They are,
undoubtedly, one of the most exciting sounds to emerge from "90s
Electronica".
Air are an Electronica duet consisting of two 30 years old gentlemen
called Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin. They met while attending
University in Paris, where Dunkel was already a member of an indie-rock
band called "Orange". Alex Gopher, a member of the band, soon
introduced Godin to the band and he became a member. Soon after Godin
arrived, Gopher departed which left Dunckel and Godin. They created
Air in 1995. After graduation, Godin pursued a career as an Architect
and Dunckel as a teacher of Math and Physics. They continued to collaborate
and were given the idea to produce their songs by a friend who happened
to work at Source Records. When listening to Air's music its almost
as if Air has built a set of castles in the sky that everyone wants
to live in. Fittingly the pair were born and brought up in Versailles,
the historical French town to the West of Paris famous for it's palaces,
mansions, grandiose courtly architecture and verdant surroundings.
Their first single became a hit in the U.K. charts so the band continued
to produce even more remarkable songs such as "Kelly Watch the
Stars" and "You Make It Easy".
Air's music
is often described as indefinable and their album, "Moon Safari",
has been hailed as the lounge music for the 21st century.
Most recently Air have recorded a 13 song soundtrack for Sophia Copella's
"The Virgin Suicides". Air have been recognised by international
Artists such as Sean Lennon and Beck, who helped record a song on Air's
1998 release "Moon Safari". Air's songs also appear in L'Oreal
commercials and movies such as "10 Things I Hate About You".
Their new album is called "10,000 Hz Legend" (title referring
to the frequency that supposedly does strange things to your bowels).
The first single is "Radio #1".
Their influences span decades and styles: Bacharach, Brian Wilson, and
The Beatles
Alongside Vangelis and also Italian soundtracks.
Links:
http://www.fuzzie.freeserve.co.uk/
To listen to the album: http://source.astralwerks.com/air/
http://www.angelfire.com/ga/airfrenchband/
For a video of 'Kelly watch the stars':
http://www.geocities.com/motorcity/downs/1158/sounds/Air_kelvid56.html
