Air

Although their lush and evocative textures positioned Air as something of an anomaly amid the electronica surge of the late nineties, the duo went on to rank among the most pivotal electronic outfits of the ensuing decade and well past it. Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel drew from a wide palette that encompassed Burt Bacharach, Brian Wilson, disco, synthesizer pioneers such as Tomita and Vangelis, new wave, and little-known Italian film scores; these references set them apart from their club-focused peers and turned their 1998 debut Moon Safari into an immediate classic. With 2000’s 10,000 Hz Legend the pair pushed their command of atmosphere and sonic detail into still more daring, sometimes divisive territory. Subsequent releases saw Dunckel and Godin reconcile their lighter pop leanings with exploratory impulses, as Talkie Walkie in 2004 tilted toward accessibility while Pocket Symphony three years later favored experimentation. Their atmospheric approach also translated seamlessly to cinema, yielding scores for The Virgin Suicides in 2000 and Le Voyage Dans La Lune in 2012 that proved every bit as evocative as their studio work. Across every project Godin and Dunckel infused electronic music with rare warmth, feeling, and sophistication.

Both musicians hailed from Versailles yet did not cross paths until college. Dunckel, who had pursued mathematics at the Paris Conservatoire and whose listening spanned Ravel, Joy Division, and Grace Jones, performed in an alternative group called Orange alongside future house producer Étienne de Crécy. Bandmate Alex Gopher later brought Godin into the fold. An architecture student who had already played in teenage rock ensembles and explored soul and hip-hop, Godin joined after Orange dissolved. A longtime acquaintance then invited him to contribute to a Source label compilation; the resulting “Modulor Mix,” a tribute to Le Corbusier built on eight-track recordings, drum loops, and vintage keyboards, appeared on the 1995 collection Source Lab. Godin subsequently enlisted Dunckel to refine the material, giving rise to Air. Between 1996 and 1997 the duo issued singles on Britain’s Mo’ Wax (“Modular”) and Source (“Casanova 70,” “Le Soleil Est Prés de Moi”), remixed Depeche Mode and Neneh Cherry, and teamed with French musique concrète artist Jean-Jacques Perrey for a Sourcelab, Vol. 3 track. Their debut EP Premiers Symptômes, released in July 1997, gathered those early singles and reached number 12 on the U.K. charts, eventually earning gold certification.

Virgin signed the pair, and Moon Safari arrived in January 1998. Recorded at Abbey Road in London alongside Parisian studios, the album enriched their signature sound with a rich blend of electronic and acoustic elements. Multi-platinum in several European territories and double-platinum in the U.K., its success was propelled by the singles “Sexy Boy” and “Kelly Watch the Stars.” Later that year Godin and Dunckel completed an extensive European and American tour. A 1999 reissue of Premiers Symptômes with bonus tracks preceded the February 2000 release of their soundtrack to Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides. Featuring vocals under the pseudonym Gordon Tracks from Phoenix’s Thomas Mars, the dreamy collection achieved gold status in France and the U.K. while earning a Brit Award nomination for Best Soundtrack. For the darker, prog-informed second studio album 10,000 Hz Legend, issued in May 2001, Beck and Buffalo Daughter’s Sugar Yoshinaga made guest appearances; despite mixed reviews the record entered the top ten across several European countries, went gold in the U.K., and peaked at number two on Billboard’s Independent Albums chart. In 2003 Air supplied “Alone in Kyoto” to Coppola’s Lost in Translation soundtrack and collaborated with Italian writer Alessandro Baricco on City Reading, documenting a live performance that merged readings with their score.

Talkie Walkie, their third full-length, appeared in January 2004. Co-produced by Nigel Godrich and featuring contributions from Brian Reitzell, Joey Waronker, Jason Falkner, and Lisa Papineau, the album emphasized the duo’s more immediate side. It earned gold certification in the U.K., reached the top five in multiple other European markets, and hit number two on the U.S. Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart. While touring in support, Godin and Dunckel remained active in 2005 and 2006, joining Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker and the Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon on Charlotte Gainsbourg’s 5:55 and contributing to the Marie Antoinette soundtrack; Dunckel also issued a solo album under the name Darkel. Cocker and Hannon returned for the March 2007 release Pocket Symphony, again co-produced with Godrich. The album incorporated Japanese instruments including the koto and shamisen, which Godin had studied for years, and topped the U.S. Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart while reaching number 40 on the Billboard 200, Air’s highest placement there. During one stretch of the 2008 Pocket Symphony tour the duo performed with longtime collaborator Joey Waronker as their sole backing musician, a configuration retained for the self-produced Love 2, released in September 2009 and marked by a leaner sonic approach. In June 2010 they marked the tenth anniversary of The Virgin Suicides soundtrack with a complete live rendition in Paris alongside Hot Rats.

Their next undertaking was an original score for the restored 1902 silent film Le Voyage Dans La Lune, composed in under a month with assistance from Au Revoir Simone and Beach House’s Victoria LeGrand; the material later expanded into a February 2012 album. Two years afterward Air issued Music for Museum, a limited vinyl pressing of music commissioned by the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille. Throughout the latter half of the 2010s the members pursued separate endeavors. Dunckel composed for film, collaborated with New Young Pony Club’s Lou Hayter in Tomorrow’s World and Bang Gang’s Bardi Jóhannsson in Starwalker, and revisited his Darkel project with the 2015 EP The Man of Sorrow. Godin released the 2015 album Contrepoint, shaped by Glenn Gould’s Bach interpretations as well as jazz, tropicalia, exotica, and left-field pop, and scored the French 1960s spy series A Very Secret Service, nodding to Lalo Schifrin, John Barry, and other period composers. The duo reconvened in 2016 for the career-spanning compilation Twentyears. Later solo ventures included Godin’s architecturally inspired Concrete and Glass in 2020 and Dunckel’s 2018 album H+ plus his score for the 2020 film Été 85 (Summer of 85). Late in 2021 a deluxe edition of 10,000 Hz Legend added rarities, demos, and live recordings. Three years later Godin and Dunckel honored the twenty-fifth anniversary of Moon Safari with full-album performances on an international tour, accompanied by a deluxe reissue featuring BBC sessions, demos, and additional live tracks.