虽然Air这个由Nicolas Godin与Jean BenoitDunckel所组成的巴黎二人乐团迟至98年初才推出首张专辑「Moon Safari」,不过Air的响亮名气在电子舞曲圈中却早已不胫而走。
在97年一年中,来自法国的「The Future Sound Of Paris」风潮被英国电子舞曲界炒得火热;「Yellow Production」、「Source」、「F Commu-nication」是鼎足而立的三大厂牌,而先后于去年推出专辑的Daft Punk、Laurent Garnier、Dimitri From Paris、Kid Loco,都是这股势力中的佼佼者。整个97年,慢产的Air仅在「Source」旗下发表"Casanova 70"与"Les Soleil Est Pes De Moi"两首单曲(年底时一张"Premiers Symptomes"EP便一举收录了这两首作品),后者再获「Muzik」杂志青睐而在年度最佳单曲榜上名列前茅。
终于在98年初,Air发表了这张姗姗来迟、令所有电子(舞曲)迷望穿秋水的首张大碟「Moon Safari」,一推出立即获得「Muzik」、「Mixmag」谁人给予满分的顶级评价与肯定。
一如过去的作品,「Moon Safari」所包含的并不是像Daft Punk、Laurent Garnier般属於Club的跳动声音,而是倾向于Dimitri From Paris、Kid Loco式的静态情境音乐,散发出一种揉合了Retro-Electro、Ambient、Retro-Futurism、Electro Easy-Listening、Techno-Pop元素的法式浪漫情愫,特别是铺陈了淡淡Bossa Nova节奏、由女声主唱的"You Make It Easy",更让人听得悠闲无悠忧。
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
A cavalcade of analog synthesizers, organs, electric pianos, and processed voices populate Moon Safari, a thoroughly appealing, otherworldly debut album from Air. Where most of their dance contemporaries push the boundaries of trip-hop or jungle, Air blends Euro-dance with new wave. Any futuristic element on their album feels strangely outdated, since they're borrowed from the early '80s, which gives their music an odd, out-of-time feeling. The waves of gurgling synths beneath the spacious, colorful chords and melodies give the impression that the music is floating in space. For all the atmospherics and layers of synths, there's a distinct pop sense to Moon Safari that makes it accessible and damn near irresistible.