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.
Quell'uomo bara dice
Air Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
InstrumentalThe lyrics to Air's instrumental track Quell'uomo Bara Dice are actually spoken word in Italian by author Alessandro Baricco reading an excerpt from his book City. The passage he reads is a philosophical reflection on the complicated nature of human beings and the way they present themselves to the world. The title of the track translates to "The man who lies says," which alludes to the idea that everyone hides their true selves behind a façade of some sort.
Throughout the excerpt, Baricco poses questions and makes statements about the layers of deception that exist within every person. He suggests that everyone has something they hide or withhold from others, and that every person's story is more complicated and nuanced than they may choose to reveal. The music in the background only enhances the melancholy and introspective mood of the spoken words, making for a deeply thought-provoking piece.
Overall, this track is a beautiful combination of spoken word and music that invites listeners to think deeply about the nature of humanity and the complex, often hidden aspects of the self.
Line by Line Meaning
Che figura di merda che non si scorda mai
A humiliating experience that one can never forget
L'odore di quel bacio non si è mai disperso
The scent of that kiss has never dissipated
C'era qualcosa d'ira, di dolore e di terrore
There was something of anger, pain, and terror
Sei stato tu ad addormentarti al suono dei miei passi
You fell asleep to the sound of my footsteps
Non avevi mai visto il mare, non avevi mai visto morire qualcuno
You had never seen the sea, you had never seen someone die
Tutte le cose erano belle, evidentemente, ma anche un poco confuse
All things were beautiful, evidently, but also a bit confusing
Nessun gesto era troppo strano, nessuna cosa era fuori posto
No gesture was too strange, nothing was out of place
Eravamo così lontani da tutto, così vicini tra di noi
We were so far from everything, so close to each other
Eravamo il mondo, finalmente
We were the world, finally
Quell'uomo bara dice
That man lies and says
Quell'uomo non sa niente
That man knows nothing
Neppure il suo nome
Not even his name
Non prova niente
He feels nothing
E' solo un po' stanco
He's just a little tired
Quell'uomo baratrie
That man deceives
Non ha nessuna risposta
He has no answer
Ancora una volta
Once more
Quell'uomo dice che quella storia non è andata così
That man says that the story didn't happen like that
Che quella ferita non è mai stata curata
That wound was never healed
Che quella notte non è mai esistita
That night never existed
Che quella luce era buia e quel calore un freddo che ti spacca l'anima
That light was dark and that warmth was a cold that breaks your soul
Quell'uomo dice che non c'è niente da capire
That man says there's nothing to understand
Che non c'è niente da dire
That there's nothing to say
Che non c'è niente da chiedere
That there's nothing to ask
Che non c'è niente da piangere
That there's nothing to cry about
Ma l'amore era vero
But the love was real
E tu lo sai
And you know it
Lo sai che era vero
You know that it was real
E' solo quell'uomo che mente
It's just that man who lies
Quell'uomo che non capisce
That man who doesn't understand
Che non si ferma un istante a guardarsi intorno
He doesn't stop for a moment to look around
E' solo quell'uomo
He's just that man
Contributed by Aria I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.