.

These guys hit the major Euro festival circuit after breaking through with a few pieces of MTV and Grammy bling under their heavily studded belts. Augé and de Rosnay cut their live-gig teeth on massive stages -- you might have also seen them at Lolla 2011 -- and they should return to Chicago with a full head of steam after releasing their second full-length studio album, "Audio, Video, Disco," last fall.

The tragedy here is scheduling. The boys happen to have the same slot as Mr. White when they visit The City of Big Shoulders, performing on the Bud Light stage at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 5. (Jack White is on the Red Bull Soundstage at 8:15 p.m. the same day.) What is a conflicted festivalgoer to do? From the Third Man’s inevitably seething stage, I’m sure you’ll catch a couple of bass pulses from the Frenchies’ set, but if dancing is what you’re in the mood for, seek Justice rather than Jack. I’m sure he’ll understand.

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