Electronic Performers - AIR

You all must have heard the alluringly sexy 'Sexy Boy' in numerous advertisements on television. This electronic number has been the soundtrack to a raft of movies, ads - with its synth -enveloped nasal voiceover propelled Air into worldwide acclaim. Air is a French electronic duo composed of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel. AIR is an acronym for Amour (Love), Imagination, and Rêve (Dream). And the music stands upto the acronym. The band has consistently produced dreamy, imaginative music over the past 10 years; music that expands spaces, encloses one in private introspection when one wants, and blows the socks off one now and then!

Their first full album - Moon Safari, is often considered a classic in the electronica/chillout music genre. Godin and Dunckel use an eclectic mix of synthesizers, acoustic guitars and string arrangements to build beautiful music. One of the standout tracks on the album is the absolutely lovely "Kelly Watch the Stars". Beginning as a synth-heavy track, it melts into a lush piano-driven arrangement which inspires one to just lie down in the grass in a country-house and stare all night long at the stars. "La Femme D'argent" is a mysterious and slinky track which evokes images of spies, mysterious women, and money. Extending the line of artists such as Kraftwerk or Madonna who have used vocoders to alter their voices and launch a million robopop movements, Air uses them to good effect in 'Remember'. 'New Star in the Sky' is a quiet number backed by acoustic guitars and synthesizers which slowly grows into an intricate melody as new instruments add layers to the music.

The third album by Air, 10.000 Hz Legend saw the duo focusing more on electronic-heavy music and rely less on pop often leading fans and critics to criticize the album as too heavy and less accessible. But there are certain standout tracks on the album which confirm Air's position as one of the best electronic bands out there. 'Electronic Performers' starts with an addictive bass thump which constantly break through the electronic claps that start the song. Vodoer heavy voices break the music and transform the song into an other-worldy elegy.

My pick of the album is the repetitive but fun 'People in the city'. One song which most closely resembles music from Moon Safari, it has a gentle beginning followed by the duo spelling out "people city- smiling, crying, sleeping, loving, watching, working, driving..."

"Talkie Walkie" is another step in the progression of Air as an artist unafraid of experimentation - creating new sounds, using new instrumentation, and pushing the boundaries of the box in which their music has been slotted. Nowhere more can this be found than in the dreamy 'Venus' - an ode to a beautiful girl which sonically moves along the cadences of a dream. Nearly every song on the album is a matryoshka doll that slowly reveals its secrets. These include the digital whispers of 'Run', the breathtakingly lovely music of 'Cherry Blossom Girl',  and the adventurous 'Surfin' on the Rocket'.

All the elements on the album find harmony in 'Another Day' - a song that is at once mysterious, beautiful and mesmerizing.

My personal favourite album among Air's oeuvre is the beautifully-named Pocket Symphony. Each song on the album is a gem of beautiful orchestration, careful singing and lovely melodies. 'Once Upon a Time' is a gentle piano driven number which slowly grows in tempo and never loses its charm in the entire five minutes.

Scalding like fire is the riveting 'Napalm Love' - which starts with a forceful claps punctuated by the gentle cooing and murmuring of the artists. After about two minutes, the song, almost like the fiery napalm, melts into a enigmatic melody. "How strange is your love/ How warm is your love/ How tough is your love".

The song is followed by the cinematic 'Photograph' - almost bringing to mind the mystery and paradox filled worlds of lovers and madmen. "The angels cry to have your photograph".

"Mer Du Japon" or French for "Sea of Japan" is a lovely Japanese-influenced piece complemented by an absolutely graceful video of two dancers moving along to the melodious music; their bodies intertwining, sometimes getting stiff with the tense music, and sometimes falling into lovely trance. Jean-Benoit compares the music to that special quality in the Japanese air- and the song captures it perfectly,

Other picks from the album include the hypnotic "Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping" and "Night Sight" and the tick tock of "Space Maker".

'Pocket Symphony' finds Air at its peak, with a beautiful mix of the electronic music that propelled them into prominence, and the gentle rhythms of Japanese instruments.

One wonders whether its even possible for anyone to dislike Air's music- its almost elemental in its notes, the way it naturally moves and moulds itself to the listener's moods, the time of day, and the place. One hopes such music keeps coming out of the French factory of Electronic Performers.

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