Group Air. Way to success

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Air has achieved great fame by choosing the genre of electronic music. It's about a duet. Both members, Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunkel, were born in 1969. The birthplace of one is the exemplary respectable city of Versailles near Paris. The second was born in the neighborhood, on the territory of the town of La Chesnay.

Orange

Air was created by two people who met in high school. In the eighties they were students of the Lyceum Jules Ferry. Young people loved music. Together with friends, they initially organized the group Orange. The team offered their demos to record companies, but to no avail.

Modulor

Nicolas, discouraged by failure, began to study as an architect. At the same time, he stubbornly continued to create on the synthesizer. The Air group began its history in 1995. It was then that Nicolas offered the composition Modulor to a company called Virgin. The firm was then preparing a collection of Source Lab vol.1. It was mainly instrumental but mixed influences from techno, trip hop and pop. Composition by Nicolas, alreadyat the time using the pseudonym Air, was selected for a future compilation. He came out in 1995. It became obvious how the work of our hero stands out from the rest. The composition Modulor was even to the taste of the classic BBC. The channel adorned the broadcast grid with it.

Co-creation

Air became a duo after Nicolas got back together with fellow Orange project mate Jean-Benoit Dunkel. He was a math teacher at the time and worked occasionally as a pianist in a bar. Jean-Benois is the owner of a classical musical education. He attended a piano class at the Conservatory of Versailles. Thanks to this man, the young French band became more melodic.

In 1996, in July, the band released a maxi CD called Casanova 70. The sound is influenced by the 70s, as well as the most melodic achievements of the variety show genre. The Air group has won admirers among the British with its style. In 1997, in July, the next maxi-disc appears under the name Le Soleil est près de moi. It's about instrumental work. From that moment on, the group is being talked about seriously. With an improving lineup of maxi CDs, the duo is beginning to take an interest in rock masters such as Nene Cherry and Depeche Mode. They also work with French electronic music classic Jean-Jacques Perret.

Seventy-year-old composer with a colossal creative fuse participates in the creation of compositions Remember and Cosmic Bird. In parallel, in 1997, Jean-Benoit and Nicolas rented a studio insuburb of Paris and started recording their first full-length album. In 1998, Moon Safari was simultaneously released in forty countries around the world. There are 10 tracks on the disc. Mostly these were instrumental works. Vocals are present only in three compositions. The strings were recorded at a studio known as Abbey Road. The no less famous David Whitaker supervised the process. Laudatory reviews rained down on the Air. Critics admire the excellent performance, modernity of sound, accessibility, variety and lightness of the works. The album made a splash in the UK, and then conquers the US.