Before the palm trees of California, the work began in the forests of Moselle in northeastern France, stunted by winter. In the wooded commune of Amnéville, in the heart of what was once an iron and steel basin, is the Galaxie, a 12,000-seat arena which, for three weeks in February and March, became the exclusive residence of the group Justice and a technical team of nearly 40 people. Parisians Xavier de Rosnay and Gaspard Augé were hard at work preparing their new tour, the first two concerts of which will take place on April 12 and 19 in Indio, 130 kilometers southwest of Los Angeles, among the headliners at Coachella.

The festival is arguably one of the most influential (and international) pop events in the United States and one of the most scrutinized musical gatherings in the world. There, the duo formed in 2003 will play several tracks from Hyperdrama, their eagerly awaited fourth album, due for release on April 26, eight years after Woman. The two Parisians know Coachella very well. They have already performed there in 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2017. Their performances were eventful and their memories indelible. "We had the first concert of our lives there," said de Rosnay, recalling that the duo had previously only played DJ sets. "We'd just finished our first album, which we weren't sure we could do. As the concert had gone so well, our euphoria and relief were multiplied tenfold."

A year earlier at the same venue, Daft Punk put on a show that has gone down in history. Perched atop an impressive pyramid of lights and sounds, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, camouflaged under their robot costumes, ignited and converted the American public and media, long resistant to electro culture, especially coming from another continent. In sociologist and historian Julia Pialat's 2023 book Ed Banger Records. Une histoire des musiques électroniques françaises ("Ed Banger Records. A History of French Electronic Music"), Steve Aoki, one of the most famous American DJs, said: "When Daft Punk played at Coachella, it completely changed my life."

In 2007, Aoki was shaken by Justice. "They came in with their distorted sound (...) It was like they were shouting, 'We're going to do things our way, and our way is abrasive, noisy, dissonant (...) We're not looking for you to like us. And if you do, so much the better!' And that philosophy changed everything for me. I said to myself: This is my movement! This is my culture! I want to be part of it! I want to take up the torch!"

You have 87.73% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.