CLASSIC ALBUM RE-REVIEW :: AIR - MOON SAFARI

Current mood: CALM
Category: CALM Music

One of the many things that makes music great - at least in the mind of the individual - is the time and place of it's finding, and the memories it evokes of that time and place.

For me, Air's Moon Safari is resplendent with such memories: It reminds me of a whole bunch of people. It was one of the first albums I copied onto a CDR, then again onto mp3. It reminds me of the time I left a ring on the cooker on for 4 days and returned to find that the house hadn't burnt down….

But this LP being the key to memory cab files isn't the reason I rate it so highly.

I rate it because it's a very, very good record.

Yes boss, Moon Safari is a tranquil sea of peace and harmony, the like of which Bono might be able to install on Planet Earth if only he took his rose moral tints off.

Tracks like Remember & La Femme D'Argent are pure dreamtime bliss, rooted in the soil. They're both steady and reliable. In fact they sound almost agricultural, but beautifully human. There's melancholy, heartbreak, stomp, pop and feeling and you can't see the seems…

The problem with so many ambient records, is that they try oh so hard to define some kind of state of electronic bliss, yet they nearly all fail miserably. Sure they're full of gentle synth washes, blurpy blips and smooth vocals drenched in reverb, but few conjure up much other than chill out rooms in nightclubs or the strange world of a lazy robot party..

But much like The KLFs Chill Out, Moon Safari goes for the jugular without thinking about drugs or nightclubs. Moon Safari is like true and proper ambience; like a summer Sunday dreaming in the garden with acoustic instruments and a radio and birds and…

Basically, it's a good classic, and since emerging from the Brit Pop drenched late 1990s, Moon Safari has lounged alone on Tranquillity Island, since when no other leaky bastard ships have even come close…

Currently listening : Moon Safari By Air Release date: By 27 January, 1998

1:11 AM - 13 Comments - 12 Kudos - Add Comment - Edit - Remove

	Renate Müller II	I concur, with enthusiasm... Posted by Renate Müller II on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 12:25 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	BOSCH!! Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 1:18 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Emily	I associate Air with my first stabs at adulthood...I love Air, even 10,000 Hz Legend which apparently no one likes... Posted by Emily on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 1:14 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Clinker	Yea I agree totally too. I also love 10,000 Hz Legend, though not Walkie Talkie (thats when I lost heart). It's weird, when Moon Safari came out I was at first disappointed, because the songs didn't all sound like variations on Sexy Girl. It wasn't long before it had completely seduced me though. A brilliant timeless classic. Posted by Clinker on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 10:56 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	It stood out as an LP from all the heavily marketed 4 boys in a rock band thing that was going on. Indeed for my cash, the best albums to come out of the Brit Pop bands/ era were: Moon Safari (Air), Timeless (Goldie), Maxinquaye (Tricky) Different Class (Pulp) Giant Steps (The Boo Radleys) I think maybe the key to success for the Air record was it's completely drenched in memory sounds. It's all that reverb. The whole thing is very evocative and very smooth... Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 11:29 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	I don't mind any of their albums since, but Moon Safari stands apart and above on Planet Paul... Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 1:21 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	stephen	it does remind me of a special time too, and it's an amazing album. it shook me right out of the comfort zone i was in and in a lot of ways put me on the path i am still walking. nice one p.g. p.s. 'agricultural'???? you journos... Posted by stephen on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 2:12 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	Yep... An agricultural record that oozes like a gentle clay soil in flood.. Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 11:32 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Mog Hartley	I think I played it so much I got fed up with it and haven't listened to it for ages so time for a revisit maybe. It is pretty unique Posted by Mog Hartley on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 11:17 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :	Yeah, mine got all separated up into different folders and i lost it 'as one' then i redownloaded it and this was when I wrote the review... Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 11:36 AM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Aymi	I love singing and 'You Make It Easy' is beautiful especially as its followed by 'Ce Matin La'. Its just one of those guaranteed to relax you. My co-worker in Our Price had been singing their praises for ages and then I heard straight away what he meant when we first got the album in! :) Posted by Aymi on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 1:03 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

	Aymi	that was supposed to read at the start 'I love singing and 'You Make It Easy' is beautiful to sing along to...' apologies, when I read it back it looked like I'd made a 'random' statement about what I like to do! :) Posted by Aymi on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 1:06 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

: THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI :

I also love singing, but only when other people are doing it for me.. This album's most definately full of classic tunes. They keep coming one after another. It's like cheap dope. No, it's better than cheap dope. But combined with expensive, high quality dope it's even better still.. Posted by : THE FUTUREPROOF MUSIC BLOG BY PIOUS GIOVANNI : on August 21, 2007 - Tuesday at 3:25 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]