Toronto – French-based duo Air brought their atmospheric brand of electronica to the Phoenix last night. They kept both new and old fans happy by alternating between early hits and more recent material. It was an eclectic night of music that seamlessly moved from, well, airy tunes, to all out rock ballads. On both counts the crowd was kept busy bopping their heads.
Air consists of Jean-Benoît Dunckel and Nicolas Godin. I’ve been listening to them for a number of years now. Their sophomore album Moon Safari (1998), struck a perfect chord for me in blending electronic sounds with elements of jazz and some tasteful brass dipped in just the right amount of honey. I was instantly hooked; Air was my gateway drug into the world of electronica. As they’ve progressed, their sound has grown more progressive and a little edgier. I was a little concerned how this would all pan out in a live setting. Thankfully I had absolutely nothing to worry about.
Air was my gateway drug into the world of electronica.
The first thing that amazed me about seeing Air live is how organic they are. I’ve always assumed that electronica is created through a mastery of samples and Pro Tools (music editing software). Indeed, it is this reliance on studio time and the luxury to craft everything just so that hamstrings many electronic bands as they try to move their production to a live setting. Not so with Air. This is a band of musicians first and foremost. They just happen to play music that we classify as electronica.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the music they create is very live and real. They play many songs with an acoustic guitar! Sure, the guitar gets processed through a myriad of effects, but that’s where the magic starts. They play real bass and piano (or synthesizer), and there was a living breathing drummer holding down the fort. No drum machines. No one busily hovering over an iMac. Their tune Remember features an artificial voice that I was convinced was created in a studio with fancy text-to-speech software. In fact it was Jean-Benoît singing with weird effects being added in real-time.
The next thing I noticed is how badass bassist Nicolas Godin is. For the encore, they brought out my favourite song, La Femme D’argent. It’s a funky tune with a wicked bass line that I’ve long since internalized. However, hearing Nicolas play it live was something else entirely. The studio version consists of the straight ahead bass-line that repeats basically throughout. It’s funky, it’s consistent and gets the job done. The live version had Nicolas sliding around the line and dancing with it like a couple of lovers that know each other well. They’ve long since mastered the art of give and take and can now try new things with abandon knowing that it’ll all work out.
This is no mere band of iMac-jockeys. Seeing Air live has vindicated my long ago choice of the perfect gateway drug.
