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.
Sunset
Air Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
少し風が吹いた
勇敢に 生まれ変わるようにほら
歌い出せばいつも
全てを照らし出す 太陽が
いつも背中を押すんだ
あの夏の沈む太陽
あの夏の光る水面
誰もいないsunrise beach
水平線まで 僕らには
泳げる気がしたんだ
あの海で笑いはしゃぐ
あの海で溶けて泳ぐ
おいしい風の大安売り
そしてほら
まるで涙目のように 優しく赤く
潤んでるsunset
バイバイ see you
そこにも素晴らしい
あしたが来ますように
ほら すねてたら 何も始まらないさ
I know that I am always
singing for you
I don't know how to explain
so I have sung forever
あの日あの時も今も
I don't know how to express
so I'm singing forever
The lyrics to Air's Sunset are wistful and nostalgic, reminiscing on a past summer filled with warmth and happiness, and expressing a desire to be able to return to that moment again. The song begins with the verse "1.2.3, softly singing, the wind blows lightly," setting a peaceful and introspective mood. The lyrics then express a longing to be brave and to feel reborn, with the act of singing symbolizing this renewal. The sun is a recurring image throughout the song, representing strength, guidance, and the passing of time. The sunset, in particular, is described as looking gently red, like teary eyes, suggesting both beauty and sadness.
The song's chorus describes memories of a deserted beach at sunrise, where the singer and their companions felt that they could swim all the way to the horizon. This image of a boundless sea reflects the feeling of unlimited possibility that the singer associates with that past summer. The second verse continues the beach theme, describing the pleasures of laughing and swimming in the sea.
The final lines of the song express a hope for the future, with the singer bidding farewell and looking forward to another wonderful tomorrow. The song's final sentiment is one of gratitude and love, as the singer reflects on how they have always sung for their audience, hoping to express what they cannot put into words.
Overall, Sunset is a meditative and introspective song that celebrates the beauty of nature and the fleeting nature of memories. Its lyrics are full of poetic imagery and emotion, inviting listeners to contemplate their own memories of the past and the boundless possibilities of the future.
Line by Line Meaning
1.2.3 ゆらり歌い出したら
As soon as we start singing casually and slowly
少し風が吹いた
A light breeze starts blowing
勇敢に 生まれ変わるようにほら
It's like being reborn bravely
歌い出せばいつも
Whenever we start singing
全てを照らし出す 太陽が
The sun shines and illuminates everything
いつも背中を押すんだ
It always encourages us from behind
あの夏の沈む太陽
The setting sun of that summer
あの夏の光る水面
The shining water surface of that summer
ほら 何もない
Look, there's nothing here
誰もいないsunrise beach
A deserted sunrise beach
水平線まで 僕らには
We feel like we can swim all the way to the horizon
泳げる気がしたんだ
We felt like we could swim
あの海で笑いはしゃぐ
Laughing and frolicking in that sea
あの海で溶けて泳ぐ
Melting and swimming in that sea
おいしい風の大安売り
A good bargain of delicious wind
そしてほら
And look
まるで涙目のように 優しく赤く
As if it's teary-eyed, softly and red
潤んでるsunset
A moist sunset
バイバイ see you
Goodbye, see you
そこにも素晴らしい
There is also something wonderful there
あしたが来ますように
May tomorrow come
ほら すねてたら 何も始まらないさ
Look, if we sulk, nothing will start
I know that I am always
I know that I am always
singing for you
Singing for you
I don't know how to explain
I don't know how to explain
so I have sung forever
So I have sung forever
あの日あの時も今も
That day, that time, and even now
I don't know how to express
I don't know how to express
so I'm singing forever
So I'm singing forever
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: AIR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bima Sudiarto
Thank you so much for this! Used to play this on loop in my teens, dreaming a lot, dreaming big. Echoes are all I have now. Echoes and ghosts.
Ricardo Costa
Que música maravilhosa!
arlene
This brings back memories when i was so crazy with Air Supply during my childhood... thanks for this song.
RetroGeek
Arlene Hiquiana You're welcome :)
JGIL Santos
Belíssima canção. ..etaaaa AIR SUPPLY...SAUDADES
Bambang Gumilar
For years I always get carried away by this song's simple tune and lyric whenever I listen to it.
agustin perez
I lost my partner, he passed away last June (my love for more than 6 years) I hear this song and..come in tears 😢
Mahjabeen Hossain
Don't u just love listening to old songs and think about all the good memories :')
Alexander Zaf
very nice song i love it
Àchtar Lewis
Simply amazing ❤