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.
Planet Caravan
Air Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stars shine like eyes
The black night sighs
The moon in silver trees
Falls down in tears
Light of the night
The earth, a purple blaze
Of sapphire haze
While down below the trees
Bathed in cool breeze
Silver starlight breaks down the night
And so we pass on by the crimson eye
Of great god mars
As we travel the universe
The lyrics to Air's song Planet Caravan are an exploration of the vast expanse of space and our place in it. The opening lines describe the sensation of soaring through the limitless sky, with the stars above twinkling like eyes. The night itself seems to breathe, with a sense of melancholy that is heightened by the falling moon, which sheds tears of silver light. As we look down on Earth from our cosmic vantage point, it appears as a glowing orb wrapped in a layer of purple haze.
In the second verse, the lyrics turn to the more tangible world of nature, as the trees below are bathed in a cool breeze and the stars above shine down on them. However, this tranquil scene is soon interrupted by the appearance of the red planet Mars, which looms up in the distance like a giant, watchful god. Even as we marvel at the beauty and mystery of the universe, we are reminded of the vast, unknowable forces that are always at work around us.
Overall, the lyrics to Planet Caravan are an evocative meditation on the majesty of the natural world and our place within it. They capture a sense of wonder, awe, and even a tinge of sadness as we contemplate the enormity of the universe and our own fleeting existence within it.
Line by Line Meaning
We sail through endless skies
We are traveling through the vast space and moving aimlessly without any direction.
Stars shine like eyes
The stars are glittering like they are keeping a watchful eye on us.
The black night sighs
The dark sky seems to be expressing a profound sadness as we continue our journey.
The moon in silver trees
The moon appears like a white glowing sphere that gets entangled within the branches of the trees.
Falls down in tears
The moon appears like it is shedding tears as it shines in the sky.
Light of the night
The soft and mild light from the moon creates a serene and soothing atmosphere in the sky.
The earth, a purple blaze
The planet Earth looks like a bright purple orb that fills the sky with its intense hue.
Of sapphire haze
The planet is surrounded by a deep blue haze that contributes to its striking appearance.
In orbit always
The Earth has a set path and always moves in a circular motion around the sun.
While down below the trees
As we travel through space, we catch a glimpse of the serene and tranquil atmosphere below us.
Bathed in cool breeze
The gentle breeze adds to the peaceful ambiance of the surroundings on Earth.
Silver starlight breaks down the night
The bright and dazzling light of the stars helps in illuminating the darkness of the night.
And so we pass on by the crimson eye
We continue our journey through space and move past the red planet Mars.
Of great god mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the sun and has a distinct reddish appearance in the sky.
As we travel the universe
Our journey has no finite destination as we continue to explore and travel through the vast universe.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
badriyah43
Love this. Beautiful and timeless.
Andrew Robertson
Fantastic song, reminds me exactly of some downtempo song that would be on one of the Desert Sessions.
lowlandr
This was on a meditation playlist by one of my yoga instructors. She had no idea who it was but I finally tracked it down.
This shit got some mojo on it.
Aulon Harizaj
lowlandr haha!
Tina C
this is why i love AIR <3 they get it
Mentis Abutor
It's not a remix, it's the original version.
David Bone
dejarla suave hasta el min 1:07 y subirle gradualmente en la parte que sigue
Adam Bocheński
I do not know the words which could describe what I feel.
Wade Thompson
As i soar over your dying planet i will play this.
Octopod
perfect remix. antique.