Justice teams up with director Andre Chemetoff to create a live show without an audience
The new video by Justice is being hailed as the “video to end all videos.” IRIS: A Space Opera by Justice is an hour-long compilation of all the most well-known tracks from the French duo.
For years now, the two frontmen from Justice, Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, have been searching for the best way to capture their live show in a film. After filming many of their live performances and editing those projects into various films they found themselves unsatisfied. They decided to take a different route.
In 2019 they devised a plan to create and film a live show without an audience. Taking inspiration from Pink Floyd’s 1972 show: Live at Pompeii, the duo saw this as a way to closely control the aesthetics of the film and create a visual world for their music to live in. Unlike Live at Pompeii, Justice’s Space Opera was set in a studio and the focus is on lights and instruments rather than the producers. Augé and de Rosney are intentionally shrouded in darkness as they move around all of the audio equipment in order to help place the emphasis on the music and its creation rather than the band.
Once they had the concept in place, the two producers set out to find a team to help them bring the idea to life. They teamed up with director, Andre Chemetoff along with long-time collaborator and light designer, Vincent Lerisson to compose the Space Opera. The video borrows visual cues from Stanley Kubrik’s 2001: A Space Odyssey but it is largely based on the aesthetic and evolution of their live show over the past ten years.
Watch the behind-the-scenes video below to get more of a feeling about how the project came together.
The result is a stunning light show which encapsulates a decade of Justice’s music. A space opera. A light show that was conceived in much the same way that Justice’s music was: with precise attention to detail and dramatic effect.
“For me, ideally it should be projected onto a dome” explains de Rosnay when explaining how he imagines the film should be consumed. “You’re lying in the grass and you watch it and zone out. It’s that kind of experience.”
Watch IRIS: A Space Opera in full below and if you are suitably dazzled by what you see, head over to the Justice shop to buy a hard copy.
Tracklist:
0:00 – Safe and Sound x D.A.N.C.E.
7:24 – Canon x Love S.O.S.
11:52 – Genesis x Phantom
16:37 – Pleasure x Newjack x Helix x Civilization
21:43 – Heavy Metal x DVNO
26:03 – Stress
31:31 – Love S.O.S.
35:31 – Alakazam ! x Fire
41:17 – Waters Of Nazareth x We Are Your Friends x Phantom 2 x Alakazam !
46:16 – Chorus
51:35 – Audio, Video, Disco
57:26 – Close Call
