The best Chill out album of the last 20 years (Moon Safari - Air)

Member Name: paulie1975

Product:	Moon Safari - Air
Date:	06/05/09 (195 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Amazing direction, gorgeous dreamy landscapes

Disadvantages: They haven't followed it with anything as good on their own

Moon Safari

As part of the chill out music explosion of the nineties, Air appeared on the scene, a pair of Parisian musicians, Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel who were heavily influenced by Jean Michel Jarre and the electronic sounds of the seventies, when combined with the smooth dream like beats of Serge Gainsbourg, this is a fair definition of their sound, electronic, sexy, chilled out pop.

Moon Safari was their biggest and most popular album, for me it's the one album that can put me to sleep, it is so tranquil and relaxing, the music, the melodies, the voices, the whole album has a dream like quality which I adore. This album released in 1998 is timeless, it is a classic album that is often quoted in the best album lists.


Album Tracks

1. La Femme D'argent

Seven minutes and nine seconds long this starts with the sound of heavy rainfall and a constant drumming, this is followed by a really luxurious seventies type sound, strings, organ, drums, it is pure instrumental heaven, it always makes me think of flying through the air, it is a dreamy sound, a great start to the album that fully justifies seven minutes.

2. Sexy Boy

The best known song on the album this has a heavy funky organ followed by banging drums, then the vocoder vocal simply repeating the words 'Sexy Boy' it works perfectly, it is an incredibly sexy song, full of atmosphere, the chorus rises incredibly high and sounds so dreamy, you just wait for the sudden hit of the next verse of 'Sexy Boy'.

3. All I Need Featuring Beth Hirsch

At four and a half minutes, this is the closest you will get to a ballad on the album, an acoustic guitar and strange swirling backing sounds and the beautiful voice of Beth Hirsch come in, this is a gorgeous song, full of wonderful melodies, the production is superb and the voice and song match perfectly.

4. Kelly Watch The Stars

This is a lovely little song, the sounds are incredibly dreamy as always, the strange melodies lend themselves to a strange far away place and then the throbbing brassy beat comes in and we again get the vocoder vocal simply repeating 'Kelly Watch the Stars', the rest of the song is a repeat of this verse but is incredibly fun, there are strange sci-fi sounds and a the song just keeps building layer upon layer.

5. Talisman

This again is a gorgeous song, it's a dreamy instrumental that just makes you want to shut your eyes and dream.

6. Remember

The use of a vocoder on this song is surprisingly emotive, it makes the word 'Remember' sound incredibly touching, it does simply repeat 'remember forever' over and over, but the use of drums, strange otherworldly sounds and melodies is wondrous, this is one of my favourite songs on the album, its beautiful.

7. You Make It Easy Featuring Beth Hirsch

This builds with the sound of waves or storm clouds and then a gentle, almost calypso beat plays and this is followed by a Hammond organ, Hirsch again provides vocals, lyrically beautiful, this is a stunning song, it's a chill out song, ballad and a dreamy song to fall asleep to.

8. Ce Matin-Là

This is my favourite song on the album, it is another dreamy instrumental, it just builds and my imagination runs wild wondering what its about, I have my own ideas but you really have to hear it to make your own choices, the song has a nice string background and there are sounds overlaying it which are wonderful, the chorus sound of brass instruments takes this to another level, a triumph of scoring and production.

9. New Star In The Sky

Nice gentle piano and acoustic guitar, this plays for five and a half minutes and is incredibly mellow and chilled out, again production is the key here, its not one of my favourite songs on the album, but it fits the mood of the whole album so well, its lovely.

10. Le Voyage De Pénélope

Decent instrumental that builds, it is moodier than the other songs and is my least favourite song on the album, but is nonetheless an excellent song, which follows the tone and pace of the other songs.


My View:

This along with Un Histoire de Melody Nelson, is my favourite chill out album ever, its one of my top twenty albums of all time and is my favourite to listen to when falling aslepp. It is so laid back and relaxed and rewards you every time you listen to it with the subtlety of the music, there are layers of sounds, vocoders are used, the singer Beth Hirsch is perfect for some of the ethereal songs, it does remind me of Gainsbourg's use of Jane Birkin to make songs sound melodic and almost like nursery rhymes.

The album is just long enough, the tracks seem to continue on from each other, while I can't really pick out themes other than love and some really beautiful ballads it is an intelligently made and fantastically produced album. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys French music, enjoys decent chill out sounds, or loves Electronica, this is a masterful album which Air have singularly failed to match ever since.

How much does it cost?

You can buy the album for £4.98 new at Amazon or for less than £2 through their marketplace facility, the album is a bargain at either price, for me the music doesn't work so well on my i-pod in the noisy world it is best suited to lazing on the sofa or bed, shutting your eyes and dreaming.

Summary: Simply Brilliant