Frères Sourires (10): Air

Out in February: Pocket Symphony by Versailles-based duo Air. Nicolas (the redhead) and J-B were, as you all know, responsable for the best album of 2006 together with Charlotte Gainsbourg. Pocket Symphony is a return to the soft-focus, shag-carpet-atmosphere of their debutalbum Moon Safari. Jarvis Cocker guests on one song (One Hell of a Party), as does Neil Hannon (Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping), both Brits were responsable for the lyrics on Charlotte's album - that song with Hannon on vocals must be a nod to 5.55. I spoke with the duo twice, they are partly responsible for my love of French music. Their enthusiasm for Gainsbourg and his lesser known soundtracs made me curious and in the end made me buy all his albums (including that expensive Cinema-box). I really like these guys, I still remember Nicolas fuming about Kylie Minogue's shit boyfriend (and French actor) Olivier Martinez vividldy when I asked them if they would work with the Australian pixie.
There's one French song (sung through a vocoder by J-B, I guess) on Pocket Symphony, called Mer de Japon, one of the best songs on the album. In the past, they did use French titles (like Femme d'Argent and Voyage de Penelope) , but not all of those songs had vocals. Le Soleil est pres de moi from their first mini-album did, and ofcourse there's their gorgeous collaboration with Françoise Hardy.

Air - Mer du Japon
Air & Françoise Hardy - Jeanne
Air - Le Soleil est pres de moi