Spotlight: Air

Two French guys. Two Modernists. Two amazing musicians. This is Air. This is Jean-Benoît Dunckel and Nicolas Godin. From three hundred year old pianos to a modern day keyboard, Air embraces new technology with old traditional musical instruments. Air released their fourth studio album, Pocket Symphony, earlier this year (March 2007) and it is another evolution in their musical journey.

I first heard of Air when a friend showed me the video for “All I Need” from their ’98 album Moon Safari. And from there I was hooked.  It’s the type of music you’d listen to during summer, sitting in your garden reading magzines, having a bbq or drinks with friends. At least that’s what I did while listening to the tunes of Air and bands like Zero 7, Morcheeba, and Massive Attack, during my summers in London.  Their music is chill and relaxing, but it still has that energy that makes you want to groove with it.

Each of their albums has been an organic journey from one to another. They are always evolving, always challenging the new and old, and always looking for a new sound to embrace as their own. Pocket Symphony is another step in their journey. This time around, they have created music that is more instrumental with a Far Eastern influence. This is most evident from “One Hell of a Party.”
 

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While adding a Far Eastern tour through their voyage, they have also included some interesting collaborations to their sound. Air worked with Neil Hannon and Jarvis Cocker, who they had met while working on the Charlotte Gainsbourg album.  The work is different from their past collaborations, but both are delivered brilliantly.

The band has toured America, including a mini and more intimate tour around California. I met up with the boys at their Anaheim show to see what they had to say and what their plans are for their upcoming break before starting up again for their European tour this Fall.


Article & Photos by: Pamela Lin
 *All songs on Artist Site.
Tracks from "Pocket Symphony"
Air
This month, Air.
BandNation caught up with Jean-Benoît Dunckel (Also known as JB) and Nicolas Godin from Air before their show at the Grove in Anaheim, California. Congratulations on your album Pocket Symphony. Can you tell us about the album and the recording process?
JB: So many things to say. You know it was an album that we did the same time as Charlotte Gainsbourg; we were doing an album for her. I guess for Charlotte it was about doing pop songs, and we were obsessed by the song format, and for this one [Pocket Symphony] we wanted something else. Something in another format. Another effect. So it was more experimental. And that’s why we did a lot of instrumental music, and that’s also why Jarvis [Cocker] and [Neil] Hannon came to sing. Because we worked with them for Charlotte Gainsbourg. So it was a consequence of his work.
How was it like to collaborate with them?
JB: It was very interesting.

Yeah? Very Different?

JB: Yeah. Very different and we wanted to have some strong male voices. And we wanted to develop the quality of singers and they have a low voice and a special range. We like that a lot.