GTA 6's Composers Justice Speak: 'We See This Colossus Approaching,' and Why the Score Isn't Just '80s Nostalgia
Justice, the French duo Rockstar named as GTA 6's composers, have talked about the game for the first time. Gaspard Augé says they can feel the hype coming but watched it from the outside, that the score was never meant to be an '80s pastiche, and that the 'guitars' are really synths. Xavier de Rosnay explains how Tame Impala, SZA and King Gizzard ended up on one song. Here is what they said.
Days after Rockstar named them as GTA 6's composers, Justice have talked about the game for the first time. In an interview on BBC Radio 1, picked up by GameSpot via the GTA news account NINE1NINE, Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay explained how they handled the pressure, what the score actually sounds like, and how their new single ended up featuring three of the biggest names in music.
The line everyone is quoting is Augé's: "We see this colossus approaching." Here is the rest of what they said.
On the hype: watching it from the outside
Augé said the duo is well aware of the hype around GTA 6 and of how long fans have waited for it. But he described seeing the game partly from the outside, and said that distance helped. It kept the weight of expectations from creeping into their heads while they worked.
It is a sensible approach for a job this size. GTA 6 is the most anticipated game in years, and Justice's music is about to reach a bigger audience than ever, so not thinking about that too hard seems to have been the plan.
On the sound: not an '80s pastiche
Anyone who heard the launch trailer caught an '80s flavour in the music, which fits a game set in a modern Vice City. Augé says that was never the brief. The duo never told themselves they needed to make an '80s track. They knew what the music needed to do, and it happened to come out with that feel.
He was keener to stress the opposite: the sounds themselves are futuristic. His example is the guitar, which isn't a guitar at all. It is a synth, chosen because no real guitar could produce that phasey, slightly futuristic tone.
That balance makes sense for Vice City. The 2002 game's soundtrack was a love letter to '80s pop, and Rockstar has already confirmed that Flash FM returns on GTA 6's radio. Justice's score sits underneath all of that, nodding to the era without copying it.
On "Flower in a Hurricane"
The trailer's song is "Flower in a Hurricane," a new Justice single featuring Tame Impala, SZA and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. GameSpot notes it passed 2.8 million plays on YouTube in under a week.
De Rosnay said these were all artists the duo had always wanted to work with. They didn't expect the three to fit together at first, but the collaboration came together naturally and gradually, until they realised they had made a record with all of them.
It isn't Justice's first time working with Tame Impala, either. Kevin Parker featured on two tracks on the duo's 2024 album Hyperdrama, "One Night/All Night" and "Neverender."
What the score is, and what it isn't
There are three separate pieces of GTA 6's music, and they are easy to mix up:
- The score is Justice's: the original music that plays under missions and the open world. Rockstar says more is coming, including an official score album.
- GTA VI: The Album is a 34-track soundtrack of original songs made with Atlantic Records, out on November 19. "Flower in a Hurricane" is on it, alongside tracks such as Travis Scott's "RHYNO." Our album guide lists everything announced so far.
- The radio is the in-game stations, six of which Rockstar has revealed, plus the series' first podcasts.
Rockstar hasn't said when the score album comes out.
And Daft Punk?
Justice didn't address the rumor, spread online this week, that Rockstar approached Daft Punk before them, at least not in the parts of the interview published so far. It comes from a single unverified post, as we explain in our Daft Punk rumor explainer.
FAQ
Who composed the music for GTA 6?
Justice, the French electronic duo of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay, composed GTA 6's original score, according to Rockstar.
What did Justice say about GTA 6?
In a BBC Radio 1 interview, Gaspard Augé said they were aware of the hype but saw the game partly from the outside, which kept the pressure at bay. He said the score was not designed as an '80s throwback, and that its guitar-like sounds are actually synths.
What is the song in the GTA 6 Launch Trailer?
"Flower in a Hurricane" by Justice, featuring Tame Impala, SZA and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard.
When does the GTA 6 soundtrack come out?
GTA VI: The Album releases on November 19, alongside the game. Rockstar hasn't dated the Justice score album yet.
