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.
Don't Be Light feat. Pharrell
Air Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't be light
Don't be light
Maybe like me
Don't be light
Don't be light
Don't be light
Don't be light
Don't, don't, don't
Don't
Don't be light
Don't
Maybe like me
Don't be light
Don't be light
Don't be light
Maybe like me
Don't be light
Don't be light
Don't be light
Aaah, wild life
The gray surprises of our days, singing in caves
Fabricating a new abandon
We don't see the master's hand
We bang on gold tambourines
In the cross hairs of some transient gun
Trading desires on the banquet line
La la la la la la
La la la la la la
La la la la la la
La la la la la la
Don't
Don't be light
Don't
Maybe like me
Don't be light
Don't be light
Don't be light
Maybe like me
Don't be light
The lyrics for Air's "Don't Be Light" suggest a plea to someone to not be superficial or superficially happy. The repetition of “Don’t be light,” emphasizes this message. The lyric “Maybe like me” could indicate a desire to connect with someone who sees the world in a more profound or meaningful way. The second verse talks about “wild life” and “gray surprises” indicating that life is unpredictable and full of surprises. The line “We don’t see the master’s hand” could suggest that life is beyond the control of humans, and we are not aware of a higher power guiding us. The phrase “trading desires on the banquet line” suggests that life is like a buffet of desires, which we keep exchanging to keep ourselves satisfied. Overall, the song emphasizes a desire to connect with someone who looks beyond the surface of life and finds deeper meaning.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't be light
Don't be superficial or shallow
Don't be light
Don't be insubstantial or frivolous
Maybe like me
Perhaps you can relate to me
Don't be light
Don't be unimportant or weightless
Don't be light
Don't lack substance or depth
Don't be light
Don't be insignificant or trivial
Maybe like me
Maybe I'm not the only one who thinks this way
Don't be light
Don't be silly or foolish
Don't be light
Don't be naive or gullible
Don't be light
Don't underestimate the gravity of the situation
Don't
Do not
Don't be light
Don't be careless or reckless
Don't
Do not
Maybe like me
Perhaps you can see things from my perspective
Don't be light
Don't be fanciful or flighty
Don't be light
Don't be all talk and no substance
Don't be light
Don't lack intelligence or wisdom
Aaah, wild life
Oh, the unpredictable nature of existence
The gray surprises of our days, singing in caves
Life is full of unexpected twists and turns and hidden depths
Fabricating a new abandon
Creating a sense of letting go, of freedom from the past
We don't see the master's hand
We don't always understand the forces that shape our lives
We bang on gold tambourines
We celebrate the good times, even if they're fleeting or superficial
In the cross hairs of some transient gun
We are constantly under threat, even if we don't always realise it
Trading desires on the banquet line
We are always searching for what will make us happy, but often end up settling for less
La la la la la la
Nonsensical sound, used to bridge between verses
La la la la la la
Nonsensical sound, used to bridge between verses
La la la la la la
Nonsensical sound, used to bridge between verses
La la la la la la
Nonsensical sound, used to bridge between verses
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: JEAN BENOIT DUNCKEL, NICOLAS GODIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Facebook: Pat Triot Hatér Sr.
🖖🏽🖖🏽🖖🏽🖖🏽 you’re so dope! Thank you for hitting us Neptunes fans with the constant heat. It really shows how dope the Neptunes have always been. Thank you for all other feel good loops too! 🖖🏽
aMy O
This means a lot thank u 🥲❤️🖖🏾
Jason
Mixes well with the Six Underground clip. Bravo, Amy. You've done it again 👍🏾
Michael
Oh my days!! One of the best Neptunes Remixes 😍🥹
Can we get a version with the chorus as well? Please please please!!!
dkm07305able
This is 🔥. Haven't heard this in years.
B Scott
Oh man I haven’t heard this is like 15 years. Nice!
ash
AHHH thank you so much!! this is amazing!
FAT LLAMA
AMY STAY WITH THE HEAT 🥰
TheLoneWolfEffect
You stay with the 🔥 🔥 🔥🔥🔥
SHEN REAPER
Mashed up with Sneakerpimps this is awesome.