[ Past ] Classic Album Sundays Stafford Presents Air ‘Moon Safari’

Air worked tirelessly on Moon Safari, recording basic tracks on a Fostex D-80 Digital Multitrack Recorder and completing additional elements in Paris’ Gang Studios and strings at Abbey Road Studios. By using an 8-track recorder, Dunckel and Godin set themselves a challenge of creating lush, expansive songs with only a finite number of tracks per recording.

Taking cues from Vangelis and Jean Michel Jarre, Air wanted to create an album that portrayed a futuristic soundscape using old gear. Utilising a Korg MS-20, Casiotone and Minimoog, as well as a Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer, the aptly-named Moon Safari takes you on a journey through outer space, with sweeping synths propelling you through galaxies and constellations. Even the swirling violins featured on Talisman (played on a Solina String Ensemble, as well as live strings) help contribute to the often-cinematic atmosphere on the album.

Though songs such as Kelly Watch The Stars include prominent synth melodies, most of the synthesisers throughout the album are used in a textural way, fading in and out of a track’s mix to emit the feeling of floating through space.

Come and join us at one of our listening sessions to hear playback of this wonderful electronic masterpiece on our state of the art Audiophile hifi system.