Justice - Stress Deconstructed

In this video I take a look at some of the samples that Justice used to create their phenomenal track, Stress.
Follow what I'm making on Discord, Instagram and Twitter
- / discord
- karl_boltzmann?la...
- / karl_boltzmann
- open.spotify.com/artist/3CHeJ...
Justice - Stress
• Justice - Stress (Offi...
David Shire - Night On Disco Mountain
• David Shire - Night On...
DEVO - Jocko Homo
• Jocko Homo (original v...
Apple Inc. - Suspense Accent 06
• Suspense Accents 06
00:00 - 00:21Intro
00:21 - 1:24 Justice - Stress
1:24 - 2:54 Why I love "Stress"
2:54 - 6:00 Sampling Strings
6:00 - 6:56 Night On Disco Mountain
6:56 - 10:15 Sampling Disco Mountain
10:15 - 13:20 Drums
13:20 - 13:42 Sound Comparison
13:43 - 14:46 DEVO - Jocko Homo
14:46 - 15:20 DEVO Sampling
15:20 - 15:44 Outro

[@jazzygeofferz]

The different iterations through their various tours mean it's been constantly evolving as well. The latest version with the electronic hook and the Walkman bassline is ridiculously good.

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Yeah, they do like to switch it up. One thing that's always stayed constant is their incredible bass lines.

[@Dr_JackHammer]

2:54 The original source of these strings is Dick De Benedictis - Predators from Symphonic Adventures Production Elements Toolkit released in 1997

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Amazing! Great find.

[@TachyBunker]

Later licensed by Sound Ideas, and then Apple.

[@KowankoMusic]

Well done! Really appreciate your work. I still think that Justice album is completely radical and punk rock in its way. Fave track: "Newjack".

[@KarlBoltzmann]

[@vmodsm]

Newjack and one minute to midnight are probably the most slept on tracks to-date easy

[@MarcioSilva-ssiillvvaa]

Bloody fantastic man! Wow!

[@alberto.tovar.79]

Good video!! Justice have said in some interviews they dont use any side chain, but lots of automations. They both come from the graphic design world so the "easy" way for them is to edit that automations. Xavier is known as a wizard for twisting sounds too. For the mixing, they say they dont use hardly any fx in each track, but they stack some distortion and compressor fx in the master chain, alternating them. I guess that gets the pumping fx in their tracks, then they level each track volume so the drums are very loud in the mix. If you do that and set the distortion and compression high on the master chain you get that loud drums. It would be great if you could deconstruct other songs like Newjack (thats a sample chopping nightmare) and Phantom. I guess the synths from that song comes from the voice of the main sample, as if they took a microsample and could loop it and using it like an instrument.

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Fantastic insight! I love learning new details like this. I'm not trying to dispute what you're bringing up and I shouldn't be this conspiratorial about it all, but I do wonder sometimes if Justice has been intentionally muddying the waters and obfuscating their methods around their mixing/editing techniques. The sounds don't quite lend themselves to automation if that makes sense. On the other hand, maybe that is why their mixing is so unique and interesting compared to other programmed side-chains out there. Either way it would take a crazy amount of effort and time and I love what they've made. However it was done. Newjack would be a great one to do. Maybe the next Justice deconstruction, I'll try using the techniques you've mentioned here and see how it goes.

[@DJKuroh]

@Karl Boltzmann They claim the first album was made in GarageBand. Does GarageBand even have the ability to do true sidechain compression? "Speaking to Pitchfork, Xavier de Rosnay said: A lot of people think it's bullshit when we say we use GarageBand, but it's actually an amazing tool."

[@KarlBoltzmann]

​@@DJKuroh Wow. That makes me even more certain that they're blowing smoke. I really think they're just messing with everyone for shits and giggles. There isn't a DAW out there that is less equipped for professional work than GarageBand.

[@DJKuroh]

@Karl Boltzmann possibly. There's a ton of samples on the record in terms of drums (like you mentioned), bass, guitar. They claim they suck at real instruments. There's tons of garageband loops buried on the record. "Encore [A Cross The Universe]" from the live album is just a straight up Garageband piano loop. I think we may be underestimating how much boring chop/copy/paste they were doing to build these songs. All their interviews read like "we're not great pure musicians, but we have the patience to take forever to make something."

[@KarlBoltzmann]

@@DJKuroh Yeah, that's a good point. I personally love taking my time, chopping/cutting/pasting vs building in automation, so I can certainly understand that they might have just spent their time making this music that way. But doing all of that in GarageBand? Man, that is verging on the absurd. I can understand taking samples from GarageBand. Like they did with the string sample from iMovie. But making all of that album in GarageBand would be like finding out that a world famous full feature film, loved for its creative and groundbreaking editing was made exclusively on Windows Movie Maker. Not technically impossible, but close to unbelievable.

[@jonnydeep12inch]

my favourite from that album.

[@jackieboyborden]

Love this vid, love this track. Listen to it every time I'm in bad turbulence on a flight

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Life on hard mode.

[@scottking7186]

Awesome video. I remember where I was when I heard Stress for the first time. Very thorough!

[@KarlBoltzmann]

I could definitely see it having that kind of impact. Where did you hear it first?

[@scottking7186]

@@KarlBoltzmann I was on a bus to Canada’s Wonderland on a high school trip. My friend played it to me as an uploaded track on Tumblr 😅

[@KarlBoltzmann]

​@@scottking7186 Love it. I remember sitting with my diskman on the bus, listening to Building Steam on repeat, carefully balancing the thing to try to stop it constantly skipping. Good times.

[@d05music17]

Awesome work dude more stuff like this.. Genesis and Stress for sure are up there as faves

[@YuutaShinjou113]

it sounds very heavy and angry, I believe that the song is faithful to its title

[@M03NS]

Killer Vid! Planning on flipping this track for a closing gig in January, hope it‘ll work out!

[@csmcrckrs]

Very well done ... the LinnDrum sounds are quite distinct, and you nailed the processing perfectly!

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Cheers, thanks!

[@bhowlerr]

You describe this song so well, Good Spice!

[@Norhkuna]

Great job on the de/reconstruction, I can tell a lot of effort went into this! My favourite off of cross might be basic, but it has to be Genesis. I can't get enough of that bassline and sampling in the second half

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Genesis is also perfection.

[@LeroybrownLR3mk02]

It should be mentioned that the Devo sample is from the video for Jocko Homo. Same as the single version, but the 7" doesn't have the sirens. The version on the album is totally different, as it's produced by Brian Eno. (one of the best albums ever!)

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Good detail. Thanks

[@idontcare4875]

I find it really interesting to see how this song was made, Justice really has a way with samples my favourite off Cross is between Valentine and Newjack, I just can't decide between the two

[@jamesreid8840]

Love this Karl 👍 New band for me to check out 😉 keep it up

[@KarlBoltzmann]

This album is a classic! Well worth the listen.

[@amandagordon1307]

Super video KB. DVNO is my fave from the album

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Great track

[@knnyshn]

Good stuff! Curious where you got your linndrum samples from? Those are some solid ones (I have download many retro machine machine libraries) but finding a good linndrum one is sort of hard haha

[@KarlBoltzmann]

That's a good question. I was just looking at the samples from this track and it's all sort of a hodgepodge. I think I just picked up drum samples here and there over the years. Sorry, that doesn't really help!

[@JohnPaulBuce]

❤

[@bird6708]

Absolutely brilliant explanation. Fav song would have to be the Phantoms.

[@KarlBoltzmann]

That's a great track! Phantom pt II is amazing too.

[@bird6708]

@@KarlBoltzmann Absolutely!

[@Matisto1]

Another great pick Karl, you and I have a lot in common in the music we appreciate. Thanks for the vid! Always loved Genesis from the album aswell. Their album Audio, Video, Disco also has some great stuff. Would you say that Kavinsky - Nightcall has a hook that is also the mix?

[@KarlBoltzmann]

That's a great example! The moodiness is baked into that mix. Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't Kavinsky/Justice/Oizo all part of the same group of similar French artists? I bet there is a mixing connection between all of them. Would explain the similarly interesting and amazing mixes coming out of the French scene at that time.

[@Matisto1]

@@KarlBoltzmannKavinsky has worked with Mr. Oizo but as far as I can see he's never been part of Ed Banger Records of which Justice and Oizo are members. They definitely have influenced each other and used each others material. Always loved the artist in the Ed Banger Records group.

[@KarlBoltzmann]

​@@Matisto1 Yeah, there was a special moment in the mid to late 2000's when it felt like something was really taking off with those Ed Banger associated groups. Kazinsky included even though I guess he wasn't technically part of that crew. Still blows my mind how sneaky popular Nightcall eventually became. It just hit a chord that no one had hit before. Love to see unique pieces of music get rewarded.

[@DannyDKCV]

Glad to find another big fan of Stress, it's also one of my favorites from Cross. It reminds me of Doe Deer by Crystal Castles (RIP) in its' initially off putting nature but how both have become favorites of their respective bands.

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Yes, great example. CC had a few tracks with a similar vibe.

[@anthonyv6962]

How have I never herd this? This is a great song it feels/sounds like a shifting balance between chaos an order. It's very punk.

[@HT0o0]

Hearing this nearly 20 years ago for the first time my jaw was on the floor. The music video is just as intense too

[@hgfskate]

Such an amazing breakdown of my favorite Justice track, thank you for this! Is there any way I could get the stems of your project please? 🙏🏻 Would love to play around with them!

[@KarlBoltzmann]

It's a busy time, so I'm not sure I'll have time, but if I do, I'll post a link here.

[@hgfskate]

@@KarlBoltzmann thanks so much, I understand. Would be willing to pay as well!

[@KarlBoltzmann]

I appreciate that! I'll see if I can find time in the near future.

[@hgfskate]

@@KarlBoltzmann legend, thank you so much!!!

[@delaydelaydelay]

Awesome! Thank you. Where did you get those Linn Drum Samples? They sound great

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Thanks! They're part of the sample pool that I have on my computer. I'm not 100% sure on this, but if you have Ableton Live, you should be able to download some free sample packs from their website that integrate straight into Ableton. I think some old drum machines packs are part of that. They're all good quality.

[@ballsteinyts]

i heard they learned everything from Quentin aka Mr. Oizo

[@SigmaDee]

Another song where the mix is the hook. Sleigh bells - Crown on the ground.

[@KarlBoltzmann]

100%, great call. Treats is a classic! As an album it has other hooks going on, but the over the top mix is what really makes it stand out.

[@blueswingdown]

been my favourite song from the album for a few years, very well done! have you done Genesis or Newjack yet?

[@KarlBoltzmann]

They're on the list, but not yet

[@blueswingdown]

@@KarlBoltzmann can't wait!!!

[@quibster]

9:23 verrry sound advice for anyone doing Ableton chops with a ton of usage of eq/comp/limiter. the built in limiter is really quite good as a tool, but if it isn't quite doing as good a job with texture as you'd might like in the master bus, ex. personally i feel sometimes the simpler limiters can rob you of a certain sense of dynamics, there is a (now unsupported) software vst version of Limiter No6 by vladg which is offered for free, which imo is a pretty great mastering limiter with a few more options bussed in, compression, peak limiter, hf limiter, clipper & protection. the author now sells that limiter commercially under a label for like 50 bux or something, but it seems ostensibly to mostly be the same software as the version historically offered for free as far as i'm aware. that said, i'm still on Live10 so i can't make any guarantees about it still working for those who stay on top of ableton updates and i'm not affiliated with the author/s or anything, though i believe especially as long as it is working, for the price of free it is great. it saves my ears & it doesn't chew cpu, so i'm quite happy with the performance and level of control it offers, enough to mention it anyway.

[@KarlBoltzmann]

You're absolutely right. I probably don't have the best ear for the dynamic differences between limiters, but I also have preferences and I'm not a big fan of the Ableton limiter in general. As a bit of a rule, I do try to stay within the Ableton ecosystem of fx and tools so that people can follow along easily if they want to. I remember using a software compressor back in the early 2000s that was part of Sonic Foundry's Acid (Or maybe Sony had bought it at that point...) that could crush the sound in such a pleasant way, like no other I've heard since. Although that was early in my music making career, so it probably isn't nearly as good as I remember.

[@bobbycarreras9475]

never even knew lil uzi sampled this song till now

[@phartsmone854]

Are you going to descontruct more of Paul's Bontique?

[@KarlBoltzmann]

Absolutely! I'm going to do the whole album.

[@phartsmone854]

@@KarlBoltzmann Nice

[@skywardstargaze1768]

4:14 alternatively you could create a volume gate automation

[@KarlBoltzmann]

That might be what they did

[@potzorbie3120]

I remember hearing they used Garageband to mix and produce their first album on a laptop using the built-in speakers.

[@KarlBoltzmann]

That's come up a few times. I don't know for sure, one way or another, but my instincts tell me that they were telling people that for a laugh or to get a reaction.

[@skywardstargaze1768]

7:45 wait how the hell did you do that

[@KarlBoltzmann]

In Live you can move around the transients in the clip display window. There are lots of great options to mess around with a sample in there that you wouldn't have otherwise. However, I like to manipulate my samples on the grid...It just feels more tactile, but there are instances where it's better to move and manipulate the sample using the clip display window at the bottom.

[@romeisfallingagain]

the EQ at the end hahahahahahahahahaha. i wonder if they just did that just to show off?

[@KarlBoltzmann]

It might even be a result of whatever pedals/vsts they were running it through. It's hard to say, but I'd love to have a conversation with them about how they made this.

[@romeisfallingagain]

@@KarlBoltzmann absolutely. have you ever approached them for comment?

[@KarlBoltzmann]

I've never been in touch with them tbh. I'm not sure I have enough of a presence to get their attention.