AIR - LATENIGHTTALES

Air is a French electronic music duo from Versailles, consisting of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel. Their debut album, "Moon Safari", was released in 1998 and included the single "Sexy Boy". Their second album, "The Virgin Suicides", served as the soundtrack to Sofia Coppola's feature film debut of the same name. Subsequent releases include "10 000 Hz Legend", "Talkie Walkie", "Pocket Symphony", "Love 2", "Le voyage dans la lune" and "Music for Museum". Their music draws on a range of musical styles and influences. Nicolas Godin studied architecture at the École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Versailles, while Jean-Benoît Dunckel studied mathematics. The two formed Air in 1995. Before establishing the duo, they played together in the band Orange alongside Alex Gopher, Xavier Jamaux and Jean de Reydellet. Gopher and Jamaux later contributed remixes of Air's recordings. Godin initially worked independently, recording a demo with members of Funkadelic as his backing musicians before releasing "Modular Mix", his first entirely solo recording, produced by Étienne de Crécy. In 1997, Air released their debut EP, "Premiers Symptômes", following earlier remix work for other artists. The duo subsequently signed with Virgin Records and Astralwerks. Their debut studio album, "Moon Safari", was released on 16 January 1998. Its lead single, "Sexy Boy", achieved international success, followed by the singles "Kelly Watch the Stars" and "All I Need". By February 2012, the album had sold 386,000 copies in the United States. The duo toured internationally in support of the album, with the tour documented in Mike Mills' film "Air: Eating, Sleeping, Waiting and Playing". In 2000, Air composed the soundtrack for Sofia Coppola's debut feature film, "The Virgin Suicides". Their second studio album, "10 000 Hz Legend", followed on 28 May 2001. Produced by Tony Hoffer, it featured contributions from American musician Beck and suGar Yoshinaga of the Japanese band Buffalo Daughter. The album received mixed reactions from critics and listeners, and several of its four singles failed to chart internationally. According to SoundScan figures reported in 2012, the album had sold 600,000 copies worldwide. In 2002, Air released "Everybody Hertz", a collection of remixes associated with the album that included the additional track "The Way You Look Tonight". In 2003, the duo collaborated with Italian writer Alessandro Baricco on "City Reading (Tre Storie Western)". The project originated in an idea proposed by Baricco in the summer of 2002, combining readings from his book "City" with original live musical accompaniment. The performance premiered at the Teatro Valle in Rome in November 2002. Following its reception, the collaborators decided to produce a studio recording. That year, Air also contributed the track "Alone in Kyoto" to Coppola's film "Lost in Translation". Air released their third studio album, "Talkie Walkie", on 26 January 2004. Produced by Nigel Godrich, the album generated three singles: "Cherry Blossom Girl", "Surfing on a Rocket" and "Alpha Beta Gaga". "Surfing on a Rocket" reached number 31 on the Billboard Top 40 chart. The duo subsequently pursued individual projects and collaborations with other artists. In September 2006, they contributed to British actress Charlotte Gainsbourg's second studio album, "5:55". Dunckel released his solo album "Darkel" in the same year. Air also contributed a mix to the "Late Night Tales" series, released as "Late Night Tales: Air". Their track "Il Secondo Giorno" appeared on the soundtrack to Coppola's 2006 film "Marie Antoinette". In 2007, Air released their fourth studio album, "Pocket Symphony", working again with Godrich and featuring contributions from Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannon. Their fifth studio album, "Love 2", was released in 2009 and produced by the duo themselves. In 2012, Air released "Le voyage dans la lune", which served as both their sixth studio album and a film soundtrack. In 2014, they released "Music for Museum", an ambient-oriented soundtrack created for the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille. Their compilation album "Twentyears" followed in 2016. The duo subsequently embarked on an international tour that concluded in 2018, before returning to individual projects. In 2020, Godin released his second solo studio album, "Concrete and Glass". Air began a tour celebrating "Moon Safari" in 2023, which concluded in 2025. In 2026, the duo reissued "Love 2" as a limited-edition, clear-vinyl double LP, making the record available in that format for the first time in 15 years. Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_(French_band) 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, The Voyage to the Moon) 2. Air was a free jazz trio formed in 1971 by saxophonist Henry Threadgill, double bassist Fred Hopkins and drummer Steve McCall. Threadgill was asked by Columbia College in Chicago to arrange several compositions by Scott Joplin. The trio performed Joplin's music without a piano, adapting the compositions as rags and using them as a basis for jazz improvisation. The album "Air Lore" contains improvisations based on compositions by Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton. Air disbanded and reformed several times. Following McCall's death, drummer Andrew Cyrille performed with the trio. The group released two albums with drummer Pheeroan Aklaff under the name New Air on Black Saint Records. Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_(free_jazz_trio) Studio albums Air Song (1975) Air Raid (1976) Open Air Suit (1978) Air Time (1978) Air Lore (1979) Air Mail (1981) 80° Below '82 (1982) 3. Air was an American jazz-rock band active primarily in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The band's self-titled debut album was released in 1971 on Embryo Records, a label founded by Herbie Mann in 1969. The core lineup consisted of Tom Coppola on Hammond organ, Allen organ and piano, John Siegler on bass, Mark Rosengarden on drums, and Googie Coppola on piano and vocals. The album also featured Randy Brecker on trumpet, Michael Brecker on saxophone, Barry Rogers on trombone, David Earle Johnson on congas and timbales, Robert Kogel on guitar, Bob Rosengarden on vibraphone, and Jan Hammer and Herbie Mann on percussion. Mann also produced the album. Tom and Googie Coppola drew on jazz and jazz fusion, incorporating elements such as changing time signatures. They responded to an advertisement placed in The Village Voice by Moogy Klingman, who introduced them to Siegler and Rosengarden. The group rehearsed in Great Neck, Long Island, developing material written by Googie. Mann saw the band perform at the Village Gate and invited them to become his backing band. However, family commitments contributed to the group's dissolution by the time their debut album was released in 1971. Tom and Googie Coppola subsequently performed several times at the Montreux Jazz Festival with the Atlantic All-Stars. According to Klingman, who wrote the song, "Sister Bessie" tells the story of a nun who takes LSD after falling in love with a hippie, has a sexual relationship with him and decides to leave the church and convent. The hippie subsequently leaves town, and the song imagines what he might say to her about his abrupt departure. A limited-edition reissue of the album was released by Be With Records in 2016. Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_(jazz_rock_band) 4. AIR was the musical project under which Japanese musician Kōji Kurumatani (車谷浩司) released music from 1996 to 2009. He began the project two months after the breakup of SPIRAL LIFE in April 1996. Following the conclusion of AIR, Kurumatani continued his musical career under the name Laika Came Back. His music has been associated with alternative rock, and his lyrics address social and political issues. Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_(singer) Discography Wear Off (1996) My Life as Air (1997) Spawn (1998) Usual Tone of Voice (1998) Freedom/99 (1999) My Live as Air (2000) Stilly (2001) Flying Colors (2001) My Way (2002) On My Way (2003) Best Not Best (2003) One (2003) Singles (2004) A Day in the Life (2005) The Bread of Life (2005) The New Day Rising (2007) Live and Learn (2007) Nayuta (2008, A Measure of Distance) Three Cheers for Goodbye~The Best of Air (2009) Read more on Last.fm. 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