Fresh Air

Life, it increasingly appears to me, seems to accelerate as the years tick by. Now I am not geriatric just yet, and even consider myself to still be in some kind of flush of youth, however dimmed, but it is incredible that the touchstones of life experience seem to whiz away into distant memory like a blink of the eye. I'm increasingly finding myself talking about things, thinking that they were a year or two ago, and being reminded that virtually a decade has passed, or even more scarily told that these events happened last century. While I remain feeling like a 19 year-old and wait for the day I grow up properly and stop wearing sneakers to work, the years still march inexorably forward. And it seems to me that music is one of those touchstones that is constantly throwing up surprising reality checks with which to plot the passing years.

The reason for such whimsical reverie, on this occasion, is the news that French electronic duo Air are set to mark the decade anniversary of classic debut album "Moon Safari" with a bulked up re-release special edition. Marvellous news I am sure you will agree and, while it sends shivers down my spine to think that this album is really 10 years old (seriously, that's a long time right!?!), it is a great excuse to just stop and reflect on what a great record it was, and is. Interestingly, if you dig "Moon Safari" out and listen to it through the first thing that strikes you is actually how fresh it still sounds. The music, with its blissed out tempo and dream-like aesthetics has a truly timeless feel to it, a fact perhaps all the more impressive given that the reliance on synth and almost robotically fashioned electronica could so easily have dated it.


However, even upon release the record had a retro charm, with the potential harshness of its hypnotic elements softened by the generous use of acoustic guitar, vocoded vocals, and a perfectly judged introduction of lyrical harmony. Indeed the use of Florida-born singer-songwriter Beth Hirsch on the incredible "All I Need" and "You Make It Easy" is so well-judged as to give the songs the immediate feeling of being remakes of classic recordings you never knew existed, taken from a smoky Parisian lounge some time in the preceding 50 years. And then there are the instrumentals, sonic soundscapes of understated beauty.


Opener "La Femme D'Argent" sets the tone, the sound of waves lapping on a distant shore giving way to a jazzy bass-heavy groove, interspersed with cosmic sounds and Moog keyboard stabs which transport you to a long soak in warm waters. And there is a sexiness to it as well which again is a repeating motif throughout. Whether it is the tempo, made for the make-out couch, or the echoes of 70s porn that the music suggests, it is definitely full of French naughtiness. And we haven't even mentioned the pop genius of "Sexy Boy" and "Kelly Watch The Stars".


Air have certainly proven themselves to be the kings of the late 1990s resurgence in laid-back electronica, a scene led by our Gallic cousins across the English Channel. Haters might dismiss this as wallpaper music, or that most damning of terms "easy-listening", but as far as I am concerned that is their loss. It is easy to listen to, and it is this ease, comfort and familiarity that makes it so appealing. And it is simply too good to just sit in the background, unless of course you are taking care of business on the afore-mentioned couch. Even then, make sure you don't get carried away and forget to come up for some Air.