THE Q&A: AIR, FRENCH DUO, ROMANTIC ADDICTS

It was a decade ago that Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel, the French duo behind the band Air, overhauled the prevailing “urban music” landscape with their lush and influential album "Moon Safari". They’ve continued to seduce fans with similarly suave projects, such as the "Virgin Suicides" soundtrack, "10 000 Hz Legend", "Talkie Walkie" and "Pocket Symphony". Their latest record, "Love 2", sees the pair move slightly away from their trademark ethereality.

Eschewing high profile guests (they’ve previously collaborated with the likes of Beck and Jarvis Cocker) and their long-term producer and collaborator, Nigel Godrich, the duo threw themselves into a minor reinvention. While the results are still unmistakeably Air-esque–melodic, swirling, optimistic–"Love 2" is a much punchier and upbeat creation. Paul Sullivan talks to Nicolas Godin about working without a producer, musical re-births, sitars and growing up.

More Intelligent Life: Tell us about that title, "Love 2"?

Nicolas Godin: It was time to start a new love story.

MIL: Well that sounds suitably romantic…

NG: I am sorry to say we are the same romantic addicts.

MIL: So what prompted this new love story, or re-birth?

NG: We felt "Pocket Symphony" was the end of a cycle. When "Moon Safari" exploded ten years ago, we travelled a lot and met musicians and producers, singers and songwriters, collaborated and had lots of side projects. We wanted to get back to the feeling of being in our bedroom, back to that intimacy. I have a lot of nostalgia for those early times and it felt right to start something new. So we built our own studio and took all the kit we’d assembled over the last 20 years and went crazy.

MIL: So all this time you haven’t had your own studio?

NG: No, we’ve rented three in the last ten years. A country house in Versailles, which got sold, then another that got sold and then one where we recorded "10,000 Hz" and the neighbours complained. It was time for a bigger place, somewhere we could rehearse as well as record and mix, and where we could record strings properly. It’s more like a HQ in fact, an Air HQ. We knew what we wanted and didn’t want. If we’d made this decision before now it would not have been such a good studio.

MIL: Are you still collecting synths or do you have enough now?

NG: I think we have everything we need now [laughs]. Being in our studio now we are like kids in a candy store.

MIL: The studio is in Paris?

NG: Yes, we wanted to be in town as it makes it easier for collaborators and people in general to get to us.

MIL: And this rebirth has worked?

NG: Yes, I think so. When I listen to the new record, I think it’s the freshest music we’ve done since "Moon Safari". The whole thing felt very spontaneous, we really were not thinking of the consequences. It’s a return to the roots but on the other hand it’s of course very different from "Moon Safari". It’s us having fun again, not being distracted by all the things that are around us.

MIL: This is the first time you haven’t worked with producer Nigel Godrich. Was he missed?

NG: I miss him as a human being and a friend, and for sure many things could have been better [laughs]. But that was not the point. This was about rediscovering the essence of the band. It was important to make a record for ourselves, and ask ourselves along the way: “why do I want to do this? Why would I want to make a record right now?” These kinds of questions don’t depend on a producer or anyone else, they depend on your heart and mind.

MIL: Nonetheless, "Love 2" still sounds like a quintessential Air album.

NG: Yes. We try sometimes very hard to make a different album but it always ends up sounding like us. We don’t really know what to do about that [laughs].

MIL: It’s consciously upbeat…

NG: Yes, it’s the most upbeat album we’ve done, which is a result of the new freedom we’ve found. We just don’t feel like making slow music any more, maybe because we’ve made too much of it.

MIL: Which particular aspects are you happiest with?

NG: The African vibes on the record, on tunes like "Night Hunter" or "African Velvet", are cool. The last album was influenced by Eastern styles, more Japanese or Oriental music. This one is more located in the equator, in South America or Africa. I’m pleased with this new angle, and very comfortable with it.

MIL: There’s one track, "Indian Summer", that features a sitar.

NG: That’s basically a jam session. I went to see Ravi Shankar live and was very impressed, and then the next day I grabbed a sitar and had a jam. It’s nice because every time I hear that song I now remember the show.

MIL: How was the songwriting process this time around?

NG: It was the same process as always. We just turn up in the studio and start playing and see what happens. We recently did a soundtrack for a documentary about shopping malls and some of those turned into songs for the album.

MIL: Does your French-ness help people accept your take on electronic pop?

NG: Well in France we don’t have pop music in our culture so much, so when we throw ourselves into music we don’t think about writing songs like normal bands do. We don’t care if something comes out as a song or not, which I think is very French. We like pop and pop songs, but we don’t have that tradition. This gives us a lot of freedom. We can have classical music on our albums for example.

MIL: Despite your success and influence, not many bands have managed to replicate your sound. Why’s that?

NG: We work on a thin line. You have to be a good equilibrist to make it work. In truth, it’s difficult to copy. If you go too far left or right, it can be really not cool.

MIL: So you’ve never thought about reverting back to your previous ‘jobs’ as mathematician and architect respectively?

NG: [Laughs] You found out that we are nerds. Yes, JB [Jean-Benoît Dunckel] is a failed mathematician and I think if I built a house it would be a bad idea.

MIL: Will you take "Love 2" on tour?

NG: Yes. We will start rehearsing in November. We don’t know what we will do yet, but we want to keep the vibe of the record, to preserve that intimacy, so we’ll probably just have our drummer on stage. What we discovered on the record we don’t want to destroy live.

MIL: It’s been a decade since "Moon Safari"--the last ten years have been something of a whirlwind for you…

NG: Yes, and we want to have more time to enjoy it. Since "Moon Safari" everything has moved so fast, it’s felt like being inside a tornado. That’s why we want to do things for fun again. We don’t want to suffer from having a career. It’s now time for some wisdom.