Justice have shared an original demo of their 2007 hit ‘D.A.N.C.E’ to mark the 15th anniversary of their debut album.
The French dance duo’s first full-length LP ‘†’ came out 15 years ago yesterday (June 11, 2007).
To celebrate, they’ve released an EP of multiple remixes, extended versions and demos of ‘D.A.N.C.E.’, their biggest hit.
The only unreleased track on the compilation is an original demo of the track, which you can listen to below.
Last year, Justice became involved in a legal spat with Justin Bieber. The cover for Bieber’s sixth record ‘Justice’, which arrived back in March 2021, references the pop star’s Christian faith by using a crucifix-style “T” in the title.
Fans soon began noticing the similarities between the logo and that of French dance duo, who have used the font since 2003. The group’s management later revealed that Bieber’s team had contacted them about potentially working together on his new graphic.
However, they claimed that “the call was never completed”, adding: “No one ever mentioned an album called ‘Justice’ or a logo that says Justice. The first time we saw anything about it was the announcement.”
Justice’s Gaspard Augé then spoke out over the band’s recent legal troubles with the Canadian star, saying the pop star’s new album artwork was a “very conscious rip-off” of the dance duo.
In a new interview with the Guardian, Augé discussed the situation and claimed that Bieber’s artwork was a deliberate rip-off of Justice’s logo.
“Though Bieber is from Canada, his actions fit this mindset of American hegemony: ‘Oh well, it’s just a small band from France, I’m sure we can take their name, nobody will care … ‘” Augé said.
“Obviously, we don’t own the word ‘Justice’ and we don’t own the cross. But [Bieber’s] management got in touch first to ask where our logo came from, so it’s not some unhappy coincidence. To me, it’s a very conscious rip-off. And that’s where the problem is.”
After the original controversy, Justice presented Bieber’s team with a cease and desist order over the artwork, claiming that the use of a crucifix symbol incorporated into the title ‘Justice’ constitutes as infringement, with Justice having copyrighted the graphic/word combination in France and the European Union.
