Versailles,
near Paris, has everything of a tranquil suburb. Nothing
never really comes to disturb this rather wealthy town,
and even the constant flow of tourists visiting the
castle of the Sun King doesn’t manage to break the peace.
It is in Versailles though, that the whole French electronic
scene started in the mid nineties, with Daft Punk, Etienne
De Crecy, Alex Gopher and Air rewriting the rules of
dance music. Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunkel
met at university there, and eventually joined forces
to produce one of the most enduring records of the last
decade. When Moon Safari was released, it was
everywhere. The world was gasping for Air. Ask any of
your friends, family or work colleagues around you,
and you will be surprised how many of them own it. Moon
Safari is a truly universal record.
10,000
Hz Legend is everything but the continuation of
its predecessor. Air have replaced the polished sounds,
breezy arrangements and gentle melodies they got us
used to with a much more organic feel, and Radio
#1, the first single to be lifted from the album,
is probably as close to Moon Safari as it gets.
It becomes obvious, from the first moments of Electric
Performers, which opens the album, that Dunkel
and Godin are now more into heavy beats, electric guitars
and dark electronic. The duo creates murky polymorphic
miniature epic soundtracks and naïve evolutive
melodies, building-up around pianos, guitars, strings
and electronic effects. They handle somewhat difficult
songs with class. Tension is an integrant part of the
album, as in the brilliantly disturbing How Does
It Make You Feel, with its raw vocoder and progressive
chorus, or the innocent Sex Born Poison, a
sort of ballad for hippy computer and paranoid androids.
Traces of influences from Serge Gainsbourg can be found
on Wonder Milky Bitch, the duo nesting some
intricate lyrics in a beautifully crafted, if somewhat
perverse, melody. Beck also gives an interesting performance
on The Vagabond and on the opening lines of
Wonder Milky Bitch. Other highlights include
Radio #1, Lucky And Unhappy and the
magnificent Don’t Be Light.
After the
high expectations of Moon Safari and the disappointment
of The Virgin Suicides, 10,000 Hz Legend
reaffirms Air as remarkable creators, and demonstrates
how their first album was only a warm-up session.
5/5 |
