AIR 
Electronic / Downtempo / Other Electronic Music
[wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink]'s sensual, atmospheric sound may have made them outliers in the late-'90s electronica boom, but they became one of the most influential electronic acts of the 2000s and beyond. [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Nicolas Godin[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Jean-Benoît Dunckel[/wimpLink]'s influences -- [wimpLink artistId="28796"]Burt Bacharach[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="7033"]Brian Wilson[/wimpLink], disco, synthesizer maestros like Tomita and [wimpLink artistId="5115"]Vangelis[/wimpLink], new wave, and obscure Italian film soundtracks -- distinguished them from their dancefloor-oriented contemporaries and helped make their 1998 debut album [wimpLink albumId="43710473"]Moon Safari[/wimpLink] an instant classic. The duo continued to go against the grain with 2000's [wimpLink albumId="157275"]10,000 Hz Legend[/wimpLink], which took [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink]'s astonishing powers of mood and texture in ambitious -- and polarizing -- directions. On their subsequent albums, [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] bridged the gap between their breezy pop and experimentalism, with efforts like 2004's [wimpLink albumId="156948"]Talkie Walkie[/wimpLink] leaning towards the former and 2007's [wimpLink albumId="71354598"]Pocket Symphony[/wimpLink] tending toward the latter. [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink]'s style also suited soundtracks perfectly, and their music for 2000's The Virgin Suicides and 2012's Le Voyage Dans La Lune was as haunting as their own albums. In all of their work, [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink] brought much-needed beauty, emotion, and glamor to electronic music.
Though [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Nicolas Godin[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Jean-Benoît Dunckel[/wimpLink] both grew up in Versailles, the two didn't meet until they began studying at the same college. [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink], who had studied mathematics at the Conservatoire in Paris and whose musical taste ranged from [wimpLink artistId="3889772"]Ravel[/wimpLink] to [wimpLink artistId="11949"]Joy Division[/wimpLink] to [wimpLink artistId="31917"]Grace Jones[/wimpLink], played in an alternative band named Orange along with house music producer-to-be [wimpLink artistId="3538394"]Étienne de Crécy[/wimpLink]. One of [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink]'s other bandmates, [wimpLink artistId="3583931"]Alex Gopher[/wimpLink], introduced [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] into the lineup. An architecture student, [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] began playing in rock bands when he was a teenager, then dabbled in soul, hip-hop and other sounds. After Orange disbanded, [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] was asked by a longtime friend to contribute a track for a compilation for the label Source. He recorded "Modulor Mix," a tribute to Le Corbusier created with an eight-track, drum loops, and a handful of vintage synths and keyboards. Following the track's release on the 1995 collection Source Lab, [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] recruited [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink] to help him further develop the music he was making, and [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink] was born. During 1996-1997, the duo released singles on Britain's Mo' Wax ("Modular") and Source ("Casanova 70," "Le Soleil Est Prés de Moi"). [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink] also remixed [wimpLink artistId="8877"]Depeche Mode[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="13759714"]Neneh Cherry[/wimpLink] and joined French musique concrète popster [wimpLink artistId="3661173"]Jean-Jacques Perrey[/wimpLink] for a track on the Source compilation Sourcelab, Vol. 3. Arriving in July 1997, Air's debut EP [wimpLink albumId="41165257"]Premiers Symptômes[/wimpLink] collected their early singles and reached number 12 on the charts in the U.K., where it was ultimately certified gold.
Signed to Virgin, [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink] released their debut album, [wimpLink albumId="43710473"]Moon Safari[/wimpLink], in January 1998. Recorded at London's Abbey Road as well as several studios in Paris, the album expanded on [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink]'s sound with a sumptuous blend of electronic and acoustic instrumentation. Certified platinum in several European countries (and a double platinum hit in the U.K.), Moon Safari's international success was bolstered by the singles "Sexy Boy" and "Kelly Watch the Stars." Later that year, [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink] completed an ambitious tour throughout Europe and America.
After the 1999 rerelease of [wimpLink albumId="41165257"]Premiers Symptômes[/wimpLink] with bonus tracks, [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink]'s soundtrack to the Sofia Coppola film The Virgin Suicides followed in February 2000. A fittingly dreamy set of pieces highlighted by vocals from [wimpLink artistId="6368850"]Gordon Tracks[/wimpLink] (the pseudonym of [wimpLink artistId="9120"]Phoenix[/wimpLink]'s [wimpLink artistId="14663926"]Thomas Mars[/wimpLink]), the album was a commercial and critical success, going gold in France and the U.K. and earning a Brit Award nomination for Best Soundtrack. For their second proper album, May 2001's [wimpLink albumId="157275"]10,000 Hz Legend[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink] took a darker, more ambitious approach informed by prog-rock. Featuring cameos by [wimpLink artistId="24905"]Beck[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="3678689"]Buffalo Daughter[/wimpLink]'s Sugar Yoshinaga, the album received mixed reviews but fared well commercially, reaching the top ten in the charts of several European countries, going gold in the U.K., and reaching number two on Billboard's Independent Albums chart in the U.S. In 2003, [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink] contributed the track "Alone in Kyoto" to the soundtrack to Coppola's film Lost in Translation and collaborated with Italian writer [wimpLink artistId="4495721"]Alessandro Baricco[/wimpLink] on City Reading, the studio recording of a live performance that combined readings of his pieces with a score by the duo.
In January 2004, [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink] returned with their third full-length [wimpLink albumId="156948"]Talkie Walkie[/wimpLink]. Co-produced by [wimpLink artistId="3721099"]Nigel Godrich[/wimpLink] and including players such as [wimpLink artistId="3988646"]Brian Reitzell[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="6774046"]Joey Waronker[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="10668180"]Jason Falkner[/wimpLink], and [wimpLink artistId="3598231"]Lisa Papineau[/wimpLink], the album focused on the duo's more accessible side. Like its predecessors, [wimpLink albumId="156948"]Talkie Walkie[/wimpLink] was certified gold in the U.K.; elsewhere, it was a top five hit in several other European countries and reached number two on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart in the U.S. Along with touring in support of that album, the pair remained busy making music in 2005 and 2006. With [wimpLink artistId="30371"]Pulp[/wimpLink]'s [wimpLink artistId="24991"]Jarvis Cocker[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="9289"]the Divine Comedy[/wimpLink]'s [wimpLink artistId="3590889"]Neil Hannon[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] worked on [wimpLink artistId="17684"]Charlotte Gainsbourg[/wimpLink]'s album 5:55 and contributed a song to the soundtrack to Coppola's film Marie Antoinette. During that time, [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink] also released a solo album as [wimpLink artistId="11546"]Darkel[/wimpLink]. [wimpLink artistId="24991"]Cocker[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="3590889"]Hannon[/wimpLink] also appeared on [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink]'s fourth album, March 2007's [wimpLink albumId="71354598"]Pocket Symphony[/wimpLink]. Once again co-produced with [wimpLink artistId="3721099"]Godrich[/wimpLink], the album's moody songs showcased Japanese instruments such as the koto and the shamisen, both of which [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] spent years learning how to play. In the U.S., [wimpLink albumId="71354598"]Pocket Symphony[/wimpLink] reached number one on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart and peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, the duo's highest placing on that chart during their career. On one leg of the band's [wimpLink albumId="71354598"]Pocket Symphony[/wimpLink] tour in 2008, the duo performed with only longtime collaborator and drummer [wimpLink artistId="6774046"]Joey Waronker[/wimpLink] as their backing band. They kept this lineup for their next album, September 2009's [wimpLink albumId="71354441"]Love 2[/wimpLink], which marked [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink]'s first self-produced work and featured a more streamlined sound than some of their previous releases. In June 2010, the duo celebrated the tenth anniversary of The Virgin Suicides soundtrack with a performance of the work in its entirety in Paris with the band [wimpLink artistId="4309448"]Hot Rats[/wimpLink].
For their next project, [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] composed an original score for the restored version of the 1902 classic silent film Le Voyage Dans la Lune. The pair created the score in less than a month, working with collaborators such as [wimpLink artistId="3502556"]Au Revoir Simone[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="3519311"]Beach House[/wimpLink]'s [wimpLink artistId="14835130"]Victoria LeGrand[/wimpLink], then expanded it into a full-length album that was released in February 2012. Two years later, [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink] issued Music for Museum, a limited-edition vinyl release of their commissioned music for the the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille. In the second half of the 2010s, the members of [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink] embarked on different projects. [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink] further established himself as a composer for film, worked with [wimpLink artistId="33048"]New Young Pony Club[/wimpLink]'s [wimpLink artistId="10170323"]Lou Hayter[/wimpLink] (as Tomorrow's World) and [wimpLink artistId="3519156"]Bang Gang[/wimpLink]'s [wimpLink artistId="3869784"]Bardi Jóhannsson[/wimpLink] (as [wimpLink artistId="5129884"]Starwalker[/wimpLink]), and returned to his [wimpLink artistId="11546"]Darkel[/wimpLink] project with 2015's lavish The Man of Sorrow EP. [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink]'s 2015 album [wimpLink albumId="51254257"]Contrepoint[/wimpLink] was inspired by pianist [wimpLink artistId="50"]Glenn Gould[/wimpLink]'s interpretations of [wimpLink artistId="14753"]Johann Sebastian Bach[/wimpLink]'s keyboard music as well as jazz, tropicalia, exotica, and left-field pop. Around this time, he also created the music to the French '60s spy TV series [wimpLink albumId="90758043"]A Very Secret Service[/wimpLink], which paid homage to [wimpLink artistId="859"]Lalo Schifrin[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="1325"]John Barry[/wimpLink], and the era's other great composers. The duo returned in 2016 with a career-spanning compilation album titled Twentyears. Their subsequent solo projects included [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink]'s architecturally inspired 2020 album [wimpLink albumId="128765556"]Concrete and Glass[/wimpLink] and Dunckel's 2018 album H+ and score for the 2020 film Été 85 ([wimpLink albumId="153980035"]Summer of 85[/wimpLink]). Late in 2021, [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink] celebrated the 20th anniversary of [wimpLink albumId="157275"]10,000 Hz Legend[/wimpLink] with a deluxe edition that included rarities, demos, and live performances. Three years later, [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink] commemorated the 25th anniversary of [wimpLink albumId="43710473"]Moon Safari[/wimpLink] by performing the album in its entirety on an international tour. Accompanying the live dates was a deluxe reissue of [wimpLink albumId="43710473"]Moon Safari[/wimpLink] supplemented with BBC sessions as well as demos and other live tracks. ~ Heather Phares & John Bush
Though [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Nicolas Godin[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Jean-Benoît Dunckel[/wimpLink] both grew up in Versailles, the two didn't meet until they began studying at the same college. [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink], who had studied mathematics at the Conservatoire in Paris and whose musical taste ranged from [wimpLink artistId="3889772"]Ravel[/wimpLink] to [wimpLink artistId="11949"]Joy Division[/wimpLink] to [wimpLink artistId="31917"]Grace Jones[/wimpLink], played in an alternative band named Orange along with house music producer-to-be [wimpLink artistId="3538394"]Étienne de Crécy[/wimpLink]. One of [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink]'s other bandmates, [wimpLink artistId="3583931"]Alex Gopher[/wimpLink], introduced [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] into the lineup. An architecture student, [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] began playing in rock bands when he was a teenager, then dabbled in soul, hip-hop and other sounds. After Orange disbanded, [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] was asked by a longtime friend to contribute a track for a compilation for the label Source. He recorded "Modulor Mix," a tribute to Le Corbusier created with an eight-track, drum loops, and a handful of vintage synths and keyboards. Following the track's release on the 1995 collection Source Lab, [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] recruited [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink] to help him further develop the music he was making, and [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink] was born. During 1996-1997, the duo released singles on Britain's Mo' Wax ("Modular") and Source ("Casanova 70," "Le Soleil Est Prés de Moi"). [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink] also remixed [wimpLink artistId="8877"]Depeche Mode[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="13759714"]Neneh Cherry[/wimpLink] and joined French musique concrète popster [wimpLink artistId="3661173"]Jean-Jacques Perrey[/wimpLink] for a track on the Source compilation Sourcelab, Vol. 3. Arriving in July 1997, Air's debut EP [wimpLink albumId="41165257"]Premiers Symptômes[/wimpLink] collected their early singles and reached number 12 on the charts in the U.K., where it was ultimately certified gold.
Signed to Virgin, [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink] released their debut album, [wimpLink albumId="43710473"]Moon Safari[/wimpLink], in January 1998. Recorded at London's Abbey Road as well as several studios in Paris, the album expanded on [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink]'s sound with a sumptuous blend of electronic and acoustic instrumentation. Certified platinum in several European countries (and a double platinum hit in the U.K.), Moon Safari's international success was bolstered by the singles "Sexy Boy" and "Kelly Watch the Stars." Later that year, [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink] completed an ambitious tour throughout Europe and America.
After the 1999 rerelease of [wimpLink albumId="41165257"]Premiers Symptômes[/wimpLink] with bonus tracks, [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink]'s soundtrack to the Sofia Coppola film The Virgin Suicides followed in February 2000. A fittingly dreamy set of pieces highlighted by vocals from [wimpLink artistId="6368850"]Gordon Tracks[/wimpLink] (the pseudonym of [wimpLink artistId="9120"]Phoenix[/wimpLink]'s [wimpLink artistId="14663926"]Thomas Mars[/wimpLink]), the album was a commercial and critical success, going gold in France and the U.K. and earning a Brit Award nomination for Best Soundtrack. For their second proper album, May 2001's [wimpLink albumId="157275"]10,000 Hz Legend[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink] took a darker, more ambitious approach informed by prog-rock. Featuring cameos by [wimpLink artistId="24905"]Beck[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="3678689"]Buffalo Daughter[/wimpLink]'s Sugar Yoshinaga, the album received mixed reviews but fared well commercially, reaching the top ten in the charts of several European countries, going gold in the U.K., and reaching number two on Billboard's Independent Albums chart in the U.S. In 2003, [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink] contributed the track "Alone in Kyoto" to the soundtrack to Coppola's film Lost in Translation and collaborated with Italian writer [wimpLink artistId="4495721"]Alessandro Baricco[/wimpLink] on City Reading, the studio recording of a live performance that combined readings of his pieces with a score by the duo.
In January 2004, [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink] returned with their third full-length [wimpLink albumId="156948"]Talkie Walkie[/wimpLink]. Co-produced by [wimpLink artistId="3721099"]Nigel Godrich[/wimpLink] and including players such as [wimpLink artistId="3988646"]Brian Reitzell[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="6774046"]Joey Waronker[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="10668180"]Jason Falkner[/wimpLink], and [wimpLink artistId="3598231"]Lisa Papineau[/wimpLink], the album focused on the duo's more accessible side. Like its predecessors, [wimpLink albumId="156948"]Talkie Walkie[/wimpLink] was certified gold in the U.K.; elsewhere, it was a top five hit in several other European countries and reached number two on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart in the U.S. Along with touring in support of that album, the pair remained busy making music in 2005 and 2006. With [wimpLink artistId="30371"]Pulp[/wimpLink]'s [wimpLink artistId="24991"]Jarvis Cocker[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="9289"]the Divine Comedy[/wimpLink]'s [wimpLink artistId="3590889"]Neil Hannon[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] worked on [wimpLink artistId="17684"]Charlotte Gainsbourg[/wimpLink]'s album 5:55 and contributed a song to the soundtrack to Coppola's film Marie Antoinette. During that time, [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink] also released a solo album as [wimpLink artistId="11546"]Darkel[/wimpLink]. [wimpLink artistId="24991"]Cocker[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="3590889"]Hannon[/wimpLink] also appeared on [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink]'s fourth album, March 2007's [wimpLink albumId="71354598"]Pocket Symphony[/wimpLink]. Once again co-produced with [wimpLink artistId="3721099"]Godrich[/wimpLink], the album's moody songs showcased Japanese instruments such as the koto and the shamisen, both of which [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] spent years learning how to play. In the U.S., [wimpLink albumId="71354598"]Pocket Symphony[/wimpLink] reached number one on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart and peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart, the duo's highest placing on that chart during their career. On one leg of the band's [wimpLink albumId="71354598"]Pocket Symphony[/wimpLink] tour in 2008, the duo performed with only longtime collaborator and drummer [wimpLink artistId="6774046"]Joey Waronker[/wimpLink] as their backing band. They kept this lineup for their next album, September 2009's [wimpLink albumId="71354441"]Love 2[/wimpLink], which marked [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink]'s first self-produced work and featured a more streamlined sound than some of their previous releases. In June 2010, the duo celebrated the tenth anniversary of The Virgin Suicides soundtrack with a performance of the work in its entirety in Paris with the band [wimpLink artistId="4309448"]Hot Rats[/wimpLink].
For their next project, [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] composed an original score for the restored version of the 1902 classic silent film Le Voyage Dans la Lune. The pair created the score in less than a month, working with collaborators such as [wimpLink artistId="3502556"]Au Revoir Simone[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="3519311"]Beach House[/wimpLink]'s [wimpLink artistId="14835130"]Victoria LeGrand[/wimpLink], then expanded it into a full-length album that was released in February 2012. Two years later, [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink] issued Music for Museum, a limited-edition vinyl release of their commissioned music for the the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille. In the second half of the 2010s, the members of [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink] embarked on different projects. [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink] further established himself as a composer for film, worked with [wimpLink artistId="33048"]New Young Pony Club[/wimpLink]'s [wimpLink artistId="10170323"]Lou Hayter[/wimpLink] (as Tomorrow's World) and [wimpLink artistId="3519156"]Bang Gang[/wimpLink]'s [wimpLink artistId="3869784"]Bardi Jóhannsson[/wimpLink] (as [wimpLink artistId="5129884"]Starwalker[/wimpLink]), and returned to his [wimpLink artistId="11546"]Darkel[/wimpLink] project with 2015's lavish The Man of Sorrow EP. [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink]'s 2015 album [wimpLink albumId="51254257"]Contrepoint[/wimpLink] was inspired by pianist [wimpLink artistId="50"]Glenn Gould[/wimpLink]'s interpretations of [wimpLink artistId="14753"]Johann Sebastian Bach[/wimpLink]'s keyboard music as well as jazz, tropicalia, exotica, and left-field pop. Around this time, he also created the music to the French '60s spy TV series [wimpLink albumId="90758043"]A Very Secret Service[/wimpLink], which paid homage to [wimpLink artistId="859"]Lalo Schifrin[/wimpLink], [wimpLink artistId="1325"]John Barry[/wimpLink], and the era's other great composers. The duo returned in 2016 with a career-spanning compilation album titled Twentyears. Their subsequent solo projects included [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink]'s architecturally inspired 2020 album [wimpLink albumId="128765556"]Concrete and Glass[/wimpLink] and Dunckel's 2018 album H+ and score for the 2020 film Été 85 ([wimpLink albumId="153980035"]Summer of 85[/wimpLink]). Late in 2021, [wimpLink artistId="9101"]Air[/wimpLink] celebrated the 20th anniversary of [wimpLink albumId="157275"]10,000 Hz Legend[/wimpLink] with a deluxe edition that included rarities, demos, and live performances. Three years later, [wimpLink artistId="6193922"]Godin[/wimpLink] and [wimpLink artistId="10178853"]Dunckel[/wimpLink] commemorated the 25th anniversary of [wimpLink albumId="43710473"]Moon Safari[/wimpLink] by performing the album in its entirety on an international tour. Accompanying the live dates was a deluxe reissue of [wimpLink albumId="43710473"]Moon Safari[/wimpLink] supplemented with BBC sessions as well as demos and other live tracks. ~ Heather Phares & John Bush
Upcoming Festivals
No Festivals Found !
AIR has no upcoming festivals for now
