Moon Safari

Breathy and tasty like a whipped chocolate mousse.

Psychedelic synth porn got me drooling omg. The basslines are varied both in melody and in tone with some upright, some electric, and lots of synth bass everywhere. It's like a retro Avalanches record. Which, notable difference is how analogue everything sounds and I can't really describe it any other way. I also love the mixing in this - very much an album for headphones and drugs. My only gripe is that Sexy Boy doesn't hit and some of the songs run a bit long.

Surprisingly enjoyable. I thought, upon hearing the first track “okay some more ephereal French flim flam - let’s see how this goes” but with a light hand on the tiller, Air guide us through the rivers of the world. Unusual, and quite unique sounding - there’s plenty of tonal variety and texture within the gestalt of waifish French flim flam. You know what? I’ve talked myself into a 4. In reality probably a 3.5, but I’m feeling good after that, so yeah. 4.

This record shows in some cases a similar style to Daft Punk, but with fewer extremely annoying "experimental" sirenes and blaring synthesizers that make you want to pierce your eardrums with a toothpick. However, some songs do depend too much on generic elevator/video-game menu music vibes, or take a little bit too long to become exciting. Songs that are worth being added to my collection, are Voyage, Ce matin-la, Femme d'argent, Kelly and All I Need. I feel that each of these songs adds something new to the experience, different instrumentals, different tempo but the same funky and relaxing atmosphere. With me liking exactly 50 percent of the album, I feel it deserves an overall score of 6/10.

Have you ever been out drinking with a few friends and it gets to that late hour where you can either go home or get weird? Your friend says he got a text from an acquaintance that is having a gathering across town. You put up a fake fight but inevitably will go because you don't want to be drunk alone at home. You all share a cab and with every block you drive you notice you're getting farther and farther from home. When you do arrive, the building as some jerryrigged lock system that you've been given vague instructions to and the four of you struggle for 10 minutes before a stranger just let's you in. You get up to the apartment and knock - the door is opened by a white guy with dreads...he hugs your friend and welcomes everyone in. It smells of incents, weed, and definitely a hint of cats. You look around and there are a few people there and they are all zonked out on the couch. You're told there's beer in the fridge and you go get the least offensive IPA of the bunch. You are then offered some sort of powder by your friend. Is it H? Is it K? Is it even possibly Coke? It's dark so who knows. So you say why not and take a line. I was definitely not cocaine. You go into a paranoid spiral about getting hooked on H because of this and get dizzy and try to find a place to sit. Your fucked up brain says - go to the bathroom and lay your face on the cold floor. So you do that...wondering when someone will walk in and freak out. You get up the energy to get out of there...you bolt to your friend and say you gotta go. You fly down the stairs and get in the first cab you see, knowing it's gonna be super expensive...but if I start OD-ing there's a person to help. You get home after dozing in the cab...knowing the cabby was judging you. You climb up your stairs to your apartment. Drink a little water and lay down fully clothed, thinking of nonsense until you eventually fall asleep. That's what this album sounds like

Oh, it sounds like this?! Saw this album dozens of times as a kid without ever hearing it. Expected it to sound like proto-Landfill Indie but it actually sounds like a coma patient waking up. Because it renders 60's positivity with a 90's futurism whose grasp almost exceeds its reach, that patient could be any number of dead, buried and long-forgotten bands. And because the silly-spooky voices and cute piano figures are imbued with a wry whimsy, I'm guessing the band find their venture both fun and funny. I do too, without ever being totally roused out of my hospital bed. Also has the MASSIVE benefit of featuring THAT song from 10 Things I Hate About You, which I probably watched as many times as I saw this album cover in HMV.

Good nighttime chill album.

Man, I'd totally forgotten about this band. There was a short period where this album was on regular rotation in my college apartment. I had a roomate who became totally enamored with them after hearing one of their tracks on a commercial. I actually really like several of these tracks despite Air being part of that same European school of electronic music as Daft Punk. The repetitiveness of the songs tends to annoy me after three minutes in or so. The songs are, on average, about a minute longer than they should be. That said, it's an album full of good, chill, background jams. I still a fan of La Femme d'Argent, All I Need, and Talisman.

So many memories of young adulthood. Original, immaculate and superbly produced album

I’ve officially reached one full week of experiencing and giving my impressions of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. It’s been a fun and rewarding project and this is album number seven. The second of which I knew absolutely nothing about.. The album of the day is titled Moon Safari by the French band Air. This effort was released in 1998, one of my favorite years in music in my lifetime in that I was old enough to really start making my own decisions in what I like but more importantly, when I was able to buy my own collection of cassettes and tapes. Full disclosure, I’m not all that knowledgeable about electronic music, EDM, techno and all other related music. I can’t name a single Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers or The Prodigy song. (I do know Fire Starter though!) While I’ve never been able to relate to a lot of this style of music, I respect it and acknowledge it’s influential impact on many, many other genres, including my first love, hip hop. Now that I’ve gotten the homage paying part out of the way, I have to give my honest thoughts on Moon Safari with having only 24 hours with it... There are so many other better albums that could have taken the place of this mediocre record. I don’t intend to offend, but I doubt that I will. Sure, if you put this cassette in the tape deck of my 1988 Acura Integra in 1998, I won’t go rushing for the eject button. It’s not bad at all in any way. I really didn’t mind it. It just didn’t scratch any particular itch for me. I didn’t find myself yearning to hear any of these songs again. Sometimes I’ll listen to a new song obsessively on repeat. Not the case here. I do really like the bass on most tracks. The few songs that actually had vocals were okay. The 70’s synthesizers were dope. I’m not hating on Air or their debut album Moon Safari.. But.. In the end, I won’t go back to this album. I need re-playability in my music. If I’m watching a movie and hear a song from this cut in the soundtrack, I may not even recognize it. There are a couple stand out cuts from a project that, to me, sounded more like a demo from a couple of really talented producers that have yet to find their muse. The second song on the record, Sexy Boy, was the most satisfying with the synthetic voice as a catchy rift. The title song, Moon Safari, one of the two only songs that featured a singer, is a cool 90’s love song. I just feel like their are many other really good albums that should have had their place in this collection. Such as Salt’n Pepa’s Hot Cool and Vicious, or The Barenaked Ladies Stunt album released the same year as Moon Safari, a massive hit. Those are just two examples of monster records that were left off of the list. Oh well. At the end of the day, I didn’t write the book, I’m just consuming it. I’m enjoying every album no matter what. Please share your thoughts, memories and impressions, especially if you’ve experienced Moon Safari for the first time because of this post. If you know and love this album to death, and hold it dearly to your heart please feel free to tell me how wrong I am, because we all perceive music differently and that’s okay!! ✌️

Starting to think this 1001 albums thing is bullshit. I can write a better book and curate a better list.

Wow, it's incredible how boring they are able to be. I don't think I've heard many more boring albums in my entire life (OK, Bob Marley is still worse). Not sure why anyone would ever put this on except for just letting something play in the background that won't distract people and which they won't remember.

Put this record on, fix yourself a cocktail, close your eyes and you can almost feel those Cafe Del Mar come-downs.

This is a sexy album. It conjures the vision of a chic lounge sparsely filled to capacity with beautiful, well dressed Parisians. Perhaps tonight I will dream of being invited in.

31st May 2021 Listened on the drive home to London. Sometimes an album catches you perfectly, and this says a lot about the importance of when and where you listen to an album. Summer afternoon, window down, perfect. Air walked so Daft Punk could do the robot?

I can't believe this was released in 98! This was so influential when it came out, I was into Sophia Coppola's films at the time also, particularly Virgin Suicides so this really hit the spot. The way they were able to blend groovy sounds from the 60s and 70s into this new \"chill out\" sound was really innovative and this album holds up surprisingly well today.

Blissfully drifted away on a sunny Friday morning. The mellow sounds made be want to swim in a tranquil sea...with a group of people, in order to stop the tyranny of our Hollywood paedophile overlords.

dont give me this shit ever again

So I was thinking, I've been handing out too many 5 stars lately, therefore Moon Safari needs to get 4 stars. But then I started listening to the album again after, admittedly, way too long a break. The bass lines on the first track (La femme d'argent) were all it took to make me shiver and recall taking the chance and buying the CD based on an old friend's recommendation. And then Sexy Boy, and then Beth Hirsch's voice, and on and on - each and every song on this album is something special. I'm sorry to say it, but this is "another" 5 stars album. How I loved Air! But I still need a lot of Air.

I’m glad I got at least one more album that rocks equally hard when high or sober. Super catchy French electronica and first two songs plus last one were my favs.

What a breath of fresh air. It's easy to understand how this kind of thing could take over the world. I remember first hearing Air during the worst hangover I had in my life - new year's day after a night of too many different types of alcohol - beer, whiskey, wine, champagne, gin... I was debilitated, couldn't go out, couldn't move, and my friend put them on and it provided a nice cool atmosphere to make me feel, at least temporarily, a little less miserable. That memory aside, I found this album irresistible.

01) La femme d'argent - 9,5 02) Sexy Boy - 10,0 03) All I Need - 10,0 04) Kelly Watch The Stars - 10,0 05) Talisman - 9,0 06) Remember - 9,0 07) You Make It Easy - 9,5 08) Ce matin là - 9,5 09) New Star in the Sky (Chanson pour Solal) - 9,0 10) Le voyage de Pénélope - 9,0 TOTAL: 9,45 (95/100) I was 20 years old when this came out and I loved it. "Sexy Boy" is one of my all time favorite tracks. 26 years on, and it still sounds fresh AF. Hell, all of the album makes me feel like I'm 20 again and like the whole world is mine... And you know what? Maybe it is...

This album manages to create an entire atmosphere bubble in your living room. It's so original and fresh, I highly recommend the adventure!

<3333 Prefs: La Femme d'Argent, Sexy Boy, Talisman, Ce Matin-Là, New Start in the Sky, Le Voyage de Pénélope Moins pref: Remember

Really fantastic album, enjoyed it a lot. Kind of reminiscent of Portishead in the downtempo instrumentals with the occasional Daft Punk-esque vocoded vocals. Didn't know what to expect going in but it was excellent.

We have really failed as a species considering the fact that we don't make more music that sounds like this.

112 albums in and finally a 5 star.

Loved this album when it was released, still love it now.

Great downtempo electronic ambient/dream pop music with vocals. Beautiful synths and piano. Smooth bass grooves and some additional horns. String arrangements at some song. Great vocals as well - both male and female.

I loved this album! It made me feel like a sexy spy or something.

Instant transport to 1998, and it stands up pretty well, if of its time. Loved it back then. As an album now, there are more longueurs than I remembered. But rather this a million times than that Simon and Garfunkel. Retrospectively demoting S&G to a 2, and giving this a 3.5, rounding up.

I'm not sure how it's taken me almost a quarter of a century to listen to this, but I certainly won't be leaving it 23 years before its next spin. A brilliant album from start to finish. A really nice, vibe that hits the perfect spot between fun and relaxing. Some bangers that I was already familiar with, interspersed with chilled out tracks, giving this album a great flow and feel. Effortlessly cool and catchy without being cheesy. Instantly love it.

What a fabulous album—mellow and beautiful.

Ok so right off the bat, “Moon Safari” is an excellent name for an album and I love. “Air” isn’t a great name for a band or group, but I’ll allow it. This was cool. I’ve come to realize through this project that I do actually like electronic instrumental music. It’s all about the vibes and when it hits right, it’s amazing. There were a couple tracks I’d consider duds, but not many. A few really stood out. And that one last one kind of sounded like the melody from “Ain’t No Sunshine,” so that was weird. Maybe they were going for that? I dunno. This was cool. Four stars. Standout Tracks: La femme d’argent, Kelly Watch the Stars, Talisman

La femme d'argent // Sexy Boy // Talisman // You Make It Easy // Ce matin-là // Le voyage de Pénélope

Not sure how I slept on this when it was released, given how much downtempo I enjoyed at the time it was released. Definitely rings of the Bristol trip-hop sound; bringing notes of Zero 7, Everything but the Girl (particularly "All I Need"), Massive Attack). Enjoyable listen, for sure.

There are some gorgeous songs here. These guys really know how to craft a relaxing and wondrous atmosphere to get lost in. Unfortunately, the line between "relaxing and wondrous" and "just kinda boring:" is a thin one, and it is nearly a coin flip to determine which side any song falls on. It is a nice album, but not consistent enough for me in its execution.

This is an odd one - it's perfectly nice, with some very nice noises, but it's also not very engaging. I feel calling it background music is really harsh, but if I was the kind of person to host dinner parties I think this would probably be the first album I'd reach for to play during dinner.

6/10 This was pretty good. It was like elevator music for a very sexy elevator. 5-20-2024

The French Pop duo AIR kickstarted their career with an album that neatly combines elements of Ambient Pop with spacey soundscapes and a relaxed and atmospheric feeling that fills every spot of the album. While it isn't anything boundary pushing or crazy experimental for its time, it's a nice combination of what other and older albums (like Mother Earth's Plantasia) tried to do. The album starts with its longest and pretty much best song 'La femme d'argent' which comes around with over 7 minutes of Space Age Pop, Downtempo and Neo-Psychedelia combined together with a little bit of Lounge and Nu Jazz similarities sprinkled throughout. It starts off with some rain sounds that stay for a while but get overshadowed by the bongo-like drums and that different other instruments including spacey Moog synths and an organ which create a hypnotic listen full of magical moments that keep it interesting the whole way through. It's a lovely song but not incredible enough to make feel stunned with what they did. It's not perfect by any means but definitely a great track that makes you really feel like you're on a Moon Safari even if I wished they pushed themselves and the sound further. 'Sexy Boy' plays with a much more electronic sound throughout. It feels very much like an early Daft Punk song with some slightly distorted vocals added on top. It's definitely not a bad song but they fail to use the repetition to their advantege. The detail work is done well with some nice moments throughout especially with the vocals but the structure is just a little stale and boring. The song's overall pretty good but not anything crazy at all. The first of two songs to feature additional vocals from Beth Hirsch who is technically a skilled vocalist but I am really not a fan of her style and how she uses her voice. It feels overdone and odd. The song itself is sadly very much based around these vocals and therefore can't really do much on its own although the final minute has some okay qualities. But as a whole, the song is okay with the vocals ruining a lot of it. It simply feels too average to be properly enjoyed. The slight Synth Funk additions on 'Kelly Watch the Stars' sadly don't work with the Ambient sound that it features in the background. The vocals are again not really good and fit just okay. The song overall just doesn't fit together in itself and simply doesn't work with anything that it tries. The technical and sometimes detailed additions around it do enhance it overall but not enough to still be a below average track. Luckily, 'Talisman' does its thing much better. There is a clear ambition of having some relaxed soundscapes but some tension added and the result works. It feels a lot like something you'd maybe hear in a spy movie with all the atmosphere that is dark and with enough tension to fuel it all while still having a Downtempo and relaxed song by itself. It's done really well and might be one of the better tracks the album has to offer even if it does feel a little repetetive towards the end. Even with the short length that 'Remember' has, it offers some nice blends of the strong electronic sound with some Soul elements in the vocals which are again distorted and some trippy soundscapes around it. It's a pretty nice song and it does have a place on the album even if I think that some of the vocal parts are a little annoying. The other song with Beth Hirsch, 'You Make It Easy', actually features some more obvious Jazz elements with a very Bossa Nova style combined with Trip Hop, Soul and Ambient elements. It's much better than the first song with her and actually a pretty nice song overall. Some of the synth and moog elements are a little annoying and the mixing isn't the best on the album (way to many drums on the left side at one point) but the songwriting is pretty good and the song overall is an alright track with some nice moments. 'Ce matin-là' is without a doubt the most relaxed song here. It's another entirely instrumental but this time it's much less spacey and full of hypnotic soundscapes. No, this is just some really nice and Jazzy Lounge music that's simply very light on the ears with few moments that really go out of it's way. It does feel a lot like an interlude of some sorts but bad at all. It's a pretty good song that's fairly enjoyable for what it is. Another relaxed one is 'New Star in the Sky (Chanson pour Solal)' which does have some more vocals (again, not the most interesting or good) and some nice synth additions but it does feel very boring and bland even with the few Field Recording additions of kids playing in the background. It's got only very few moments that are actually interesting and do that what it obviously tries. Most of it is either boring or annoying which makes the song as a whole end up pretty much as a very boring attempt and nothing more. The album finishes with 'Le voyage de Pénélope' which isn't too much of an upgrade compared to the previous song. It does close of the album and pretty much completes the album sonically with some more Nu-Jazz and Neo-Psychedelia on the established Downtempo electronica and it does have obvious attempts of closing the album like a real finale but for me it returns as a pretty good instead of really grand song but it's a nice ending with some really nice moments throughout. It is one of the better songs on the album. favourites: La femme d'argent, Le voyage de Pénélope, least favourites: New Star in the Sky (Chanson pour Solal), All I Need, Kelly Watch the Stars Rating: decent 6 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

Day two. I got really excited for a moment there. I thought it was recommending an album by Moon Safari that I had never heard. But no, this is an album named Moon Safari, by Air. Okay. I've heard of this, but its a new listen for me. Its a very relaxing electronic album. Very chill vibes. Every song has had a cool bass groove. I can dig the dreamy vibe here, and it sounds great through the headphones, blocking out the silliness going on around me. But, its just kind of generic in the end. I've heard many similar albums that were just better. In the end, it just got me more excited for the new album by Moon Safari that is coming out this week. Himlabacken Vol. 2. Swedish prog rock with incredible vocal harmonies.

It was ok

Sophisticated elevator music. Innovative but kind of boring.

Dreamy, spacey electronic music. Some of the sounds are a little dated but overall it’s not a bad album. Easy to listen to and not repetitive like some songs on similar albums.

Annoyingly unnecessary.

Did not enjoy. Too much synth, too repetitive, “frog music” vibes. Felt like I needed a lot of drugs to enjoy it.

So THESE are the guys to blame for 'low-tempo'?!?! Where's the time machine so I can go back and make sure lofi beats never existed😭 I had hope for about 10 seconds at the start of this when a fun bass kicked in and I thought it would be an intro and turn into rock... how wrong I was. Nothing clawed back anywhere near those first, innocent seconds. Funky at times, just not my thing.

A band like Air are the NFT salesmen of the music industry. Con artists slapping together lazy, worthless music and packaging it as a valuable commodity. They use a couple of instruments on each song, play a simple chord/note progression ad nauseam, and spice it up with reverb or some other shit to mask the monotony. Random Sci-Fi effects are then added to each track that sounds like they've been sourced off a Windows 95 soundboard. There's no artistry involved; it's gimmicky bollocks. These clowns don't even bother with vocals, they just pick a word or meaningless phrase and barf it up repeatedly. Any singing that does appear on this record is heavily distorted to ensure not a hint of talent could possibly seep through. This album is as soulless and vapid as any AI-generated art you'll see online today. It's the Bored Ape of music production. They're TikTokers cosplaying like they're Martin Scorsese. "Moon Safari" sounds the way Mark Zuckerberg's face looks. I fucking hate this shit. 👎👎

Garbage. Boring repetitive garbage. One of the worst albums I've ever heard in my life.

Incredibly, incredibly BORING.

Jesus, another French techno band. Pretty sure back to back French groups is some kind of cruel joke my son is playing on me. And much like the French, I surrendered very early into this one. Think I took it easy on the previous album, probably because it was only 1/2 French. These guys should have waved the white flag right about the time they started the first song. Only listened once and will not listen again. Very slow, very boring. F the French and F this album. I see Van Halen coming up so at least I'll hear some great music soon. 0 Can't give zero, so 1 it is..........

Smoother than a gillette commercial

I'm a bit biased since this is one of my favourite albums already. This is like pure silk through the avenues of my mind, so cool it defies classification and about as mellow as you'll ever need.

Love this. Always have. Always will.

Great album. Absolute pioneering chilled electronics which has wel stood the test of time.

So many songs I love in this album and inadvertently listening to them for years on chill out albums before I knew who they were !

This is share-housing in 1999 for me. Great album.

Awesome electro chill

Amazing vibes. Give me more!

Th-th-th-throwback

I remember hearing & digging this album when it came out, but I seem to have lost track of it sometime over the course of the last 24 years.

Prachtig album! Lang niet meer gedraaid, maar eigenlijk nog beter dan toen ie net uitkwam.

Classic, heard this album many many times in my life!

Awesome

A masterpiece in 90s downtempo. It's beautiful, nostalgic, and a vibe for every occasion, whether for background, study, relaxation, or dancing. There are accessible pop songs back and forth with atmospheric spacey instrumental tracks. Every sound is perfected, not a single weak track. They nailed down the track ordering. Did they seriously make all the sounds themselves? With the only (possible) samples being small artistic choices like the children laughing in "New Star in the Sky"? Not sure how to describe it well, but I like how the songs carry me through feelings of anticipation and resolution, there's no repetition but I look forward to how to resolve parts they build up to.

Cool and very chill

Familiar, French, fantastic

Very good!

That was genuinely amazing. It's like Pink Floyd Daft Punk, which sounds like the stupidest thing ever, but actually works really well. I found that the weakest track for me was yet again the first one. Maybe my ears needed some warming up, I don't know. After that it's great song after great song. The biggest highlights for me were "Sexy Boy", "You Make it Easy", "New Star in the Sky". Turns out French electronic elevator music goes HARD. This and Oxygene, which I just had four days ago.

Perfect, just what I was looking for on a cloud Saturday. Really well made.

Love those chill vibes

Late 90s classic. Still a great album, so 5 stars, with a note that its successor (10000000 Hz Legend) is the real classic (1000000 stars)

I knew this album and forgot I knew it. I listen to the first track pretty often on a playlist I like. I've heard the 2nd song a lot. I finally listened to the whole album sometime last year and really like it.

Stunning album and a genuine all-time favourite of mine. So this gets maximum possible points for the music but I'm slightly less sure about the legacy/influence/significance (although I'm basing this largely on Wiki). Either way a sick album, with no weak points. 9.5/10

I was not expecting to love this album the way I did. It is a level of chill and relaxing that is just sublime, and the choices of pads and synths carry the sound without ever getting stale. Best one so far.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_psebBaOFM that was my reaction to seeing this superb album.

Simply wonderful

Замечательно

My first listen was while working (coding) and it was nice, would give a 5 based on that, but ofc didnt pay much attention. Second listen I actually payed attention and have to say I like this. 4.5 but rounding it up

Very light eletronic music with a disco touch. I like it

Beaitiful album

Brought back some good memories of listening to this and The Virgin Suicides.

absolutely classic album

I was surprised to find this album, totally rocks #1001albumsgenerator https://1001albumsgenerator.com/ssb

Smooth, elegant & timeless. When I listened to it 25 years ago I thought there was a bit of "filler" on side 2 but not now.

Cool versatile album. Love thd wontempo chill wave, also cool that they did this back in the late 90s,seems very ahead of its time!

Great album. Reminds me of working nights at a TV studio and playing that in the background while working.

I love the music !

An old favourite - nice to revisit and one track made it into the wedding playlist

Great album

Excellent album

Ya lo conocía. Tengo un cd de ellos, pero no es éste. Venga, le doy un 5.

An indie classic. Feels like hanging out at a cool wine bar.

This is a throwback to hs

Lekker dromerig. Maar toch interessant genoeg om er de aandacht bij te kunnen houden. De 3 singles uit het album kende ik al. Maar de rest is ook zeker de moeite waard.

A true lo-fi, lo-tempo, chill-out synth classic

This album is an all-time favorite

Excellent! Great songs on this album which I would never have known the artist unless listening to JLAC.

Fantastic album. So iconic

A classic album of its time. Could listen to it all day long, and yet for some reason hadn't put it on in years. Thanks for the reminder of how bloody good it is.