Nicolas Godin studied architecture at the École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Versailles, and Jean-Benoît Dunckel studied mathematics, before forming a band in 1995. Before founding Air (erroneously considered as an acronym of Amour, Imagination, Rêve, which translates to Love, Imagination, Dream), Dunckel and Godin played together in the band Orange with others such as Alex Gopher, Xavier Jamaux and Jean de Reydellet. The former two subsequently contributed to remixes of tracks recorded by Air.
Initially Godin worked alone, recording a demo with members of Funkadelic as his backing band before releasing his first entirely solo effort, "Modular Mix", which featured production by Étienne de Crécy.
Career
After making several remixes for other acts in the first half of the 1990s, Air recorded its first EP, Premiers Symptômes, in 1995. The band released its first album, Moon Safari, in 1998. Its first single, "Sexy Boy", was heavily played on alternative radio stations. The album received universal acclaim and became an international success. In 1999, Air composed the score The Virgin Suicides to Sofia Coppola's debut film of the same name; in 2012, Air wrote its second score to Georges Méliès' Le voyage dans la lune.
Other works
Air has often collaborated with Coppola. Air drummer and former Redd Kross member Brian Reitzell put together the soundtrack to 2003's Lost in Translation, including one original contribution by Air titled "Alone in Kyoto". The soundtrack for Coppola's October 2006 film Marie Antoinette featured a track by Air ("Il Secondo Giorno"). Air wrote and played the music of the album 5:55 by Anglo-French actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg, which was released in August 2006. Air has recorded a DJ mix album, Late Night Tales: Air, for Azuli Records' Late Night Tales series. The release was initially scheduled for October 2005, but was delayed several times. It finally was released, complete with a new sleeve design, in September 2006. Darkel, a solo album by Dunckel, was released that same year.
City Reading (Tre Storie Western) (2003) started as an idea for a collaboration with contemporary Italian writer Alessandro Baricco, known for his unusual characterizations and lyrical, poetic style. Baricco contacted Air in summer 2002 with the idea to marry narration of texts from his book City with live original musical accompaniment. The performance premiered live in November 2002 at Rome's Teatro Valle and was deemed such a success that both parties resolved to make a full studio recording.
Influences and musical style
Air is associated with a variety of musical styles: electronica, space pop, dream pop, progressive rock, downtempo, chillout, trip hop, ambient, electronic pop and space rock. Dunckel grew up listening to both classical and electronic music, especially Kraftwerk. He later took an interest in what he called the "English dark rock" of Siouxsie and the Banshees and Joy Division, while being a fan of David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed. Brian Eno and Cluster were two of the electronic acts who inspired him the most. He cites among his favorite artists: Maurice Ravel for classical music, François de Roubaix for music soundtracks and Siouxsie and the Banshees for pop music. Dunckel shared with Godin a special liking for the music of Michel Legrand, Philip Glass and Grace Jones. During his childhood, Godin was fascinated by the Beatles before later discovering the soul of Sly and the Family Stone. The duo were influenced by progressive rock pioneers Pink Floyd.
Air uses many of its studio instruments (like Moog synthesizers, the Korg MS-20, Wurlitzer and Vocoder) 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 (10 000 Hz Legend) and Jean-Michel Jarre ("Close Your Eyes" from Jarre's Electronica 1: The Time Machine). They also invited Dave Palmer on their 2004 tour and drummer Earl Harvin, Vincent Taurelle and Steve Jones on their 2007 tour.
Studio albums
Moon Safari (1998)
10 000 Hz Legend (2001)
Talkie Walkie (2004)
Pocket Symphony (2007)
Love 2 (2009)
Le voyage dans la lune (2012)
Soundtrack albums
The Virgin Suicides (2000)
Music for Museum (2014)
Extended plays
Premiers Symptômes (1997)
Collaborative albums
City Reading (Tre Storie Western) (2003)
Mix and remix albums
Everybody Hertz (2002)
Late Night Tales (2006)
Compilation albums
Twentyears (2016)
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Air is one of the many aliases of Pete Namlook. He has been releasing ambient music under this name since the release of an eponymous album in 1993.
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Japanese noise rock, Air is an alias of Koji Kurumatani first released album Wear Off in 1996.
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Air is a late 90s Indonesian Pop band that became popular with their "Bintang" song.
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Air was a jazz trio with its roots steeped in Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), and was formed originally in 1971. The jazz trio Air formed from within the Muhal Richard Abrams Sextet, which was active on the Chicago scene contemporaneously with the birth and growth of the AACM and groups such as the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Henry Threadgill on reeds, hubcaphone, and percussion; Fred Hopkins on bass, and Steve McCall on drums formed the trio when Threadgill was commissioned by Columbia College to score and adapt Scott Joplin's work for a performance honoring Joplin's centenary (Joplin's birth has been established now as sometime in 1868) and a rebirth of interest in the noted ragtime composer. All three men were Air signs in the zodiac, and so adopted the name.
They performed first around Chicago, while maintaining residency with Muhal Abrams group, which also featured Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre and Wallace McMillan, both reed players. The Air "brand" remained a side project until all three reunited in New York in 1975, and began recording under that name for India Navigation, Nessa, Black Saint, and Novus. The trio broke up when Steve McCall left in the early 1980s, and when Pheroan Aklaff joined in 1982, they recorded as New Air, and recorded several albums under that name, including Air Show No. 1 in 1986, which featured Cassandra Wilson on vocals. Andrew Cyrille ultimately replaced akLaff before the band eventually was superceded by the burgeoning careers of its members: Threadgill with his groups Sextett and Very Very Circus, and Hopkins as the go-to bassist for Threadgill, David Murray, and Hamiet Bluiett. McCall's health forced his retirement from touring around 1980, and the dynamic drummer and effusive and gracious man who was a cofounder of the AACM with Muhal Abrams and Fred Anderson, died of a stroke in 1989.
This Air is listed as Air (4) on Discogs and is also been identified on last.fm as Air (Fred Hopkins, Steve McCall, Henry Threadgill) and Air with Fred Hopkins, Steve Mccall, Henry Threadgill (sic: McCall's name misspelt), and possibly also other alternative spellings of the group's name exist.
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Air was a psychedelic folk rock band featuring Googie and Tom Coppola, John Siegler and Mark Rosengarden. They released their first self titled album in 1971.
Bird
Air Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴
Bird, il suo nome, bird, vecchio pistolero, il più vecchio, con strade sulla faccia, camminate da infinite sparatorie, diceva Shatzy. Gli occhi deglutiti dal cranio, e mani di ulivo, le mani veloci, rami d'inverno. Stanchi. Il suo pettine, al mattino, bagnato d'acqua, rigare i capelli bianchi all'indietro, trasparenti, ormai. Polmoni di tabacco nella voce che piano dice: che vento, oggi.
Niente di peggio che non morire, per un pistolero.
Guardarsi intorno, ogni faccia mai vista può essere quella dell'idiota di turno arrivato da lontano per diventare quello che ha ammazzato Clay "Bird" Puller. Se vuoi sapere quando si diventa un mito, allora ascolta: è quando ti ritrovi a duellare sempre di schiena. Finché ti vengono incontro da davanti sei solo un pistolero. La gloria è una scia di merda, dietro la schiena. - Sbrigati coglione, - disse senza nemmeno voltarsi. Il ragazzetto aveva un cappello nero, e in tasca qualche stronzata che era il ricordo di un odio lontano, e la promessa di una qualche vendetta. - Troppo tardi, coglione.
Come sparava Bird. Teneva le fondine al contrario con il calcio della pistola che usciva in avanti. Estraeva a braccia incrociate, la pistola destra nella mano sinistra, e viceversa. Così, quando ti veniva incontro, le dita a sfiorare il calcio delle pistole, sembrava una specie di condannato, qualcosa come un prigioniero che stesse andando al patibolo, con le braccia legate davanti. Un istante dopo era un uccello rapace che apriva le ali, una frustata nell'aria, e il geometrico volo di due pallottole. Bird.
Cos'è allora questo strisciare nella nebbia delle mie cataratte, costretto a contare le ore, io che conoscevo gli istanti, ed era l'unico tempo che esisteva per me. Lo scarto di una pupilla, le nocche sbiancate intorno a un bicchiere, uno sperone nel fianco del cavallo, l'ombra di un'ombra sul muro blu. Ci ho vissuto eternità, dove gli altri vedevano attimi. Per loro era come lampo ciò che per me era una mappa, una stella dove io vedevo cieli. Io pensavo dentro pieghe del tempo che per loro erano già ricordo. Non c'è altro modo, mi avevano insegnato, per vedere la morte prima che arrivi. Cos'è allora questo strisciare nella nebbia delle mie cataratte, costretto a spiare le carte degli altri, mendicando battute dalla mia sedia, sempre quella, in seconda fila, la sera a tirare sassi ai cani, in tasca soldi da vecchio che le puttane non vogliono, li prenderà un mariachi, quando verrà, che sia triste e lunga la tua canzone, ragazzo, dolce la tua chitarra e lenta la tua voce, io voglio ballare, questa notte, fino al tramonto di questa notte, io ballerò.
Dicevano che Bird si portasse sempre dietro un dizionario. Francese. Ci aveva studiato tutte le parole, una dopo l'altra, in ordine alfabetico. Era così vecchio che aveva già fatto il giro e adesso se ne stava dalle parti della G, per la seconda volta. Nessuno sapeva perché mai facesse tutto quello. Però una volta, a Tandeltown, dicono che si avvicinò a una donna, era bellissima, alta, occhi verdi, c'era da chiedersi come fosse finita lì. Lui le si avvicinò e le disse: Enchanté.
Clay "Bird" Puller. Morirà in un modo bellissimo, diceva Shatzy. Gliel'ho promesso: morirà in un modo bellissimo.
"City" is a spoken word track by Air that features an excerpt of Alessandro Baricco reading from his book of the same name. The passage describes an old and withered gunslinger named Clay "Bird" Puller. The gunslinger is described as having streets on his face, a result of endless shootouts and fights. He is called "Bird," and despite being old and frail, he still carries a pistol and a dictionary. The passage reflects on the nature of becoming a legend and the violent and lonely life of a gunslinger. The gunslinger yearns for death, but he remains vigilant as he knows that anyone could be the one to kill him.
The passage is filled with descriptions of the gunslinger's physical appearance, as well as his tactics and mentality. The gunslinger is described as having eyes that look like they are swallowing his skull, and hands that are fast like winter branches. He is always tired, and even when he wakes up in the morning, his hair is already transparent and white. The gunslinger is also revealed to be a student of language as he is said to carry a French dictionary with him at all times. The passage also contemplates the passage of time and the nature of memory, as the gunslinger reflects on the beauty of the stars and the maps of his life that only he can see.
Contributed by Jacob M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Anna1ta
Ottimo 👍
@bargi8
Quanto è forte Baricco, quando vuole...
@Ur0n
This is oooold, but really good.
@Enthcreations
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤
@velouriafiction5000
they are back??! well, on my mp3 player and in my mind they've never been gone but.. THEY ARE BACK??! can't wait.
@velouriafiction5000
okay, i was so enthusiastic that i have not read the comments here before..
@Mattteus
This hurts me and I love it!
@SoulMachine
Wait... A new AIR album is coming??!
@FrancescoDeGiorgio
don't think so.
@SoulMachine
@@FrancescoDeGiorgio yeah I found out it was an old album!