Air – Live at Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London – 1998 – Recorded by BBC 6 Music –
Starting off the week with Air, the Psych/Electronic/Downtempo band from Versailles, recorded shortly after the release of their debut album Moon Safari, which went on to become their most critically acclaimed so far.
Air got started in 1995. Heavily influenced by Pink Floyd, they tried combining elements of Psych with Electronica and Space Rock and came up with a hybrid that’s clearly their own.
They have been very active, not only performing and touring, but also in the area of Soundtracks, having collaborated with Sofia Coppola on a number of her films, including Virgin Suicides and Lost In Translation.
They have also been heavily involved in producing projects for other artists, most notably fellow French artist Charlotte Gainsbourg, and have also been involved in a collaboration with Italian writer Alessandro Baricco in a series of concerts/performances featuring Baricco reading texts from his work, accompanied by music from Air.
A band with many fingers in numerous pies. Their work has been featured in other film and TV projects, commercials and remixes. The result is, they have become a very well-known and visible band – not bad for a duo.
This concert captures them in a formative period. Their debut album had been released and the band was comparatively new at the time and so there is an air of excitement to the proceedings, captured for posterity by BBC 6 Music during a concert at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London.
Hard to imagine they’ve been together for over 20 years now. In that time their music has inspired and influenced many bands and artists following in their footsteps and taking their examples.
If you missed their early years, just at the start of their stunning success, this is definitely a concert worth listening to. They tour regularly and have been doing many of the Summer festivals the past few years. So they are no strangers to listeners.
So enjoy this one.
