Album: Moon Safari
Artist: Air
Born: Versailles, France
Released: January 1998
Genre: Downtempo
A fact that's never been lost on me, given it was my first year at university, is that 1998 wasn't a vintage year for new music. One genre that did catch on was downtempo electronica, or "coffee table music" as some have called it, given its suitability for consumption while relaxing at home. The trend for slowing down dance music to a languid pace came at the end of a decade that started with high-energy forms like rave and techno, and was largely pioneered on the European continent. One famous partnership was Kruder & Dorfmeister, an Austrian duo that developed a cult following at UK festival, The Big Chill. But it was this duo from France that created the album that came to define the genre. In the title of the album and the video for hit single, Sexy Boy, the pair portray themselves as explorers through space bringing their music to distant stars. This futuristic image is at odds with the retro sound of their music, which owes a debt to 70s analogue synths and chanteuses like Françoise Hardy. In fact, David Whitaker, who had arranged strings for Nico and Vashti Bunyan as well as many leading lights in France's yé yé scene in the 60s like Serge Gainsbourg and Johnny Hallyday, was drafted in for the Moon Safari sessions. This created a rich, dense sound that was effortlessly cool at the same time.
Sexy Boy, aided by its great video including a toy monkey and superb animation, was a successful single in the UK and, along with critical praise, helped the album chart at No.5. I remember it being the almost ubiquitous sonic wallpaper of friends' rooms when I returned to university in early 1998. Jean-Benoît Dunckel and Nicolas Godin, like compatriots Daft Punk, kept a low profile in the British music press and let the music do the talking. The first half of Moon Safari is sublime, La Femme D'Argent mixing soul samples and a mellow mood, Sexy Boy oozing seductive bass frequencies and All I Need a tribute to the chanteuses of old, with its sultry vocal performance by Beth Hirsch. Air were real musicians, not just tech wizards twisting knobs. Remember features wonderful Moog playing by Jean-Jacques Perrey and a Beach Boys sample, while Ce Matin-Là is a stunning chilled out ballad. Air would quickly capitalise on the success of Moon Safari by releasing the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola film, The Virgin Suicides (2000), which is much sadder and poignant but still mesmerising and a perfect fit for the film. The soundtrack also pays a heavy debt to mid-70s Pink Floyd, a trait you can hear in Moon Safari too. Along with Stereolab and Daft Punk, Air were at the forefront of a revival in French pop music in the 90s.
A fact that's never been lost on me, given it was my first year at university, is that 1998 wasn't a vintage year for new music. One genre that did catch on was downtempo electronica, or "coffee table music" as some have called it, given its suitability for consumption while relaxing at home. The trend for slowing down dance music to a languid pace came at the end of a decade that started with high-energy forms like rave and techno, and was largely pioneered on the European continent. One famous partnership was Kruder & Dorfmeister, an Austrian duo that developed a cult following at UK festival, The Big Chill. But it was this duo from France that created the album that came to define the genre. In the title of the album and the video for hit single, Sexy Boy, the pair portray themselves as explorers through space bringing their music to distant stars. This futuristic image is at odds with the retro sound of their music, which owes a debt to 70s analogue synths and chanteuses like Françoise Hardy. In fact, David Whitaker, who had arranged strings for Nico and Vashti Bunyan as well as many leading lights in France's yé yé scene in the 60s like Serge Gainsbourg and Johnny Hallyday, was drafted in for the Moon Safari sessions. This created a rich, dense sound that was effortlessly cool at the same time.
Sexy Boy, aided by its great video including a toy monkey and superb animation, was a successful single in the UK and, along with critical praise, helped the album chart at No.5. I remember it being the almost ubiquitous sonic wallpaper of friends' rooms when I returned to university in early 1998. Jean-Benoît Dunckel and Nicolas Godin, like compatriots Daft Punk, kept a low profile in the British music press and let the music do the talking. The first half of Moon Safari is sublime, La Femme D'Argent mixing soul samples and a mellow mood, Sexy Boy oozing seductive bass frequencies and All I Need a tribute to the chanteuses of old, with its sultry vocal performance by Beth Hirsch. Air were real musicians, not just tech wizards twisting knobs. Remember features wonderful Moog playing by Jean-Jacques Perrey and a Beach Boys sample, while Ce Matin-Là is a stunning chilled out ballad. Air would quickly capitalise on the success of Moon Safari by releasing the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola film, The Virgin Suicides (2000), which is much sadder and poignant but still mesmerising and a perfect fit for the film. The soundtrack also pays a heavy debt to mid-70s Pink Floyd, a trait you can hear in Moon Safari too. Along with Stereolab and Daft Punk, Air were at the forefront of a revival in French pop music in the 90s.
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