Moon On A Stick (Moon Safari - Air)

Member Name: stoffy

Product:	Moon Safari - Air
Date:	22/06/02 (115 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: very original style, great production, perfect to chill-out to

Disadvantages: 'Remember' isn't a great track

French music used to be associated with heavy breathing and 14 year old girls singing about taxi drivers. However, the late 1990's saw the emergence of a dynamic strand of Gallic dance and chill-out music that has been inescapable ever since, largely due to its omnipresent appearance on TV shows and adverts. Air, along with the likes of Cassius, Etienne De Crecy and Daft Punk paved the way for French music to associated with cool, rather than eurotrash.

'Moon Safari' was the album which launched the French duo of Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin into the big-time internationally. The duet are visually striking, looking as if they've been plucked from a modern art gallery in Paris circa 1972 and transported forward through time.

A feat of electronica, the album is accompanied by an album sleeve that looks as if it were plucked straight from a 'Look and Read' textbook, with its rounded fonts and abstract graphics. It complements the retro sounding album perfectly.

The opening track on the 'Moon Safari' is 'La Femme D'Argent', which translates as 'The Silver Woman'. This is an instrumental track which is perfect to chill-out to. There are lots of different sounds, with strings, bass, organ and rythym. However, it all fits together perfectly, as Air take you on a seven minute journey that epitomises their dreamy sound.

'Sexy Boy' is perhaps the band's most popular and well-known song. With breathy vocals and homoerotic overtones, it carries Air's own brand of distinctive French charm. Carrying on in the same dreamy vein as 'La Femme D'Argent', it sounds so unlike anything else that was around at the time. It's a real shame that every TV show with a bit of male naked flesh feels the need to play this over the top of it, but I guess that's the age of advertising for you...

'All I Need' takes the mood down a notch.
A reflective song with fragile and vulnerable vocals by Beth Hirsch, it is pure beauty. There's very little production over Hirsch's vocals, which just emphasises the delicateness of the song. Once again, the organ and percussion used in the song sets it apart from other songs within the genre. Definitely one of the best tracks of the album.

'Kelly Watch The Stars' was the second song of the album to be released off the album. A bit more uptempo than the first trio of songs, it features a heavy vocoder repeating the name of the song. There is also a lush piano sequence half way through that really sets this track apart from some of the others. Quite what the song's about, I'm not sure. However, the video did show a women's table tennis match, where 'Kelly' went on to win, despite being concussed half way through by a rogue ping-pong ball. Now you don't see that at Wimbledon...

'Talisman' is an instrumental track that combines the vulnerability of 'All I Need' with the rhythms and sounds of 'La Femme D'Argent'. It perhaps lacks the edge of those two songs, but is nonetheless a fine album track.

'Remember' is my least favourite track on the album. With the vocoder used again, it sounds like a slowed down Daft Punk cast-off sung by Cher in a bathroom. Still, its redeeming feature is that it's only 2 and a half minutes...

'You Make It Easy' sees Beth Hirsch put in another appearance. Perhaps the most traditional song on the album (it has verses and a chorus!), the minimalist backing is complemented by Hirsch's wavering voice. The song is all about having found love, and is a cheery summery song that sees the album back on track after 'Remember'.

'Ce Matin La', (which roughly translates as 'This Morning' so I'm led to believe) is another of the band's instrumental tracks. A clarinet is used
on this track to great effect. It sounds as if it's an updated version of the kind of song they play at the end of 'Lassie', but once again has all the hallmarks of Dunckel and Godin's unique sound.

'New Star In The Sky' is another dreamy epic. Again, it lacks the instantness of some of the earlier tracks, but it fits in well with the mood of the rest of the album. The vocoder is again used in this, but it is much more subtle than in 'Remember', and works all the better for it.

The final track is 'Le Voyage De Penelope', which is possibly the best named album finisher that I've heard. The beginning of the song sounds like the theme music to Victoria Wood's 'Acorn Antiques', which is slightly disconcerting. However, it soon turns into a climax of sounds and moods and finishes the album on a high.

'Moon Safari' is a very different sort of album. It has a style that has been copied, but never bettered. Perhaps its magic lies in the use of slightly unorthodox instruments and styles of keyboard that gives it its French edge. Beth Hirsch's vocals are also an excellent edition, and the whole album is produced immaculately.

With the exception of 'Remember', there isn't a mediocre track amongst the songs that make up the album, and this really is a classic that no-one should be without. Sadly, their latest album '10,000 Hz'failed to live up to standards that this and Air's other albums 'Premier Symptomes' and 'Vigin Suicides' set. However, after 4 years, 'Moon Safari' still stands out as THE French album to have. Just don't tell Vanessa Paradis I said that...

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