Justice is a French electronic band formed in 2003 by the music duo of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay. The band has partnered with Because, Elektra, Downtown, Big Beat, Ed Banger, and Atlantic record labels throughout their career.
Justice broke into the limelight in 2003 with the band’s release of a remix of “Never Be Alone” originally owned by the defunct Simians. The remix was meant for a college radio station remix contest in Paris. Fortunately, it drew the attention of Ed Banger records who released the song under its label.
The band’s first release “Never Be Alone” became a sensation as it was one of the top songs played at different gatherings in Paris. Justice has been in existence for about 2 decades and has won awards for both their songs and choreography.
Justice has always raised debates about being a Christian band. With the band’s logo showing a cross and many of their songs containing Christian symbolism, many have assumed the band is a Christian band. An analysis of the band’s logo, song meaning, and comments from band members will answer the question: Is Justice a Christian band?
Is Justice a Religious Band?
A religious band is one whose music contains religious influences. Their song lyrics, videos, and other music elements are influenced by the beliefs of a particular religious group.
With Justice using an image of the holy cross as their logo, the band has always been linked to religion. Since the release of their first album “Cross,” the holy Cross has remained a fixture of all their after releases.
The band is aware that its Logo portrays a religious meaning and they consider it quite incredible. In an interview with Stoney Roads, De Rosnay talked about the inspiration behind using the cross and how he feels that their band’s logo is linked to religion. In his words
“When we were making the record sleeve, we noticed that the ‘T’ was the center letter of ‘Justice’ and that it could be replaced by a cross. We liked the heavy-metal and rock-style logo design, and we wanted to design the Justice logo similarly. We kept using it in all our artworks, and it just never left. It’s incredible when you think about it because it’s not our logo. It’s Jesus Christ’s logo. It’s kind of crazy, the way we managed to take this universal sign and own it in a certain manner.”
He stated also that “We’re not attached to religion in that we’re trying to be a Christian band or whatever. Everyone is welcome to our shows, of course, but I don’t think the symbol can be separated from religion, and that’s okay. The way we make our tracks is to have this kind of religious feeling happening – in the way that we gather people.”
Here is a picture of the band’s logo with the cross:
At every live performance, a cross is always set up at the center of the stage. When asked about its significance to the band in an interview with Mary Honeychild of IDM Mag, they stated that the cross symbolizes the coming together of people, the influence religion has on them and that music has the same power as religion.
Members of the band have not shared information on their individual religious beliefs but as a group, they have not failed to acknowledge that they employ religious terms, symbols, and concepts in their songs. An example is their melodic and super danceable single “Waters of Nazareth” which makes use of a religious title. Here are some lines from another song:
“We are your friends
You’ll never be alone again
Oh, come on
Because we are your friends
You’ll never be alone again
Oh, come on, oh, come on”
What kind of Music Band is Justice?
As a French electronic/dance music band, the duo has also explored various subgenres and styles of music some of which include; French house, electro-house, electronic rock, electroclash, nu-disco, and alternative dance.
These styles and genres are characterized by; heavy bass sounds, electronic beats, melodic vocals, visual aesthetics, and the fusion of specific musical elements. The band has also infused cinematic disco, futurist gospel, and elements of rock and metalcore into their music.
Their music covers themes like; love and relationships, religion, self-recovery and mastery, and anxiety and pain amongst others.
Justice has released 3 studio albums and a couple of Singles and Extended plays. Songs by the band have been nominated and have won several global awards. The band’s debut album “Cross” has earned massive recognition. The album was nominated for a Grammy award, as the best Electronic/Dance album. It was also among Pitchfork’s Top 50 albums of 2007.
In 2009, the band’s remix of “Electric Feel” won the Grammy awards for Best Remixed Recording and their third album “Woman” also bagged a Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance album.
Is Justice a Christian Band?
A Christian band is one whose musical elements portray the teachings and practices of Christianity, a religion based on the teachings and lifestyle of Jesus Christ. Members of a Christian band must live a lifestyle that reflects true Christianity because these lifestyles will influence the way people perceive their songs.
A Christian band must publicly identify as one and the audience should be able to detect from their concepts, practices, and music no matter the styles they adopt.
Many Christian bands have employed music styles like metalcore, pop, blues, folk, rap, and hardcore to appeal to diverse audiences. These songs are intended to promote the beliefs and practices of Christianity.
Justice has always been linked with Christianity. Even though members of the band have not clearly stated that they subscribe to Christianity, the Christian elements in their songs are very notable.
The band’s logo, represented by a cross, symbolizes Christianity. In an interview with Stoney Roads and Xavier, when asked about the significance of their logo, he stated that the logo is not theirs rather it is the “Jesus Christ” logo. In his words:
“It’s incredible when you think about it because it’s not our logo. It’s Jesus Christ’s logo. It’s kind of crazy, the way we managed to take this universal sign and own it in a certain manner.”
The band has also infused elements of Christianity into their music. Xavier mentioned also that their 3rd album “Woman” fuses electronic and rock elements with a touch of gospel.
According to him “Woman came from the idea of choir music, but we wanted to create a futuristic gospel record, building on the base that we created with the two previous albums, we wanted to turn gospel sideways and do a lot of new, interesting things.”
Songs by the band have widely embraced Christian beliefs, practices, and concepts but the band has refuted claims of being a Christian band. Most of their song titles are coined from biblical messages even when the lyrical content says something different. Some of such titles are; “Genesis,” Waters of Nazareth,” Let there be Light,” etc.
In the interview with Mary Honeychild, Xavier stated that the band is not a “Christian ” band. In his words “We are not trying to say we are Christian because we are open and appeal to fans of all races and religions. We just understood the power of the symbol of the cross and how it works. Music can, and does have the same power over people that religion does.”
Justice Christian Songs
Irrespective of the Christian imagery used in some songs by Justice, we don’t consider such songs Christian songs. Take for instance, the song title “Waters of Nazareth” which has a somewhat Christian connotation, but a close look at the lyrics reveals that the song isn’t in-depth talking about religion like the title sounds.
Below are the lyrics:
“Because we are your friends
You’ll never be alone again
Oh, come on, oh, come on
Oh, come on, oh, come on”
Christian songs are intended to promote Christian beliefs and share related messages. Anything devoid of these cannot be classified as a Christian song.
Is Justice a Satanic Band?
A satanic band can be identified by its beliefs, practices, and songs. Music from a satanic band promotes Satan worship and other Satanic beliefs.
Apart from the few dark themes Justice employs in some of their songs, the band has not shown any affiliation with satanism. Members of the band have not identified with Satanism nor do their songs promote the religion. As such, Justice is not a Satanic band.
Conclusion
Justice has been ambiguous about their religious stance. The band has not been clear on if it is a Christian band or not, leaving listeners to make their guesses and give different interpretations to songs by the band.
Notwithstanding, the duo has earned a massive fan base and is not bothered if people consider them a Christian band or not. According to the band, they aim to make songs that appeal to people from different religions, races, and backgrounds. From our analysis, we do not consider Justice as a Christian band.
Think we were wrong? Write your reasoning in the comments and prove us wrong!