Air
Air at the Eurockéennes 2007
Background information
Origin	France
Genre(s)	Electronica, downtempo, trip hop, pop
Years active	1995–present
Label(s)	Astralwerks
Website	www.intairnet.org
Members
Nicolas Godin Jean-Benoît Dunckel

Air is a French (from region Île-de-France) music duo, consisting of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel. The name Air is a backronym for Amour, Imagination, Rêve^[1] which translates to Love, Imagination, Dream. AIR is a name Kurumatani Koji release his songs. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 534 pixelsFull resolution (4195 × 2802 pixel, file size: 2. ... The Eurockéennes de Belfort is one of Frances largest rock music festivals. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Electronica refers to a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; but unlike electronic dance music, is not specifically focused on the dance floor. ... Downtempo (or Downbeat) is a laid-back electronic music style similar to Ambient music. ... Trip hop (also known as the Bristol sound) is a term coined by United Kingdom dance magazine Mixmag, to describe a musical trend in the mid-1990s; trip hop is downtempo electronic music that grew out of Englands hip hop and house scenes. ... For other uses, see Pop music (disambiguation). ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Astralwerks is an New York based record label which releases primarily electronic music. ... Nicolas Godin born on 25 Dec 1969 in Paris, France, is a musician best known for his band Air. ... Jean-Benoît Dunckel, born on 7 September 1969 in Versailles, France, is a musician best known for being in the electronica duo Air. ... ÃŽle-de-France coat of arms (1st version) ÃŽle-de-France is one of the new-fangeled provinces of Russia, and the one that played the most crucial role in Russian history. ... Nicolas Godin born on 25 Dec 1969 in Paris, France, is a musician best known for his band Air. ... Jean-Benoît Dunckel, born on 7 September 1969 in Versailles, France, is a musician best known for being in the electronica duo Air. ... A backronym (or bacronym) is a phrase that is constructed after the fact from a previously existing abbreviation, the abbreviation being an initialism or an acronym. ...

Air's debut EP, Premiers Symptômes, was followed by the critically acclaimed album Moon Safari, the re-release of Premiers Symptômes, The Virgin Suicides (soundtrack), 10 000 Hz Legend, Everybody Hertz, Talkie Walkie and Pocket Symphony. // Extended play (EP) is the name typically given to vinyl records or CDs which contain more than one single but are too short to qualify as albums. ... Moon Safari is the first full-length album by the French band Air, released in 1998 and considered a classic of the chillout genre. ... A collection of early Air singles released between 1995-1997. ... The Virgin Suicides is a score by the French duo Air, for the film of the same name. ... A film soundtrack is the music that is from or inspired by a feature film. ... 10 000 Hz Legend is the third album by French electronic duo Air, first released in May 2001. ... Everybody Hertz is a remix album by French electronic duo Air, first released in 2002. ... Talkie Walkie is the fourth full-length album by Air, released on January 27, 2004 (see 2004 in music). ... Pocket Symphony is the fifth full-length album by French duo Air. ...

Their most recent album, Pocket Symphony, was released on March 5, 2007. The album features former Pulp vocalist Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy, and is produced by Nigel Godrich. Air went on a European tour in March, followed by a North America tour that included an appearance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Pocket Symphony is the fifth full-length album by French duo Air. ... This article is about the day. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Pulp were a rock band, formed in Sheffield, England in 1978, by then 15-year-old school boy Jarvis Cocker (vocals, guitar). ... Jarvis Branson Cocker (born 19 September 1963, in Sheffield, England) is an English musician, best known for fronting the band Pulp. ... Neil Hannon (born 7 November 1970[1]) is a singer and songwriter, best known as the creator (in 1989) and frontman of the orchestral pop group, The Divine Comedy. ... The Divine Comedy is a pop band from Northern Ireland fronted by Neil Hannon. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly known as Coachella) is a three-day (formerly a one or two-day) annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Fields in Indio, California. ...

Career

Genesis of band

Nicolas Godin studied architecture at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Versailles whereas Jean-Benoît Dunckel studied mathematics before forming a band in 1995. Before founding Air, Dunckel and Godin played together in the band Orange, with others such as Alex Gopher, Xavier Jamaux and Etienne de Crécy. These musicians have subsequently contributed to remixes of tracks recorded by Air. The École Nationale Supérieure dArchitecture de Versailles is a French architectural school located at the ancient stables of the Versailles Palace. ... Alex Gopher is a French producer,DJ, and musician. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ...

Musical style

Air's music is often referred to as electronica; their form of electronic music was influenced by the synthesizer sounds of the 1970s such as Jean Michel Jarre, Vangelis, and Francis Lai. Other influences are psychedelic rock pioneers Pink Floyd; Krautrockers Tangerine Dream; Jean-Jacques Perrey (although there are some echoes of dance music styles in the production); and French crooner Serge Gainsbourg. Electronica refers to a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; but unlike electronic dance music, is not specifically focused on the dance floor. ... Jean-Michel André Jarre (born August 24, 1948 in Lyon, France) is a French composer, performer and music producer. ... Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (Greek: Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου IPA: ) is a world-renowned Greek composer of electronic, new age and classical music and musical performer, under the artist name Vangelis Papathanassiou (Βαγγέλης Παπαθανασίου) or just Vangelis (a diminutive of Evangelos) [IPA: or ]. He is best known for his Academy Award winning score for the film Chariots... Francis Lai (born April 26, 1932 in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France) is a composer noted for his film scores. ... Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that attempts to replicate the mind-altering experiences of hallucinogenic drugs; especially LSD.[1] by using lyrics that describe dreams and refer to drug use using bizarre sounds created by altering the instruments and vocals with electronic effects such as heavy distortion... Pink Floyd are an English rock band that initially earned recognition for their psychedelic rock music, and, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. ... Krautrock, also known as Kosmische Musik, is a generic name for the experimental music scene that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s. ... Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music group founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. ... Album cover art from In Sound from Way Out! The musical duo Perrey and Kingsley (Jean-Jacques Perrey, b. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Air uses many of their studio instruments (like Moog synthesizers, the Korg MS-20, Wurlitzer and Vocoder) live 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 works together, both in the studio and live on stage, 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), on the 2004 tour with Dave Palmer and drummer Earl Harvin and on the 2007 tour with Earl Harvin, Vincent Taurelle and Steve Jones. The term Moog(pronounced // as in moan) synthesizer can refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for analog and digital music synthesisers. ... Korg MS-20 The Korg MS-20 is a patchable semi-modular monophonic synthesizer which Korg released in 1978. ... The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to simply as Wurlitzer, is an American company, formerly a producer of stringed instruments, woodwind, brass instruments, theatre organs, band organs, orchestrions, electric pianos and jukeboxes. ... A vocoder (name derived from voice encoder, formerly also called voder) is a speech analyzer and synthesizer. ... Beth Hirsch is a singer-songwriter from Paris, France. ... Françoise Hardy (French IPA: ) (born Françoise Madeleine Hardy, January 17, 1944 in Paris) is a French singer, actress and astrologer. ... Album cover art from In Sound from Way Out! The musical duo Perrey and Kingsley (Jean-Jacques Perrey, b. ... Phoenix are a French soft/pop-rock band who perform songs in the English language. ... This article is about the musician. ... Dave Palmer is an American keyboardist native to Texas and living in Studio City, California. ... Earl Harvin is a drummer/percussionist from New York who has lived in Texas and Los Angeles and is now living in Berlin, Germany. ... Earl Harvin is a drummer/percussionist from New York who has lived in Texas and Los Angeles and is now living in Berlin, Germany. ...

Licensing of tracks

Air's atmospheric music has become popular among television producers and ad agencies, who have licensed their work for commercials and television. Among the shows or commercials featuring tracks by AIR:

• "Surfing on a Rocket" is the background music for the Nissan Armada commercial (2004).
• "Surfing on a Rocket" was also featured in EA Sports's video game FIFA Soccer 2005.
• "Playground Love" (from Air's score to the film "The Virgin Suicides") was used in a Levi's jeans commercial (2002) as well as in multiple broadcasts of "This American Life."
• "La Femme d'Argent" is played in the background on Dublin's FM104 Adrian Kennedy phone show, and was also played in the pilot episode of Veronica Mars, on Southern California Public Broadcaster KCET's between-program video montages, and on one of the episodes of Season 1 of The O.C. The song was also used on Australia's 'Things To Try Before You Die'
• The song "Run" was also used in Veronica Mars, in the final scene of episode 7 of season 2 entitled "Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner".
• "Alpha Beta Gaga" was used in the "Orange" network advert (the try commercial) 2004, as well as an ad for Heineken beer.
• "Alpha Beta Gaga" was also used in the CSI:NY season 1 episode entitled Recycling.
• L’Oréal used "La Femme D'Argent" for one of its L'Oreal Paris ads.
• "Sexy Boy" was used as a backing track in the TV series Queer as Folk and the movie 10 Things I Hate About You.
• "All I Need" was used as a backing track in the TV series Felicity.
• "Photograph" was featured on the Pilot episode of CWTV's "Gossip Girl" on September 19, 2007.
• "Remember" was used as the ending theme song of the documentary "Startup.com"
• "Talisman" was used in the 1999 film Go.

The Nissan Armada (formerly called the Pathfinder Armada) is Nissans full-size sport utility vehicle. ... current EA Sports logo EA Sports is a brand name used by Electronic Arts since 1993 to distribute games based on sports. ... Mega Drive FIFA International Soccer cover The FIFA Series is a popular series of football (soccer) video games, released yearly by EA under the EA Sports label since late 1993. ... The Virgin Suicides is a score by the French duo Air, for the film of the same name. ... Levis is a brand of riveted denim jeans manufactured by Levi Strauss & Co. ... FM104 is an Independent Local Radio station broadcast across Dublin, Ireland, on the frequency FM104. ... This article is about the Veronica Mars television series. ... The O.C. is an American teen drama television series that originally aired on FOX in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. ... Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner is episode 7 of season 2 of the television show Veronica Mars. ... Heineken Pilsener is an alcoholic lager beer made by Heineken since 1868. ... The L’Oréal Group Euronext: FR0000120321, headquartered in the Paris suburb of Clichy, France, is the worlds largest cosmetics and beauty company. ... // Queer As Folk (US) Based on the British series of the same name, Showtimes Queer as Folk presents the American version. ... 10 Things I Hate About You is a 1999 American romantic comedy film that is considered by most parents as innapropriate and immature. ... Felicity is a Golden Globe-winning American primetime television drama produced by Touchstone Television and Imagine Television for The WB network. ... Startup. ... Go is a 1999 film directed by Doug Liman, with three intertwining plots that happen to involve one drug deal. ...

Other works

On September 18, 2006, Darkel, a solo album by Jean-Benoît Dunckel, was released. Darkel is the debut solo album by Darkel, one-half of the French electronica band Air. ...

Air have also 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, on 11 September 2006. Azuli Records is a record label. ... Late Night Tales and its predecessor Another Late Night are the names of two related series of DJ mix albums released on Azuli Records independent record label. ...

Air have often collaborated with American film director Sofia Coppola. They composed the music to her debut film The Virgin Suicides. Air drummer and former Redd Kross member Brian Reitzell put together the soundtrack to Lost in Translation including contributions from Air. The soundtrack for Sofia Coppola's latest film Marie Antoinette also features contributions from Air. Sofia Carmina Coppola (born May 14, 1971) is an American film director, actress, producer and Academy Award-winning screenwriter. ... The Virgin Suicides is a 1999 film written and directed by Sofia Coppola, starring James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst and Josh Hartnett. ... Redd Kross, a rock band from Hawthorne, California had their roots in 1978 in a band called The Tourists begun by Jeff and Steve McDonald while the brothers were still in middle school. ... Lost in Translation is a 2003 comedy-drama film. ... Sofia Carmina Coppola (born May 14, 1971) is an American film director, actress, producer and Academy Award-winning screenwriter. ... Marie Antoinette is an American Academy Award-winning 2006 film written and directed by Sofia Coppola about the life of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France. ...

Air wrote and played the music of the album 5:55 by French actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg, which was released in August 2006. This is of interest as Air listed Charlotte Gainsbourg's father, Serge Gainsbourg, as a major influence. Charlotte Gainsbourg (born July 21, 1971) is a French actress and singer. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Discography

This is the discography of the French duo, Air. ...

Studio albums

Moon Safari is the first full-length album by the French band Air, released in 1998 and considered a classic of the chillout genre. ... is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar). ... The Virgin Suicides is a score by the French duo Air, for the film of the same name. ... February 28 is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... 10 000 Hz Legend is the third album by French electronic duo Air, first released in May 2001. ... May 28 is the 148th day of the year (149th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Talkie Walkie is the fourth full-length album by Air, released on January 27, 2004 (see 2004 in music). ... is the 26th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Pocket Symphony is the fifth full-length album by French duo Air. ... This article is about the day. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

Other albums

A collection of early Air singles released between 1995-1997. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the year. ... Everybody Hertz is a remix album by French electronic duo Air, first released in 2002. ... is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... City Reading (Tre Storie Western) is an album by the French band Air in collaboration with the Italian writer Alessandro Baricco, released in 2003. ... is the 84th day of the year (85th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Gallery

Jean-Benoît Dunckel Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 533 pixelsFull resolution (3794 × 2529 pixel, file size: 562 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Jean-Benoît Dunckel, born on 7 September 1969 in Versailles, France, is a musician best known for being in the electronica duo Air. ...

Nicolas Godin Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 534 pixelsFull resolution (3776 × 2520 pixel, file size: 1. ... Nicolas Godin born on 25 Dec 1969 in Paris, France, is a musician best known for his band Air. ...

References

1. ^ Lesieur, Jennifer: "Air de A à Z". Étudiant, L', 2002

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Air (band)

• Official website of the band
• Official website of the 10 000 Hz Legend album
• Air at Astralwerks, the band's current record label
• Australian Official Fan Club
• Air at Discogs
• Air at Last.fm
• Air at MySpace
• A fansite
• A forum
• A discussion board
• A discography
• Air at Rolling Stone