Air
Talkie Walkie

(Astralwerks)

astralwerks.com

The Parisian duo of Jean Benoit Dunckel and Nicholas Godin, professionally known as Air, have released an atmospheric, ambient soundscape of melody that is the first high water mark of 2004. Stylistically, the recording falls between the groundbreaking debut, Moon Safari and its release 10,000hz Legend.

Two years has elapsed since their last studio effort, and the meticulous choices in writing, arrangement and production make the recording worth the wait. Nigel Godrich shows again that he may be the most important producer of the modern era, creating sounds that exist only through a unique combination of native instruments, mics, software, processing and the complex, fine tuned choices of a brilliant man. The band foregoes guest vocalists on this recording, but the gentle beatbox grooves, lush reverbs and subtle vocoder processing make the recording familiar without treading old ground.

The band has figured prominently in the cinematic work of the mercurial Sofia Coppola, contributing most recently to the soundtrack of the Academy Award nominated film Lost in Translation. A track from that soundtrack, "Lost in Kyoto", appears on Talkie. (Ed. note: If you haven't seen Lost, you need to go just to hear the soundtrack and its sympathy with the images. It's breathtaking.)

Air's body of work is important as it has symbolized the convergence of electronica and contemporary pop music since Moon Safari. Talkie will be spoken about in the same breath as Kraftwerk's Computer World in twenty years. This is a must own recording.

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