Air: Moon Safari [PARLOPHONE]

Why you'll love it

Moon Safari set the stage for the whole downtempo boom of the late '90s, and "Sexy Boy," "Kelly Watch the Stars" and "La femme d'argent" have soundtracked countless films and late nights since.

This edition

• Single LP, 10 tracks
• Parlophone pressing
• Includes "All I Need" with Beth Hirsch

About the album

Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel were an architecture student and a maths teacher from Versailles when they made Moon Safari, and it sounds like the work of two very nerdy, very romantic guys with a room full of old Moog synths, vocoders and Korg MS-20s. Which is pretty much what it was.

It arrived in January of 1998 and instantly became the cool record of the year: the opening "La femme d'argent" drifts in like a warm breeze, "Sexy Boy" and "Kelly Watch the Stars" are pure retro-futurist pop, and Beth Hirsch's vocals on "All I Need" and "You Make It Easy" are achingly lovely. It's often credited with launching the whole downtempo movement, and it still sounds like the best lounge on Earth.

Also at Kops: more Air on vinyl · browse Electronic

Tracklist

Listen

On Parlophone, a reissue of the 1998 album.