Air

来自法国的浪漫电子乐团Air，当年以专辑《Moon Safari》红透了半边天，它把法国人浪漫的气质通过电子乐淋漓尽致的表现了出来，特有的半说半唱的演唱方法结合流行音乐、加之当今的电子元素，使作品中弥漫着新浪潮感觉和怀旧气息！专辑中运用了大量电子特效，同时也又加入传统乐器音色，大显浪漫和潇洒之气质，音乐飘渺、清新，令人赏心悦目！专辑开头的 “La Femme D''Argent”在一片潮水声和模仿非洲手鼓的节奏中登场，模拟80年代早期合成器的键盘很快让慵懒的爵士情怀占据了耳膜，生动含蓄的音符跳跃在空气里，缓缓的震动下仿佛置身于飘渺的太空。稍显凝重的节奏在接下来的 “Sexy Boy”中展开，Air骚痒式的音效一下一下规整地撞击耳鼓，背景是晶莹剔透的电子合成器音色，女声被处理成疏离的电子感受，一遍遍地重复着简约的一句 Sexy Boy的唱词。怀旧感强烈的“All I Need”请来了美国女歌手Beth Hirsch客串，电子蛙音和原音吉它的开场简直叫人欲仙欲死，飘逸的女声也有一种美妙的催眠效果，键盘的适时加入妙到颠毫。复古的电声在“Kelly Watch The Sky”中延续着，和 “Sexy Boy”有着异曲同工之妙，音乐上的幽默感和偶尔的恶作剧表现在曲子的后半段表露无疑。氛围化的感觉在纯音乐的“Talisman”中再次迎面而来，像是对第一首曲子的呼应，弦乐在中段的加入足以让你的双脚离开地面，空旷的、虚幻的空气啊！挂了效果的人声在“Remember”一曲中显得冷感、凋落，不断重复着的“Remember together remember forever"这一句歌词，和着鼓声的反复，隐隐地灼伤了皮肤和心灵。一阵风声掠过，穿过太空的电子声波，“You Make ItEasy”来了，旋律上口，伤感无奈又点到为止，摇摆的月影，婆娑的舞蹈， Beth Hirsch继续甜腻腻地吟唱，弦乐段落和电子声效也跑出来作怪。歌名古怪的“Ce Matin La”中Air请来著名乐手 P.Woodcock演奏长号，带出了浓得化不开的老爵士风情，空心吉它点缀其间，突然Panl Anka“Time Of Your Life”熟悉的旋律在耳边响起，不由得人对逝去的时光油然而生恍若隔世的感受。“New Star In The Sky”再次使人跌落在缥缈的太空之中，后半段孩子们打闹的声效和长笛的呜咽叫人陷入无法自拔的缅怀。专辑最后一首“Le Voyage De Penelope”由辽远、空灵的钢琴开场，引出蛙音的键盘和旋律主题，一步三回头，一步三回头，和着号的哀鸣，Air向我们作了惜别。 by John Bush More apt to cite stately rock paragons Burt Bacharach and Brian Wilson as their inspirations than Derrick May or Aphex Twin, the French duo Air gained inclusion into the late-90s electronica surge due chiefly to the labels their recordings appeared on, not the actual music they produced. Their sound, a variant of the classic disco sound coaxed into a relaxing Prozac vision of the late 70s, looked back to a variety of phenomena from the period — synthesizer maestros Tomita, Jean-Michel Jarre, and Vangelis, new wave music of the nonspiky variety, and obscure Italian film soundtracks. Despite gaining quick entrance into the dance community (through releases for Source and Mo Wax), Airs 1998 debut album, Moon Safari, charted a light — well, airy — course along soundscapes composed with melody lines by Moog and Rhodes, not Roland and Yamaha. The presence of several female vocalists, an equipment list whose number of pieces stretched into the dozens, and a baroque tuba solo on one track — all of this conspired to make Air more of a happening in the living room than the dancefloor. Though Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel both grew up in Versailles, the two didnt meet until they began studying at the same college. Dunckel, who had studied at the Conservatoire in Paris, played in an alternative band named Orange. One of Dunckels bandmates, Alex Gopher, introduced Godin into the lineup. While Gopher himself departed (later to record for the Solid label), Dunckel and Godin continued on, becoming Air by 1995. During 1996-1997, the duo released singles on Britains Mo Wax (Modular) and the domestic Source label (Casanova 70, Le Soleil Est Prés de Moi). Though Air often evinced the same 60s Continental charm as Dimitri From Paris — due no doubt to the influence of Serge Gainsbourg — the duo had little in common musically with other acts (Daft Punk) in the wave of French electronica lapping at the shores of Britain and America during 1997. That same year, Air remixed Depeche Mode and Neneh Cherry and joined French musique concrète popster Jean-Jacques Perrey for a track on the Source compilation Sourcelab, Vol. 3. Signed to Virgin, Air released their debut album, Moon Safari, in early 1998. The singles Sexy Boy and Kelly Watch the Stars became moderate hits in Britain and earned airplay on MTV. Later that year, Godin and Dunckel mounted an ambitious tour throughout Europe and America, though they had originally decided to forego live appearances. Their early singles were collected in 1999 under the title Premiers Symptomes; the duos soundtrack to the Sofia Coppola film The Virgin Suicides followed in early 2000. Airs second studio effort, 10,000 Hz Legend, appeared in spring 2001 with a subsequent tour of the U.S., but critics and fans alike didnt appreciate the darker, more experimental direction. They bridged the gap between the pop of Moon Safari and the experimentalism of 10,000 Hz Legend with their 2004 release Talkie Walkie. Along with touring in support of that album, the pair remained busy making music in 2005 and 2006: they collaborated, along with Pulps Jarvis Cocker and the Divine Comedys Neil Hannon, on Charlotte Gainsbourgs album 5:55, and Dunckel released a solo album as Darkel. Cocker and Hannon also appeared on Airs fourth album, Pocket Symphony, which was released in early 2007.