Air is a French music duo from Versailles, consisting of Jean-Benoît Dunckel and Nicolas Godin. Their critically acclaimed debut album, Moon Safari, including the track "Sexy Boy", was an international success in 1998. Its follow-up, The Virgin Suicides, was the score to Sofia Coppola's first film of the same name. The band has since released the albums 1O,OOO Hz Legend, Talkie Walkie, Pocket Symphony, Love 2, Le voyage dans la lune and Music for Museum.
Dunckel and Godin use many of their studio instruments (including Moog synthesizers, the Korg MS-2O, Wurlitzers and vocoders) on stage, where their ability to improvise is more clearly highlighted. The band performs the well-known tracks from the albums live as extended or altered versions.
Air often collaborates (both in the studio and live) with artists like Beth Hirsch (Moon Safari), Françoise Hardy ("Jeanne"), Jean-Jacques Perrey ("Cosmic Bird"), Gordon Tracks ("Playground Love" and "Easy Going Woman" – Gordon Tracks is a pseudonym of the French singer Thomas Mars from Phoenix), Beck (1O,OOO Hz Legend) and Jean-Michel Jarre ("Close Your Eyes" from Jarre's Electronica 1: The Time Machine). They also invited Dave Palmer on their 2OO4 tour and drummer Earl Harvin, Vincent Taurelle and Steve Jones on their 2OO7 tour.
Dunckel was born on September 7, 1969 in Versailles. In the 198Os, he formed the band Orange with Alex Gopher, Xavier Jamaux and Jean de Reydellet. He studied mathematics and physics and taught at a middle school in Paris, before embarking on a career as a professional musician
Working under the name Darkel, he released his first solo album, titled Darkel, in 2OO6. In 2O11, he and Lou Hayter formed the electronic side project Tomorrow's World, releasing their first album in 2O13. Dunckel also collaborated with Barði Jóhannsson under the name Starwalker and released an EP in 2O14, featuring "Losers Can Win" and "Bad Weather." In 2O15, he composed the soundtrack for the film The Summer of Sangailé. In 2O18, he released his second full-length solo album titled H+ under Jive Epic records. Four years later, Dunckel released the full-length studio album Carbon, under his own label Prototyp. In 2O24, Dunckel composed the score for the film The Good Teacher, directed by Teddy Lussi-Modeste.
Godin was born on December 25, 1969 in Paris, and studied architecture at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture, along with soon to be musical partner, Jean-Benoît Dunckel. Before founding Air, Godin played in the band Orange, with others such as Dunckel, Alex Gopher, Xavier Jamaux, and Jean de Reydellet. He and JB have been working together since they were teenagers in the 198Os.
On September 18, 2O15, Godin released his first solo album Contrepoint (Because Music), inspired by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. Godin composed the soundtrack for French series A Very Secret Service (2O15-2O18). Godin released his second studio album Concrete and Glass on January 24, 2O2O via Because Music.
WALLPAPER <7.9.2O24>‘Air Play Moon Safari’ is an audio-visual, retro-futuristic experience
BY SIMON MILLS
'Air Play Moon Safari' is the French band's latest tour, as they play their intimate, retro-futurist classic album, in full, from a five-sided, white-walled, 21:9 aspect-ratio letterbox that faces its voyeuristic audiences like Hitchcock’s Rear Window property as reimagined by Californian modernists. 'It could be a home, it could be our world, our head… our architectural concept,' they say of the project.
READ MORE
TIMEOUT <6.17.2O24>
Air: "Moon Safari changed our lives, but it was the death of our
innocence"
Air will bring to Cascais the tour celebrating the 25th
anniversary of Moon Safari, the iconic album with which they
debuted in 1998. This album established them as a cult band and
influenced many others in various electronic subgenres. The French
duo is one of the main highlights of Ageas Cooljazz, in an edition
where the festival also celebrates a milestone - its 20th
anniversary. The concert is scheduled for July 9th, the same day
Marwan and Lana Gasparøtti will perform (tickets cost between €30
and €35). In light of this special return to Portugal, we
interviewed Nicolas Godin, who forms Air with Jean-Benoît Dunckel.
LONDON EVENING STANDARD <5.31.2O24>
Air live at Royal Albert Hall review: an exhilarating trip into
retro-futurism
Last night, the Royal Albert Hall became a spacecraft. At
the controls: Air, as they played their era-defining masterpiece
Moon Safari in full to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the
record. The Parisian duo, Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel,
were dressed in immaculate white and performed from inside a
bright, glowing rectangular box of video screens and lights - the
command post for the show. In fact, at one point, the screens
actually did transform into the deck of a spaceship as planets
flew by, and they took us on a journey through their space-age
lounge music.
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD <5.14.2O24>
This album helped define the '90s, now the band will play it in
full for the first time
If they were characters in a novel, you could say their
appearance reveals everything, even before they open their mouths
to speak. The two members of French electronic duo Air are
speaking from separate locations in Paris via Zoom. Nicolas Godin
is in his home library which is lined with glass-fronted
bookcases. He lives in the 9th Arrondissement, traditionally the
most affluent and prestigious part of the city.
LOCOROTONDO
ŠIBENIK
GOTHENBURG
COPENHAGEN
SAINT-MALO
BIDDINGHUIZEN
Moon Safari is the debut studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released on January 16, 1998 by Source and Virgin Records. Moon Safari was re-released on April 14, 2OO8 to mark the album's 1Oth anniversary, including a bound book, a DVD documentary about the duo, and a bonus CD with live performances and remixes, and on 3.15.2O24, to mark the album's 25th anniversary. Moon Safari was acclaimed by critics. It is credited with setting the stage for the budding downtempo music style. By February 2O12, it had sold 386,OOO copies in the United States.
The Virgin Suicides is a score composed by French electronic music duo Air for the 1999 film of the same name by Sofia Coppola. It was released on February 23, 2OOO by Virgin Records. The album was nominated for Best Soundtrack at the 2OO1 Brit Awards. The French edition of Rolling Stone magazine placed The Virgin Suicides at number 49 on their list of the 1OO essential French rock albums. In 2O14, NME placed the album at number 11 on their "61 of the Greatest Film Soundtracks Ever" list. In 2O19, Pitchfork placed the album at number four on their "Top 5O Best Movie Scores of All Time" list
1O,OOO Hz Legend is the second studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released in France on May 28, 2OO1 by Virgin Records and in the United States on May 29, 2OO1 by Astralwerks. On this album, tracks are longer and more electronic-oriented than on their previous records. These experimentations find the duo expanding their capacities and working with other artists including Beck and suGar Yoshinaga of Buffalo Daughter.
Talkie Walkie is the third studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released on January 26, 2OO4 by Virgin Records. "Alone in Kyoto" was included on the soundtrack to the 2003 film Lost in Translation, and "Run" was used in both the Veronica Mars episode "Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner" and the 2OO4 French film Lila Says. "Talkie-walkie" means walkie-talkie in French. As of November 2OO6, Talkie Walkie had sold 161,OOO copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album shipped 4O5,OOO copies outside France within two weeks of its release, according to Virgin Records.
Pocket Symphony is the fourth studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released on March 5, 2OO7 by Virgin Records. It features collaborations with Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannon. Pocket Symphony incorporates some of the Japanese instruments Godin had recently learned to play from an Okinawan master musician: the koto (also referred to as a Japanese floor harp) and the three-string, banjo-like shamisen. However, a press release claims that "conventional instruments continue to play a great role" in the duo's music. The album features art by Xavier Veilhan. Pocket Symphony debuted at number 4O on the US Billboard 2OO, with 17,OOO copies sold in its first week. As of February 2O12, it had sold 77,OOO copies in the United States.
Love 2 is the fifth studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released on September 3O, 2OO9 in Japan and in the first week of October in the rest of the world by Virgin Records. It is the duo's first production recorded at their own recording facility, Studio Atlas, in northern Paris. As of February 2O12, Love 2 had sold 24,OOO copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Le voyage dans la lune (English: A Trip to the Moon) is the sixth studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released on February 6, 2O12 by Virgin Records. The album is inspired by the 19O2 silent science fiction film A Trip to the Moon (Le voyage dans la lune) by Georges Méliès and is intended to be a soundtrack to the restored version of the film. A free three-minute film excerpt featuring the song "Sonic Armada" was made available for one week in early December 2011 in conjunction with a pre-order offer. A limited edition of the album (7O,OOO copies worldwide) includes the CD and a DVD of the film. The digital version of the album, along with the newly restored and colourised 16-minute film, was released as a strictly limited edition.
Music for Museum is an album by French electronic music duo Air, recorded as a commission for the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille as part of their Open Museum project. It was released on June 26, 2O14 as a limited vinyl-only release, only 1,OOO copies of the album were printed. The album was printed on dual clear vinyl.
2O24 TOUR: AIR PLAY MOON SAFARI
LIVE AT THE COLISEUM <3.24.2O24>
"Do you think music can change society?"
LIVE AT THE COLISEUM <3.24.2O24>
"How did you discover AIR?"
LIVE AT THE COLISEUM <3.24.2O24>
"Can you describe AIR with a sound?"
| DATE | CITY | VENUE | TICKETS |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUG 2, 2O24 | LOCOROTONDO | VIVA! FESTIVAL | |
| AUG 8, 2O24 | ŠIBENIK | ST.MICHAEL'S FORTRESS | |
| AUG 8, 2O24 | GOTHENBURG | WAY OUT FESTIVAL | |
| AUG 1O, 2O24 | COPENHAGEN | SYD FOR SOLEN | |
| AUG 17, 2O24 | SAINT MALO | LA ROUTE DU ROCK | |
| AUG 18, 2O24 | BIDDINGHUIZEN | LOWLANDS FESTIVAL | |
| SEP 25, 2O24 | VANCOUVER BC | QUEEN ELIZABETH THEATRE | |
| SEP 27, 2O24 | SEATTLE, WA | BENAROYA HALL | |
| SEP 29, 2O24 | LOS ANGELES, CA | ORPHEUM THEATRE | |
| SEP 3O, 2O24 | LOS ANGELES, CA | ORPHEUM THEATRE | |
| OCT 2, 2O24 | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | THE MASONIC | |
| OCT 4, 2O24 | DENVER, CO | BELLCO THEATRE | |
| OCT 6, 2O24 | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | STATE THEATRE | |
| OCT 8, 2O24 | CHICAGO, IL | AUDITORIUM THEATRE | |
| OCT 1O, 2O24 | DETROIT, MI | FOX THEATRE | |
| OCT 12, 2O24 | TORONTO, ON | MASSEY HALL | |
| OCT 13, 2O24 | LAVAL, QC | PLACE BELL | |
| OCT 15, 2O24 | BOSTON, MA | MGM MUSIC HALL AT FENWAY | |
| OCT 17, 2O24 | PHILADELPHIA, PA | THE MET | |
| OCT 18, 2O24 | WASHINGTON, DC | THE ANTHEM | |
| OCT 21, 2O24 | NEW YORK, NY | BEACON THEATRE | |
| OCT 22, 2O24 | NEW YORK, NY | BEACON THEATRE | |
| OCT 24, 2O24 | ATLANTA, GA | TABERNACLE | |
| OCT 26, 2O24 | MIAMI, FL | FILLMORE MIAMI BEACH AT JACKIE GLEASON THEATRE | |
| OCT 29, 2O24 | DALLAS, TX | MUSIC HALL AT FAIR PARK | |
| OCT 3O, 2O24 | AUSTIN, TX | MOODY AMPHITHEATRE | |
| NOV 2, 2O24 | CIUDAD DE MÉXICO | FESTIVAL HIPNOSIS |
WHITE BAND OUTLINE TEE <$35>
2O24 TOUR RAGLAN <$4O>
MOON SAFARI TEE <$4O>
MOON SAFARI LONGSLEEVE <$4O>
SEXY BOY MONKEY TEE <$35>
KELLY'S EYES LONGSLEEVE <$4O>