Moon Safari
Exert form -
Rolling Stone >>>
1/22/98, pp.54-56
Now you can listen to short sound samples of tracks using RealAudio. To listen to a track, choose the song you want to hear and click "Play It".
You may need to upgrade to RealPlayer 4.0 or RA Player 3.0 if you haven't already! Click here for information on listening to RealAudio.
3.5 Stars (out of 5) - "...a truly obsessive hommage to easy listening, a sublime Eurocheese omelet....fits in with European confreres like the High Llamas and the Divine Comedy: orchestral pop that mixes the acoustic with the synthetic..."Spin (2/98, p.108) - 7 (out of 10) - "...this French duo offers up a sort of weightless trip-hop exoticism. But rather than pillage the usual African or Brazilian sources, Nicolas Godin and Jean Benoit Dunckel--tubas and Moogs in hand--travel deep into the cheesy heart of whiteness, cannibalizing Muzak, Italian soundtracks, and lounge..."Melody Maker (1/10/98, p.37) - "...MOON SAFARI is their lush, joyous, oxygen-filled voyage to a thrillingly non-specific destination....a dream of a record."New Musical Express (1/17/98, p.38) - 8 (out of 10) - "...neo-symphonic bliss-outs for the next Generation Next. For the Jazz Club in space...a floaty, widescreen and spiritual music that updates The Beach Boys' instrumental odysseys..."Entertainment Weekly (2/6/98, p.62) - "...this French duo works the territory between sleazy blaxploitation grooves, naive rave-culture idealism, and pop songcraft. Though the melodies occasionally threaten to become saccharine,...Air leaven it with a welcome dash of Gallic irony." - Rating: A-
Air: Nicolas Godin (spoken vocals, talk box, acoustic & electric guitars, harmonica, Wurlitzer, organ, Mini-Moog synthesizer, vocoder, synthesizers, glockenspiel, bass, tambourine, shaker, percussion, drum programming, sound effects, background vocals) Jean Benoit Dunckel (spoken vocals, strings, syrinx, piano, Fender Rhodes, Wurliitzer, organ, Melotron, clavinet, Mini-Moog synthesizer, synthesizers, glockenspiel, hand claps, sound effects, background vocals).Additional personnel includes: David Whitaker (conductor); Enfants Square Burcq (vocals); Beth Hirsch (spoken vocals); P. Woodcock (acoustic guitar, tuba); Eric Regert (organ); Marlon (drums); Stephane "Alf" Briat, Caroline L. (hand claps).Producers: Jean-Benoit Dunckel, Nicolas Godin.Engineers: Jean-Benoit Dunckel, Nicolas Godin, Stephane "Alf" Briat.Principally recorded at Around The Golf studio and Gang Studio, Paris, France.Their trans-Atlantic notoriety may have come amidst compilations of French house and electronic scenes, but Nicolas Godin and JB Dunckel are not just another pair of Gallic beat-miners. Like DJs and studio wizards, the duo known as Air does construct their records pastiche-style; but instead of unleashing dancefloor-friendly "tracks", they come up with mellow abstractions for retro-minded chill-out rooms, flaunting their analog instrumentation and love for make-out melodies every step of the way. MOON SAFARI, Air's full-length debut, is like a fuzzy, blissful daydream in which a glowing ambiance pervades over a crossroads of '60s French pop, '70s Philly soul and '80s Eurodisco. Rarely does the tempo reach mid, and when it does ("Kelly Watch The Stars" and "Le Voyage de Penelope"), it's on the strength of funky synth-pop grooves. Overall, their sounds are rarely less than kaleidoscopic, enveloping the listener in happy, high-IQ muzak. If it sounds somewhat disposable, it's because all good pop should. It is the fact that one can't leave Air's aural confections behind that makes MOON SAFARI great.
- Copyright � 1998 inclusive, Nicholas H. Dodd