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

Good nighttime chill album.

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.

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!! ✌️

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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...

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’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.

112 albums in and finally a 5 star.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

What a fabulous album—mellow and beautiful.

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.

Sophisticated elevator music. Innovative but kind of boring.

It was ok

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.

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.

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

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

Annoyingly unnecessary.

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..........

Incredibly, incredibly BORING.

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. 👎👎

Cool and very chill

Lot's of big hits on this one. Will need to listen deeper. "Sexy Boy" and "All I need" are staples of the 90s.

Amazing vibes. Give me more!

Th-th-th-throwback

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.

Excellent album

5*

Moon Safari my baby. Didn't know it was on this list.

a lovely sweet assortment

a truly beautiful album of art

Luftig, veldig fint, hører igjen

Breezy

Smoother than a gillette commercial

Awesome electro chill

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

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.

Simply wonderful

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

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.

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

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.

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

Stone cold classic. Haven’t listened to the full album in years and forgot how good it is. No dud tracks.

absolutely classic album

This album is an all-time favorite

Awesome

Doux

Excellent album, added to library

Was intrigued by this one. Thought I'd not come across them before but found 1 track already on a playlist of mine. Enjoyed it - great music 4 working from home.

Half Daft Punk, half Khruangbin, all sexy

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

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

Fucking classic. I love it.

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

Excellent

This album was on constantly at the photo studio I worked at in the late 90's. I loved it then and love it now.

Идеальный летний альбом для любого времени года

I mean, it's an all time classic.

I always used to think French pop started and finished with Serge Gainsbourg. This is the album that changed my mind

Fantastic album. So iconic

Really good stuff

Þvílík fegurð!

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

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

Great album

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.

I love the music !

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

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

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!

This is a throwback to hs

Beaitiful album