Re-Braxe-ation

A wonderful surprise for us here in San Diego, Alan Braxe, a member of the French house scene and one of the major influences on post-French house electronic music, will be spinning at the El Dorado Bar. It's important for me to be there, so I will be, and I hope you are as well. In order to get me (and you) ramped up for it, here's a couple of his songs, both favorites of mine.

Shakedown - At Night (Alan Braxe Remix) (alt)
Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (Alan Braxe Remix) (alt)

Running On Empty

I know I am, but so is Justice.

Lenny Kravitz - Let Love Rule 2009 (Justice Remix) (alt) REMOVED CUZ THEY TOOK THE POST DOWN

So far this year, more misses than hits for them, though I liked their influence on this one:

Birdy Nam Nam - The Parachute Ending (Produced by Justice) (alt)

Heavy Hit(ters)

Well done, boys. LAFriendly, big ups on this one.

U2 - Get On Your Boots (Justice Remix) (alt)

Justice - A Cross the Universe

It's not easy being breezy, beautiful, cover boys. I mean . . . people love to hate them, and they love to love them. I'm not 16, but I still love them. Order the DVD HERE. Trust me it's good; I haven't seen it yet. ;)

Justice x Metallica (ALT) A Cross the Universe CD

NY Excuse (Soulwax/Justice Remix) (ALT) A Cross the Universe CD

P.S. I did not get NY Excuse from KidzbyCorrupt ;)

Justice - A Cross the Universe

I can't believe the phenomenon that has become Justice. In 2005, a girl I once dated always had Justice in her top four myspace friends. I remember upon my initial listening, I gave it maybe twenty seconds and then proceeded to turn that crap off. It was only shortly later that I came upon Justice through mutual musical friendships, and then I clearly saw how special these guys were. I remember the inception, for myself, for my friends, and to those strange people (namely DJs at local indie nights that HATED Justice ;) :) ;) ) that just didn't get it, and it's amazing to think where they are now. Justice is in a totally different environment today, with a successful maverick album under their belt. My favorite and only next question begs: What will the following album sound like, seeing the time of the Banger is fading out, if not altogether taken upon a different dynamic? This is an exciting question.

Watch this video and read the following article related on Justice. Apparently, the whole world will, now, undoubtedly turn against them . . .

inthemix.com.au


"Currently on the promo trail for their new live DVD/album A Cross The Universe, French electro fiends Justice have made a rather frank – and quite possibly costly – admission in an interview with MTV… They didn’t clear all the samples included on their 2007 debut album †! “If you listen to Genesis, the first track [on †, there are samples of Slipknot, Queen and 50 Cent,” Xavier de Rosnay asserted boldly. “But they are such short samples no one can recognise them. The ones from Slipknot, for example, are just tiny bits of the voice.”

Of course it’s no shock to hear a dance artist would choose to sample another musical act, the entire scene is built on the process of appropriating other people’s music. However it is strange that de Rosnay decided to reveal the exact source of their errant audio snippets, with fellow producers having been sued for copyright infringement for much less. “Sometimes we do also use big samples. On the album, we used three big samples that we had to clear, and all the rest are just impossible to recognise.”

Justice - D.A.N.C.E. 2.0 LIVE ;) ;) ;)

Justice - Two Minutes to Midnight (Live)

grace a ASNMANDAN

Symmetry Along a Cemetary Wall

"A horror of life, and an ecstatic joy in life."
--Baudelaire



In the early morning hours the owl by my house began to hoot. Still in my dream state I understood why the owl has traditionally been associated with the virtue of wisdom. The owl's call is an unchanging sentence of three parts, beginning with an introduction crescendo: hruu-oohh-aah, forming the catholic inquisition encompassing all the questions that had arisen thus far in my dream. The call then answers itself with two "hoos" which express the duality of all life, that to every question two responses can equally suffice. But I half-dreamt half-philosophized that I still was not satisfied. What did the owl mean to tell me? In my dream I hooted back, a call of my own: words, antonyms and synonyms, a rise in tone and a final, vocal punctuation mark. A few seconds followed, as though the owl were considering my statement, turning it over in his mind. In that time, I realized why the owl conversed only in the morning, the only time of day when dream and reality are not yet separate and distinct: in the time when you may confuse what actually happened with what you dreamed, the owl has furtively gained its place into personification that seems superior to other creatures. Now, the owl was ready for its final response. It answered in the same, three-part call it had opened with, but I understood what he meant: an answer is already contained in every question.

Check out how Yuksek reinterprets M83's pop song "Graveyard Girl." Now this is the kind of music I expect to hear in a graveyard.

M83 - Graveyard Girl (Yuksek remix)

Breaking news: Justice don't know who the Jonas Brothers are. WTF? No, but seriously, check out Pitchfork's revealing interview with Justice. They talk about how they don't consider themselves musicians by nature; because of technology they don't really have to write songs, just like they didn't have to know how to paint to be graphic designers. Or how they're not doing remixes except for friends (so that's what "We Are Your Friends" was about). So the question must be asked: what's up with their Stevie Wonder snippet (see: Mass Hyperbole, as if you haven't already).

Also dig this summer anthem: Aeroplane completely remix a Shortwave Set tune. Here in San Francisco, things are just heating up.

The Shortwave Set - Now 'til 69 (Aeroplane remix)

Button Your Pants

Justice seem to be up to something: they're immersing themselves in the fashion culture lately. After teaming up with Surface to Air to design the leather jackets and jeans that make their look so iconic, Justice have compiled a short mix for Dior Homme fashion show in Paris. In the mix, Justice supposedly drop one of their newest tracks: a so far unnamed, mysterious song that starts out with a Gothic-revival introduction of pianos similar to what worked so well with "Genesis" on †.

Justice - [as of yet untitled track for Dior fashion show '09]

I've also been digging this song the past few days. A remix of the Xinobi song "Day Off" by Anoorak. I can't tell you much about either of those names, so I'll let the song speak for itself.

Xinobi - Day Off (Anoorak remix)

Also, on a different note, last night I went to the Knockout to see a friend of a friend's band called The Muslims. It was a surprisingly good show: kind of a cross between Velvet Underground and Kings of Leon. My favorite song was "Beside Myself," with an amazing bass line that keeps the energy up for the shufflin of tha feets.

The Muslims - Beside Myself

Easy Does It

Cozy things like an old heater or covers from your childhood, your favorite spot on your pillow, they don't resemble very big highs like maybe riding in a Lamborghini does or a roller coaster or parachuting, what have you...they seem to beget a softness and an unconditional affection for your soul, whether you can attach those sentiments to those material things/memories.

Joakim - I Wish You Were Gone

Music possessing many of those sentiments sometimes both the highs and the coziness I mentioned, it can usually provide comfort and euphoria, and most especially satiate nostalgic leanings.

Justice - Sure You Will

Unfortunately, nostalgia can be opium for yours truly, and in that respect we should have to look forward to invent and reinvent in order to attach warmth and elation to other things, in this case, other music.

Wolf & Cub - One To The Other (Bumblebeez Remix)

Keedz

There are several hypothesis as to what is going on here. Recently, an "artist" by the name of Keedz popped up into the blog public. His only song "Stand on the Word" happens to use the same sample Justice used for their maybe not-so original song "D.A.N.C.E." I hope this is a future arch enemy that will play as the Justice Doppleganger. Keedz - Where's Phantom?


Keedz - Stand on the Word

Celestial Choir - Stand on the Word - Larry Levan Remix

Music In Media

Ok, as promised here is the Fred Falke remix of Lykke Li's "I'm Good, I'm Gone," fresh as this morning's baked baguettes. Since I last posted about her, Lykke Li has seen a surge in popularity (no correlation, right? nah), especially with the debut of her album "Youth Novels," so this remix couldn't come at a better time. And it's easy on the ears too.

Lykke Li - I'm Good, I'm Gone (Fred Falke remix)



The arrival of this anticipated remix gives me the excuse to write about something else that I've been noticing in the past few days: electronic music in the media. It seems like the kind of music we post about here, from Australia to Sweden and back, is starting to get picked up by those in high places. Songs I never thought I would have heard outside of my own room are popping up in the most peculiar places. I don't know if it's just coincidental or just a sign of the times to come. I have to admit, it gets me excited.

So, when else can you hotwire a car, do several drive-bys and get chased by the FBI all while cranking out the sweet sounds of Justice? I got a chance to play Grand Theft Auto IV this past week. Simply put, it's amazing. Just by chance I had recently noticed that on Kavinsky's site, he had advertised that "Testarossa" was featured on the "electrochoc" channel, so the first time I did my own hotwiring I immediately tuned in. I was thoroughly impressed with the tracklist and quality of mixing. To my surprise, searching for the ramps to drive my car off of, in addition to SebastiAn's remix of "Testarossa Autodrive," I heard "Waters of Nazareth" by Justice, "Tits & Acid" by Simian Mobile Disco. Albeit lo-quality, you can listen to the radio station yourself without playing the game here and here.

When I checked the tracklist on wikipedia, I was shocked to see names like Boys Noize, Bag Raiders and even Black Devil Disco Club. How the hell did Rockstar catch wind of Bag Raiders? Ah, then I saw that DJ and producer François K compiled the list. Still, it makes playing GTA IV that much more enjoyable. There are other quality songs on the other stations as well. I've heard !!!, LCD Soundsystem (while buying a chicken sandwich), Q-Lazzarus' "Goodbye Horses," and even Philip Glass (while getting into this epic six-star wanted level chase on the train tracks).



On Tuesday I was invited to go to a film at the SFIFF called American Teen. The documentary, directed by Nanette Burnstein, attempts to tell the story of the American High School Experience more realistically than its predecessors. The movie features a wide array of songs, but I did notice"Kids" by MGMT and "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You" by Black Kids.

Black Kids - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You

Sometimes when I'm bored I surf trailers and I recently caught an independent French film called Naissance des Pieuvres or in Engish, Water Lilies. The trailer features Vitalic's "Trahison." The trailer renewed my love for Vitalic and it looks like an interesting film itself that I will have to catch once it comes out.

Vitalic - Trahison

Only Joking!

As many of you know, Coachella kicked off today. Today's lineup is probably already closing, if not closed. Tomorrow, Youtube will be flooded with video footage and blogs will be blogging about all kinds of hype that went down. After Sunday there will be an untold number of videos of Justice, whose 2007 appearance was their first live show in the States.

There was a long period of waiting and teasing the virgin crowd. Just as the sun had set, Justice came on. The cross was lit. Many people in the crowd didn't even know who Justice were; emaciated scenesters from LA with really, really cool tattoos about meanings exclusive and unbeknownst to those that have no tattoos confidently told other emaciated scensters (...) "they're cool, plus they're from France, meaning they're not from the States." And other people knew well who Justice were, but had no idea what to expect from them. At that point in time, Justice had only a slew of remixes under their belt. Still, a slew, but they had produced no original material themselves. Close to two years of touring, what would they offer at Coachella?



Everyone there remembers it. For the people that were there, at the moment when Genesis dropped, it was impossible, it was music from another planet. In a word, ineffable. Genesis was not the only song never before heard. Their first "live show" consisted of their never before heard album. Unfortunately, and it is sad, that moment will never happen again.

Now to be anti-climactic. What may happen Sunday maybe exciting for many of the fans Justice have come to win over. SebastiAn's EP has recently been leaked, and in a different medium, Motor had leaked much earlier. Somehow I managed to end up here:


Justice have remixed Motor, least to mention Underworld, and it will probably be dropped Sunday. Why not? It turns out the best blog is Wikipedia. I've been careful not to use this word before, but Let There Be Night has exclusive news. Even Google can't compete.

Is Iron Man Real?

I've been seeing the Iron Man movie previews everywhere. And, unlike in cartoons, Iron Man in the movie looks real! So my question is quite simple, is Iron Man real? Have we been blind to his presence all along?

Lately it seems like we've been prone to post more about the female singers of the eclectro scene, and rightly so because thems some fantastic divas lately. But equally exciting are what the males have to offer. And they shouldn't be hard to find. Already this year there is a lot to be excited about, with new music from some big names, Jamie Lidell and Gnarls Barkley's Cee-Lo, but let's dig a little deeper.



Sam Sparro presents something of a paradox; he just may well be this generation's Eric Burdon. Despite his huge voice, when you take a look at his photos you might be surprised to find he's something of a, well, underfed, short haired, leaping gnome. But the fact remains, Sparro has an amazing voice and it is used well in "Black & Gold." If the rest of his tracks are as well produced as this, we can expect Sam Sparro to become more of a household name.

Sam Sparro - Black & Gold

This next one is an instrumental, but I like it better than what's getting a lot of exposure lately. Kelley Polar may not be a recognizable name either, but unlike most musicians these days he is classicly trained, having studied at Juilliard (though he was later expelled). His tracks are nicely polished, but gritty enough to be played on the dance floor, much like Matthew Herbert. If anything, from what I've heard from Kelley Polar's newest album I Need You To Hold On While the Sky is Falling, his songs are interesting to listen to. Dust off that disco ball, and check out this track.

Kelley Polar - A Feeling of the All-Thing

Finally, what would a post be without a monthly check up on our friends from the Justice Department? Justice must be hard at work on side projects, but that doesn't mean they can't keep turning out their own gems. An awesome video for the mediocre "DVNO" popped up recently. As is the case with all Ed Banger art and media content, this one is produced by So Me. What is clear about this video is that So Me and Justice are well aware of their demographic: kids who woke up every Saturday morning in the '90s to watch cartoons. The video references probably about twenty production company motion graphics that seeped into our subconsciousness after watching so much TV. The two ones not referenced that I can think of is DIC (the little girl saying it, and the logo coming through the window) and then after every Simpsons episode, the movie theatre where someone says "Shh," and the logo is shown on the silver screen. If I weren't lazy, I'd research every graphic animation because some of them seem to be on the tip of my tongue, especially the last one, which is a nice finale to the video: the Justice duo playing the piano together and flipping off a page which turns into a J. Enjoy!

Oh, Before I Forget

A new Justice track? Well, not quite, but close. Xavier de Rosnay, half of ubiquitous duo Justice, is the brains behind Poney Poney's production on their next EP single "Cross the Fader." And to some of you, this may not be news; De Rosnay has already layed down his production skills with their seminal song, "Junior." Not too hyped about the track? Don't be, but here's some food for thought: don't burn your bridges. Poney Poney are long time friends of Xavier de Rosnay, and through this relationship, Poney Poney has received VIP treatment from a man with the midas touch. "Cross the Fader" will be released March 10th on Perspex Recordings.

Poney Poney - Cross the Fader

Si Le Cœur Vous En Dit

I have to admit, lately, I've been watching, quite religiously, Lost. Albeit, three or four years after it first came out, but now that you can watch all three episodes online for free, I've been devoting a lot of my free time to catching up. This evening, after coming home from work, I decided it was the perfect time to watch another episode. By god, if it wasn't the best one I've seen so far. After Kate and Sawyer played the "I never" drinking game, I had to pour a drink myself: the only thing I had: vodka on the rocks. As the episode progressed, I started thinking. This show romanticizes so much. For one thing, the thought of surviving a horrific plane crash, then being stranded on an island. These things that I never thought would be inspirational, idealized or even desired. At my age, thoughts of "what will I do with my life?" or "how will I make my mark on the world?" haunt me almost constantly. Yet, watching Lost, it seems like if only I were stranded on an island with few provisions, along with no one I knew, then all those worries would disappear. The only thing that would be left of me would be survival, and that alone is important enough. It seems like once survival is no longer an issue, we become plagued with thoughts of fame, fortune, success, the stock market, fine dining, and immortality through art. If I were stranded on an island, life wouldn't be much easier, but at least I wouldn't have to worry about applying to goddamn grad school.

Halfway through it I understand the theme of this particular episode: to kill a man. Rather, the plight of those who have killed someone who by no means deserves to live, who has harmed your life so much that anyone would agree he must die. This is when I began to question it: do they really mean to romanticize this? Of course, not to say that they mean killing someone is the most heroic thing to do, or that it is right in any way; instead, do they mean to romanticize the plight of a killer without guilt? In the moment of the TV show, it seemed to me that coping with killing someone who deserved to die (as part of, say, a firing squad, or meeting the man who killed your family) was indeed something that deserved to be engraved by the art's chisel. And yet haven't I known sadness, guilt, loneliness and utter forsakenness? Haven't I known these feelings and realized that--though I've read about them in such a way that I have momentarily yearned to feel such emotions, romanticized in exactly the same way--they aren't feelings that should make one envious of those who haven't experienced such hardships, that romanticizing them is almost wrong, a crime even? It struck me that in feeling that to kill a person who deserved to die (never mind the implications of that statement) I was actually justifying this art that was false. I wondered, is it when art makes someone feel that something undesirable is in fact desirable, is that when it becomes kitsch, fake, completely unreal? Is it cheap when a show, a film, a poem makes romance at another's expense?



Now, on to music news. Over the past week word has been circulating the Net that Justice submitted a mix to Fabric and were rejected (mostly for reasons of length). Justice felt that their mix was so good that they sent it out as a Christmas gift to a select few in the industry, and now it's circulating the mp3 blogs. As with most things Justice, reviews seem to be mixed and I'm not totally decided one way or the other myself. However, the first ten minutes of the mix are pretty effing fantastic. Starting off with a tweaked Sparks' "Tryouts For The Human Race" (reviewed by Matt a few months ago) and flowing flawlessly into "La Serenissima" by Rondò Veneziano (see above).

It quickly becomes clear why this mix is marked with controversy. For instance, by about the twelfth minute Justice inserts The Korgis "Everybodys Gotta Learn Sometimes" (that one later covered by Beck) that is sure to leave most scratching their heads--makes it seem more like the mix for a high school dance. Nonetheless, though somewhat patchy the 40-minute mix is rife with classics, including Alan "The Paradise" Braxe's "In Love With You" and an awesome mashup of "TTHHEE PPAARRTTYY" and "Everybody Dance." Well, don't take my word for it; grab your copy from Redthreat:

Justice - Fabric Mix

Dreaming in mp3 Format

A few of weeks ago I had a dream that I received a call on my cell phone. I looked down at the caller id and saw "DatA"--the not-so-well known musician of Paris. I answered the phone and because I don't know what DatA looks or sounds like, I vaguely imagined on the other end of the phone was a woman shrouded in a black light, whose voice sounded vocodered. The rest of the dream I forget, but what bothered me--and persisted to bother me weeks after as I am only writing this down now--is how DatA, an obscure DJ that I only know about from mp3 blogs and songs like

DatA - Aerius Light

which I'm not even totally crazy about, made it into my dream. But I suppose that is how dreams work. Obscure pieces of our lives (and in this case obscure on two levels) somehow sink into our consciousness and surface as a telephone conversation.



I think the fun thing about surfing mp3 blogs and dedicating yourself to finding these exact obscure DJs, musicians and remixers is that, unlike major groups which everyone is aware of because of MTV and constant radio plays, you begin to feel some kind of unique connection once you find those lesser-known DJs that you like. As you see a certain name pop up more than once, and you happen to like what they put out, you begin to connect with them in a way you can't with other signed groups. You start scouring the net for remixes they might have done in the past or ones to come. Especially with remixes, which don't have release dates in the way that albums do, musicians can exceed your expectations or disappoint you on a month-to-month (or even week-to-week, depending on how prolific they are) basis. If one of these names is attached to songs which you consistently enjoy, you suddenly find that they are a piece of you, or perhaps they belong to you in a special way--in that way that Madonna could never be wholly yours, someone like DatA can.

Alan Braxe is one of those persons for me. Breakbot is another (surprise! both parisians). Like Braxe, Breakbot usually takes an electro-synth, repeats it and is able to set it to a funky bass rhythm. What normally lies at the heart of Breakbot remixes is this base line, but he also does some famous work with agreeable keyboard sounds. For example, notice the disco-feel that he gives to Justice's piece

Justice - Let There Be Light (Breakbot remix)

and additionally, DatA's

DatA - Aerius Light (Breakbot's rework)

My favorite remixes of his so far is this one that I just found while searching his name. It's a song by a London-based group called Arrow!!! I just can't get enough the bass in this one.

Arrow!!! - D.O.E.S. (Breakbot remix)



Lastly, one of Breakbot's original tracks Happy Rabbit, starts off with a tambourine and real live drums! which I might say is unprecedented for parisien DJs these days. Happy Rabbit is an apt title, something about this tracks makes me feel happy, especially in contrast with the typically heavier, ominous feel of Justice or Daft Punk.

Breakbot - Happy Rabbit

Justice For All

After much now-visible unnecessary deliberation, Alex, Albie and I have started up a blog. Alex proposed the idea to me, and I immediately thought it would be great as we all are caught-up in the many ongoing musical trends, blogs, and most important, musical acts. Albie, like me, thought the same, and we all joined our forces. We might be looking for another fellow blogger, but we haven't exhausted the idea.

As for the first proper entry goes, I thought it natural to allude to the artist who gave us inspiration and form to our blog name, Let There Be Night. I speak of none other than the current blog juggernaut and Parisian favorite Justice. An act that was accessible to only a few know-hows two years ago, Justice is now an immediate force known by many kids worldwide, whether indie, whether neu-wave, whether "I like it because everybody likes it." They have gained a wide acceptance from many faces, following their LP debut release † (Cross), and appear to stay here for good, at least for the time being.

2005: The second single from their first EP "Waters of Nazareth" is titled "Let There Be Light." Both singles, following the inescapable "We are Your Friends," create much buzz, much stir. True, in many senses, this was the real beginning of Ed Banger records, too, and the genesis to the Justice we all now know.



Justice - Let There Be Light

The most recent sound from Justice has been the much awaited remix of "As Above, So Below" from friends-across-the-pond, Klaxons. Originally, this song was due out several months ago on a Single Ep, but was canceled for unbeknownst reasons, and surfaced at a rather unexpected time, during the Justice world tour. Notable is the Human League sample of "Mirror Man" just at the very end. See if you can find it.



Klaxons - As Above, So Below (Justice Remix)