Latest Release
- 15 MAR 2024
- 9 Songs
- The Virgin Suicides (Original Motion Picture Score) · 2000
- Talkie Walkie · 2004
- Moon Safari · 1998
- The Virgin Suicides (Original Motion Picture Score) · 2000
- Talkie Walkie · 2004
- Moon Safari · 1998
- Moon Safari · 1998
- Moon Safari · 1998
- Moon Safari · 1998
- Premiers Symptômes - EP · 1997
Essential Albums
- Air’s 2004 album is home to some of their most enduring hits; from its opening piano to the rolling surf that swallows “Alone in Kyoto”, it’s also a note-perfect evocation of a fantasy world, with glockenspiel, sitar, vocoder, baroque organ, strings and vintage synths conjuring a magically timeless sound. Their songwriting shines here: The playful “Universal Traveler” is as detailed as a diorama; “Surfing on a Rocket” is almost giddy in its optimism. The album’s less a soundtrack to an unmade film than a blueprint for an imaginary theme park of retro cool and unabashed joy.
- Air’s instant breakthrough of a debut is effortlessly cool—a haze of vaporised vocals, warm synths and stainless steel hi-fi sensibility. Without being as kitschy or (wink, wink) ironic as its spacey “Sexy Boy” single might lead you to believe, the album is an immaculate collection of suave Moog moves and future-disco downtempo. A defining achievement in the chill-out subgenre, it rightfully dominated compilation racks at the turn of the century on the strength of songs like “Kelly Watch the Stars” and “You Make It Easy”.
Albums
- 2021
- 2009
- 2007
- 2004
- 2003
- 2002
Music Videos
- 2007
- 2007
- 2007
- 2006
Artist Playlists
- Downtempo meets '60s pop—the perfect marriage of retro panache and modern cool.
- Wistful, vintage-inspired sounds given the French Touch.
- The French duo's collabs subtly stretch their downtempo sound.
- French electronic and orchestral pop in a smooth, sensual mix.
Singles & EPs
Compilations
More To Hear
- “All I Need” took us to outer space with its dreamy sound.
More To See
About Air
With their low-key, sophisticated take on electronic music, the French duo Air became global stars in the late ’90s and 2000s. • Air founders Jean-Benoît Dunckel and Nicolas Godin met at university in the mid-’90s, where they studied mathematics and architecture, respectively. The pair played in an alternative rock band called Orange before teaming up as Air. • Blending ethereal synth-pop with chill downtempo, their 1997 debut EP, Premiers Symptômes, set the tone for the next decade of Air releases. • Their critically praised 1998 debut album, Moon Safari, went Top 10 in the UK, where it racked up platinum sales. The single “Sexy Boy” was a No. 13 UK hit. • In 2000, Air released their score from Sofia Coppola’s 1999 film The Virgin Suicides. • Air’s 2001 sophomore LP, 10 000 Hz Legend, became their second UK Top 10. The LP also reached No. 3 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart in the US. • By the time of their third album, 2004’s Talkie Walkie LP, Air had built a strong US audience. The singles “Cherry Blossom Girl” and “Surfing on a Rocket” both cracked the Top 10 on Billboard’s Dance Singles Sales chart. • Featuring Pulp mastermind Jarvis Cocker on the track “One Hell of a Party”, Air’s fourth album, 2007’s Pocket Symphony, reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart. • After their fifth album, 2009’s Love 2, Air stopped releasing conventional albums. Their 2012 effort Le voyage dans la lune was a soundtrack for the 1902 silent film A Trip to the Moon, while 2014’s Music for Museum was a limited-edition vinyl-only release commissioned by the Palais des Beaux-Arts.
- ORIGIN
- Versailles, Île-de-France, France
- FORMED
- 1995
- GENRE
- Electronic