French band Air's legendary album Moon Safari was--fittingly--the first album I ever downloaded on my first iPod. This ubiquitous 1998 album changed everything at the time and it has aged remarkably well. The band themselves, however, seem to have fallen victim to an odd phenomenon: after changing the musical landscape with a genre-bending and innovative album, everybody started sounding like that. As a result, their later albums fell somewhat flat, despite some great material. We were not calling this type of music EDM back then, but the type of electronic music it heralded is inexorably woven into the fabric of modern popular music now. I like to think of Air as post-dance electronica, which is only a little bit weird since their repertoire actually falls largely before that electronic music Renaissances of the 2000s. This artsy European band deserves credit for mainstreaming an influential sound that goes way beyond computer-generated techno or mixing records.
It's essentially two guys: Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel. They formed the band in a fancy school in Versailles in 1995. Even on the band's pre-Moon Safari EPs the concepts and sound of the band were almost fully formed. It may not have the sheen of their hyper-produced classic, but there are already flashes of genius. There's rich sonic potential from mixing modern beats and sounds with pure, warm organic instruments like piano, organs, and horns. Most of the elements are present, so the unified vision arrives almost fully intact and well-honed when they drop their proper full-length debut. Some argue it all gets a little too perfect, ideal for pumping out of sterile white speakers or earbuds; a Pitchfork writer once said they befit "minimalist architectural design (circa 1974)". Yet they really hit the zeitgeist on the head, particularly in terms of downtempo electronica: they may not have been the first band to make dance-music you can't dance to, but nobody else doing it at the time got a song on the radio or sold so much to the masses via international success.
Moon Safari begins with "La Femme D'Argent" (possibly translated as The Silver Girl), an unforgettable shimmering electro-symphony, which--as the opening track on a well-regarded album--deservedly gets a lot of play. It soundtracks the opening moments in the first episode of Veronica Mars. (Side note(s): of course the Dandy Warhols play the show's theme song, and Albert Hammond's "It Never Rains In Southern California" plays the series out three stellar seasons later.) It's an amazing, lush track to start off with, but then "Sexy Boy" is jarring as the first "song" most people hear from the band, or at least the first song with lyrics in English. Yet, it was a huge hit single in Europe and got some airplay over here too. It's not my favorite Air song; it's too much of a regular song, and more jarring than sexy. The album ping-pongs back and forth after that between such concise songs and the more expansive soundscapes. They get that ratio just right on this album more so than on any of their others. The many slides and glides that emerge throughout the album make it so smooth, but not always. The stomp that propels "Remember" is a sample from a Beach Boys song, "Do it Again": the single from 20/20 with the b-side written by Charles Manson; it's not the last time they'll share an influence with modern spacey rock or chamber pop bands. "Ce Martin La" (That Morning) is a great song I've been falling asleep to since it came out; it had 640 plays from my digital library at last count, and that may or may not be including all those previous iTunes plays. What a gorgeous song! The muted horns over lush strings recall a 70s film soundtrack, or the Academy Awards live orchestra's rendition of a 70s film soundtrack. The whole album is classic, five star stuff because of an endless stream of near-perfect songs. I listened to the Rarities disc that came out to mark its 10th anniversary, not because I had to but because I wanted to. Some of these remixes could more accurately be called re-imaginings, as in the funk rock of "Kelly Watch the Stars"; the original has an interesting official video. Even a buried track like "Talisman" is a fantastic song that should have been a Bond theme. (Why didn't these guys ever score a James Bond movie?) Live staple "You Make it Easy," demonstrates brilliant production, with the airy female vocals mic'd so hot every breathe intake is clearly audible. It really snaps in new Apple ear buds. Some have argued that the album lacks fun or irony, and that it takes itself too seriously. The strength of the songs and their collection as whole more than makes up for that slight, and they seem to address it with more exuberant playing on later albums. Their debut takes the cake though. It makes the 1,000 Albums You Must Hear Before you Die list, and with good reason. For me, it's virtually a desert island disc, as the frequent instrumentals with lots going on in them give me plenty to hear anew each time I listen, without getting stuck on tired lyrics. It's an incredibly diverse album, despite it consistency. There is a time and place for every album, and this one has lots of applications: sleeping, reading, relaxing, and sexing. It does have a certain romance about it, without ever being intrusive, so yes--it is ideal for lovemaking. Maybe that's why it made so many Best of the Year lists when it came out, although of course that's not the only reasons. OK, it may be mostly suited for primarily downtempo activities, but the point is that this now-20 year old album still gets lots of consistent airtime (from me at least) to this day during various modern activities that need musical accompaniment, and it doesn't sound dated; it doesn't really sound too much like the 90s since it was revolutionary for its time. This album could come out today and people would still rave about it, no pun intended.
It is fitting that a film soundtrack is their next album, the score for The Virgin Suicides in 2000. It is damn near almost as good as their classic debut and even in some ways better, given my penchant for instrumental music, as most of this is. Despite occasional forays into electronica or orchestral maneuvers, this is often a more band-oriented sound, relying frequently on keys, drums, and bass. The subject and sound get aptly dark for the film, but it is thematically and musically consistent. "Playground Love," despite making me uncomfortable with the subject matter, is when they sound most like Spiritualized; maybe it's the vibes or the perfectly subdued vocals. The song is written and sung by the guy from Phoenix, another French alternative band. Again, I was happy to sit through the rarities and outtake from the album that were added for the 15th Anniversary edition. It was really great to hear them stretching out live and pumping more humanity into these songs. The album does not have the staying power or variety of Moon Safari, but it is a great listen as more than just a movie soundtrack. Their debut was more revolutionary, but this one effectively follows the trajectory they set for themselves. Their sometimes-drummer, who also played in Red Kross, did another Sophia Coppola film soundtrack, Lost in Translation, which warmed all our hearts by bringing The Jesus and Mary Chain back into cultural prominence, among others. Air also appears on Coppola's soundtrack for Marie Antoinette. They also back up Charlotte Gainsberg on her 2nd album in 2006 (the first being 20 years earlier), which I'm sure will be great when I hear it for the first time when I get to 'C.'
The true successor to Moon Safari, however, is the clumsily titled 10,000 Hz Legend, but it sometimes gets lost in the cultural chaos of 2001. Some have noted a departure in sound from the debut on this second official album, but only to those who skipped the soundtrack album, which bridges the two slightly-different sounds and telegraphs their evolution. Far more song-oriented, it seems like an almost a deliberate attempt to capture (or capitalize on) the magic of Moon Safari with a more accessible collection of tracks. Although some of those songs are fantastic, as a whole it falls just slightly short of their former grandeur. Some of this perspective may reflect my personal bias as almost all of these songs have words, many sung by guest stars (some by computer). The song featuring Beck, "The Vagabond," is a pretty great collaboration that lets both artist do their respective things well. Maybe only the wonderful "Radian," with its slow build to lush strings and flutes, could rest easy on Moon Safari; it's my favorite track here. Not for the last time, but the band starts to sound like Pink Floyd, particularly when they are holding long synth chords over funky beats like it's 1977 all over again. A track called "Milk Bitchy" seems to confirm the Floyd influence with a reference to their Atom Heart Mother. "Radio #1" is decent electronic pop ditty (albeit not a beautiful, shimmering sonic landscape) and it gives us the great word "stereogum," which would go on to title what may be my all-time favorite music blog/site, still going strong to this day. The album also featured a Japanese rock group called Buffalo Daughter, which I was previously unfamiliar with but now interested in. Again, the album is good, but it inevitable disappoints a little following the magnificence of Moon Safari and the excellence of The Virgin Suicides. Sadly, they never seem to regain the sparkling, revolutionary impact of their debut. I don't fault them (much) for that even as I point it out. Too much of their music remains impressive.
The next two albums, 2007's Pocket Symphonies and 2009's oddly-titled Love 2 offer more of the same: solid, electronica-influenced pop(ish) rock. The sound is slightly less downtempo and slightly more song-oriented than ever. I had some frustration with the sporadic and generally unimpressive lyrics, preferring their soundtrack-esque work. However, this music is as good as most songs showing up in the late 2000s. It charts and sells enough. They actually got my attention and appreciation most on the blissed-out ambiance of the last song on Love 2, "The Dream of Yi"; it only last 5 minutes, but I could easily listen to its sounds for 10. So the music is occasionally great, but nobody can claim it is as innovative as the music at the start of their career. At the time it came out, I was so very into Moon Safari, but I lost interest after 10,000 Hz Legend. When I caught up with them for this listening project there was definitely some good stuff I missed. Chief among that stuff is their last, most recent album Le Voyage Dans La Lune (2012). It's a lot more interesting and thematic than their previous two efforts. In fact, it's kinda a concept album: a soundtrack to the restored version of that classic 1902 silent science fiction film A Trip To the Moon, which is of course what their French title translates into. The whole concept is pretty incredible and works well, as you can see here in this unofficial version, which isn't the impressive remaster or necessarily synced up exactly right, but you get the idea. It was a welcome change of pace. It's tight rather than expansive. Although it gets very Floydian again, overall the album is less epic--just 11 shorter songs and it ends with a thud, not a bang. Despite being mostly a literal soundtrack, there are two songs with words...and this time they are both great! Both feature excellent guest stars contributing vocals and lyrics: the three singing and keyboard playing ladies of Au Revoir Simone, of Roadhouse fame from Twin Peaks: The Return, and Victoria Legrand from Baltimore's own Beach House (who has also sung with the band Grizzly Bear). The album left me wanting more, but there is no more to hear. They did create something called Music for Museum, but it was an actual commission for the Palais des Beau-Arts de Lille and made available only as a limited-edition of only 1,000 copies of clear vinyl. What I could I hear on YouTube is stunning and right up my alley. It's closer to Brian Eno than modern electronica-influenced rock music, and I wish I could stream it all, but it remains elusive in an official, complete form.
They did release a compilation in 2016 to celebrate 20 years as band, but it would be nice to hear what they sound like now. Last we heard, modern Air is a pleasant mix of groovy space jams and sophisticated beats. For their diverse sounds, their innovation, their classiness, Air comes out on top in the end. They dropped an undeniably groundbreaking, classic album at the start of their career and have managed to remain interesting and entertaining, if not innovational, since then. So, whether you're reading or studying, trying to fall asleep, making sweet love, or just need some background music for your cosmic cocktail party, Air has got you covered.
Don't get them confused with Daft Punk!
