MJ for IM//UR: "we tried to take a shot in the back of this moving vehical but it was looking a bit depressing so we felt we had to beach it up a bit. "

Bands must always evolve. The Midnight Juggernauts that toured Dystopia are not the same ones that made that Dragonette remix, nor are they the same ones that are about to release new album Crystal Axis. And that's one of the reasons they're one of the few bands born during the Hype Machine era that is still relevant even after taking three years between albums.

Other reasons can be the fact that the band has a strong visual identity, which they've developed further with video collective Krozm. For example, the cover of Crystal Axis, which shows the band jamming around a sculpture, was the initial starting point for the idea for the 'Vital Signs' video - the one with all those dizzily, technologically deformed bodies. And on stage, the trio of nice, hairy Aussies become giants, dominating the crowd simply through their music, which is made with as many synths and drum parts (live kits and electronic ones) as a band of their size can carry around the world...which, nowadays, is as impressive as light shows and huge screens at the back of the stage.

And finally, the most important thing for any artist: they make really good music. Midnight Juggernauts are described and categorised into different genres all the time, from stadium rock to krautock, new french wave to maximal and electro rock. They're always impressing blogs, their fans, critics, others bands and weird combinations of all the above, simply on account of the quality of their music. And from what I saw (yes, Brazil was included this time on their world tour), heard and read (including bits of this interview), people will have to create new genres to describe Crystal Axis, because their music is getting weirder and more complex, but aiming - as odd as it may sound - to make pop music.

At first, songs like 'Vital Signs' and 'This New Technology' might not seem like the best way to express this pop side, as they are developed under layers and layers of synths, bass and furious drums, but look behind that and you'll notice the vocals are given more space to be, and as a result, are better executed. 

This evolution, this development, is strictly connected to the time the band took to make of the new album. Although crucial, time is probably the most overlooked factor for musicians and their music. But as a band who doesn't suffer from a label's pressure - in case you don't know, they are their own label - Midnight Juggernauts gave themselves enough time to experiment, explore and reconstruct until they felt, three years after releasing Dystopia, that the second album was ready.

We talked to Vincent Vendetta about Crystal Axis, Justice, Beyoncé's sister Solange, new bands and B grade horror films as inspiration. We even got a sunny bit of artwork as a gift! Now it's the time to see if a band that are doing things their own way can fly over the dust the hype has stirred up and left behind to make a solid second album. We think we know the answer - it seems like Midnight Juggernauts do too.

When you are in one of the biggest electronic duos of the past decade you can do anything. You can release a collection based on clothes you already wear (no creativity necessary), you can record a staged tour DVD to impress other DJs (yes, you party harder than them), you can remix bands that you and your fans don't actually care about anymore just for the cash (I've heard U2's label pays lots and lots of money)...Yes, basically anything.

But the best way to spend your free time - after you've made yourself a tidy bit of money of course! We all like money - after all of that, is to take a year off and get interesting again.

That might have sounded a little dry, but in fact, I really admire the career choices that Justice has made (okay, so I don't *love* the U2 and Lenny Kravitz remixes) and now the French producers are at it again with a new move. From all the rumors about them releasing music under a new name et al, there's one project that really caught my eye: Jamaica.

Xavier de Rosnay, half of Justice, helped the boys from Pony Pony transition to Jamaica - only after they promised not to use any synths in the studio. And after reworking some songs from Pony Pony (which was probably scratched because of the band Pony Pony Run Run), they released their first single, 'I Think I Like U 2'.

Although we are not huge fans of the use of numbers instead of letters, we are totally into the sunny vibe proposed by the song. In fact, it's probably the freshest song we've heard in a while:  It's the sound of teenagers who weren't too bored to form a band like The Teenagers. Another example, Jamaica is basically what Van She should be (minus the looks. Let's be frank, the boys from Van She are way prettier).

As remixers, Jamaica are also quite interesting. They took the new Flairs single, 'Radio', added a helluva funky bass line, played with some scratches and spiced it up with reggae elements. I don't wanna say it, but I think I like it better than the original.

Ed Banger's new darlings are going to release the video for 'I Think I Like U 2' soon (guess who is going to direct the colorful and animated video?) and already found a place on the new Kitsuné Compilation. We expect fun things for them, and hopefully won't be disappointed.

On To The Next One (I even made a gif)

I've been obsessed with Jay-Z and Swizz Beats' super bad ass 'On To The Next One' since my friend Michael (incidentally, who's track 'Drop Down', is currently on the latest Skins trailer) dropped into Sydney for a few gigs and tipped me off to the awesome video which I've been playing incessantly since.

I'd heard whispers of a Justice sample in the track but didn't pay very much attention to until I came across a break down (though by now, CRLS did a post on this too) by Swizz explaining the jump from Justice to Jay-Z and his process of sampling 'D.A.N.C.E.' to create the hook for 'On To The Next One'. Truly beat swizzing with MAD FREAKIN' SKILLZZZ.

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Y'all know we're total cheese whores up in here. Remember that cheese-tastic remix that Justice did of Lenny Kravitz' 'Let Love Rule'? Well, now it has a superb video to accompany it, directed by by Keith Schofield who was incidentally, responsible for that Diesel viral.

Clever, no?

Have you heard the story behind Birdy Nam Nam's 'The Parachute Ending'? The French DJ crew was playing at a party with Justice in the crowd; then after the set was over, Xavier went to talk to them and showed some interest in two of their tracks for a remix. But apparently those were the tracks that Birdy Nam Nam liked the least and weren't even going to be included on their album. Xavier thought this was a waste and decided to produce the track. And guess what? It became the best track of the album!

Although very Justice-like, as the track is built on the same epic synths and drums as the ones used in †, the song still manages to fit in some of the hard electro sounds of Birdy Nam Nam. But better than the actual song is the video produced by Will Sweeney in collaboration with Steve Scott.

The animation is like a colorful trip through the '70s (psychedelic) sci-fi world, and according to the release, the story takes place on a planet invaded by strange 'aliens' where the main character, a UFO pilot, has to find help in an ancient and mysterious temple which will provide him the power to defend his territory.

And being the best track on the album, the single comes with two spectacular remixes from two of the most important electronic French artists: the electro master Vitalic and the electro-punk couple Kap Bambino. You know these names, you know how good they are and you know what to do with the two links below, innit.