The Air France thread

"No Excuses" is just about the fizziest, trembliest, most joyful thing I've heard, smeary piano and cascading string riffs swirling around like ambient happy hardcore.

Actually, it just occurred to me what it sounds like: Omni Trio and Foul Play! Only, like, meets both Aphex Twin's "Xtal" and Saint Etienne's "He's On The Phone".

This is the most gorgeous music ever made I think.

i like the tough alliance so i will check this out.

they're definitely using more live instrumentation here right?

i loved 'on trade winds' but i haven't listened to this all the way enough yet. only "collapsing at your doorstep" which is (predictably) fantastic.

this really doesn't sound at all like tough alliance tho

it's got the same vibe kinda, tho air france have a way more corona commercial euphoria vibe

this really doesn't sound at all like tough alliance tho

-- J0rdan S., Saturday, May 31, 2008 1:33 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Link

^this is @ jeremy

this sounds like jens lekman gone balearic to me

which is A+ idea in my book at least

I have no choice now but to buy Air France on site...this better live up to the hyperbole, or you guys are in trouble...

http://www.mediafire.com/?njsbtlt3r2j

ha i just paid $5 to download it

i tried to do the same actually, and, for whatever reason, the site i was going to buy it from crashed on me. so i did a google search and realized someone had posted it to mediafire. go figure. thought i'd share the wealth.

tim's st etienne comparison very on point. have been loving the last EP for a while and this is even better, i think

love how lush (lol tim f thread) and not-cheap this sounds; the airy etienne-style vocals rarely connect with me for some reason but the production is so gorgeous and smooth

"the airy etienne-style vocals rarely connect with me for some reason"

agree w this. but i am listening to this and i am def digging. i think the balearic vibe is def in place on this esp on "no way down".

ha i just paid $5 to download it

-- deej, Saturday, May 31, 2008 6:08 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link

it's worth it

""the airy etienne-style vocals rarely connect with me for some reason""

Yeah this was one of my criticisms of the first EP - issue is still there but is greatly improved, and now i think the blankness is quite evocative - reminds me of Piano Magic circa Low Birth Weight.

ok, i've listened to this 3 times today. now my only complaint is that it's too short. when's the full length coming out ?

Doorstep not desktop, computer lovers.

Ha ha, what an appropriate slip I made there.

tim, have you heard boat club?

No. Fill me in!

NB. everyone you can also download Air France's (excellent) "Hold On To Me, Baby" from the Sincerely Yours website. It's "Yours0066" under the Catalogue.

Okay cutty I'm listening to Boat Club's "Nowhere" on their myspace page. It's gorgeous - midway between Air France and Studio, yeah? What are they putting in the water in Gothenburg?

I love On Trade Winds, so i'm excited about listening to this.

Big fan of Boat Club, Studio & TTA too. Essential summer listening.

i made them a wiki page haha. one of the editors keeps trying to delete it!

this is good rooftop music

oh snap they keep deleting it! argggghghghg

This is the most gorgeous music ever made I think.

^ ^ ^

far and away the best thing i've heard this year

This is great, yep. The TTA/Lekman/Studio/Boat Club comparisons are all right on. Boat Club's MySpace quote is currently "No Way Down", hmm...

really wish people weren't too cheap to pay $5 though. yay music.

okay I love this. any more stuff like this? Boat Club you say...

"Maundy Thursday" is amazing.

Never seen this thread before but any band calling themselves 'Air France' practically guarantees I'll like them.

I love that EP to death. Especially Maundy Thursday. And yeah from the minute I saw a band called Air France I knew I was bound to like them. Lucky for me they are actually quite great!

Best EP of the year without a doubt. I've spended this summer at home, working in my tiny parisian flat, with that record on constant play, and it was just like holidays!

Has anyone mentioned the Taken By Trees remix they did? Couldn't find it in the search (which of course doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Probably the most St. Etienne like thing they've done.

Plus, they're doing a DJ set at that Vice pub in London soon.

are they really? awesome.

i would like to spend a summer in a tiny parisian flat listening to this.

Well I guess it's great, if you're not spending the rest of the year in the same tiny flat !

I love this record; it's probably the best cohesive set of songs I've heard all year. And I hope I will still love it when I move back to Paris next year!

I love that on their last.fm page they're described as "the logical conclusion of all beach safari situations." It's true!

Matt, you'd love this.

Snowballing you must be me, I did the exact same thing you did and fel the exact same way!

Just chiming in to say this is also my favorite release of the year and is helping with my endless Avalanches withdrawal.

Yeah I really like this, maybe not as much as everything it reminds me of, which is a lot of things, but it's lovely nonetheless. Love how it sounds like the wisps of loads of different things drifting in and out - Xtal and Saint Etienne and Studio yeah, is it too 'lol old ILM' to say something in there reminds me of Disco Inferno as well?

Hey Jibe, isn't it great to be us ?!!
Treblekicker, thanks for mentioning the Taken by Trees remix. I didn't know it existed, and it is lovely.

wow this is fantastic!!!

"collapsing at your doorstep" reminds me a lot of "nyc smile on me" by aqua regia

all the songs are good but rly maundy thursday does owne the others

I like them at their most fizzy - "No Excuses" followed by "Collapsing At Your Doorstep".

yuh i guess maundy thursday is pretty melodramatic tho

grrr. i think i have lost my collapsing .. promo ..

FUCK

what is your problem

MUSIC TOO PERFECT

EQUALLY STUPENDOUS ON HEADPHONES OR LARGE THUMPING SYSTEM

i've probably said this already, but this album is bangtime favorite

EP, i mean. therefore too short.

I love that on their last.fm page they're described as "the logical conclusion of all beach safari situations." It's true!

― living wage for the working dead (Roz), Thursday, October 2, 2008 12:47 AM (1 month ago) Bookmark

^^^^not anymore. :( now they've got the standard promo bio boooo.

finally got round to this and am not feeling it at all...too twee :(

the first few are too slight to impinge but 'no excuses' has made me turn it off before the end.

lex, i hope you'll give it another fair shot, cos i'd hate for anyone to miss out on enjoying this. and "no excuses" is my favorite!

Pretty good. Seems like there's a lot of this type of music coming out lately... this, Honeydrips, etc.

i was hoping it'd be more cosmic and balearic but i should've noted spencer's avalanches comparison upthread

lex check out the 1st EP -- "beach party" is awesome

Strings on 'No Excuses' reminded me A LOT of 'Tinseltown in the Rain'.

It's sort of that meets the Field.

yeah, this isn't too bad for a bunch of ruff sqwad instrumentals.

i haven't been able to track down the first EP. grady is there any way you could post it so i could sample before buying?

xp lolz @ random floaty bumboclaats and bounty killer's "yeah yeah" though.

lex, i hope you'll give it another fair shot, cos i'd hate for anyone to miss out on enjoying this. and "no excuses" is my favorite!

― k3vin k., Friday, November 28, 2008 5:49 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

who the fuck cares if lex misses out on this

fuckin kevin keller

Digging this

As far as twee sounding shit goes, I'd like to see the kittens and sunny days side of twee go away for a while ... I want some mopey unrequited love, waterfront in the autumn kind-of indie pop. Everyone's entirely too happy.

Haha, I agree, Burt.

i listened to it for the first time in a while on a road trip this weekend and it holds up so well.. still my fave release of the year, i guess!

first EP.. very very awesome.

i think the girl on the cover is one dude from Tough Alliance's girlfriend.

oh burt_stanton how i love thee

I picked up the second EP on a whim when I was in Stockholm in August, without having heard any of it, and have to share the general love. One of the best things i brought home with me, and one of my favourites of the year. The assistant in the shop also recommended "Yearbook One" by Studio, have been enjoying that too. And the Familjen album.

sanfrandisco email me gr8080 @ gmail

I'm still not quite feeling the rapturous love other people are feeling for it, but I like it more if I treat it as ambient rather than as pop, there's a big hole in the middle otherwise. The Field is the best comparison anyone's made on this thread, but it's better than The Field due to to being unconnected to house music. My problem with the Field was feeling they should be easier to dance to, I don't get that here.

Air France don't really feel Balearic to me, the sound is too monochrome for that, it's more city wistfulness on a grey day than anything else. Despite what I said in the previous paragraph, the music this evokes in me, more than anything is Michael Mayer in Amanda/Lovefood mode. That sort of swirling together of evocative sounds, breathy female vocals, the poignancy of going through a major transport hub, on a rainy weekday, when you're heading home after staying out all night.

(I'm specifically referring to On Trade Winds there, the first EP is much more colourful).

Argh I mean No Way Down, not On Trade Winds.

This sounds like that synthie indie pop from the late 80s early 90s ... and this music happens to be ... synthie indie pop. Case closed.

Who knows how the hell the Field even got into this discussion. Saint Etienne anyone?

i don't know about The Field, either, but when i met Joel ('Yole') from AF he literally said, 'St. Etienne are seriously the best band ever.'

totally surprising

yeah, Tiger Bay was the first thing that sprang to mind when I listened to this

I like to think that Air France and The Tough Alliance split the first three Saint Etienne albums between them, with Air France taking "London Belongs To Me", "Avenue", "Railway Jam" and "On The Shore" and The Tough Alliance taking "He's On The Phone", "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", "Pale Movie" and "Join Our Club".

Finally found The Boat Club's Caught The Breeze album. Magical! They must be the smoothest of these Swedes. Recorded on their Moping Yacht at Dusk.

mini-album, that is.

when are we going to get a proper album from these gents ?

i do enjoy a well-rounded ep though, especially with mopey-twee stuff. i certainly don't remember the field mice because of their full length, yknow?

that being said, another ep from these guys would be lovely as well

finally got round to this and am not feeling it at all...too twee :(

I'm with this guy. I love my Saint Etienne records, but not feeling this much.

I haven’t played it too many times but I’m still enjoying this.

I want an new EP !

i want remixes

From today's interview with Pfork:

Pitchfork: What's next for you?

AF: Right now we're working on the extras for the deluxe edition of No Way Down. We are recording commentary tracks for the songs, where we take the listener through our emotions and little anectodes about the recording process. Then, hopefully, we'll sort out all our ideas and put together an album. And we've made so many friends around the world this year, so we'd like to visit them, too-- see new places, new beaches.

We are recording commentary tracks for the songs, where we take the listener through our emotions and little anectodes about the recording process.

i love this idea

Do not want.

sounds almost as bad as when hardcore bands include explanations along with their lyrics.

yeah how bout we skip that and go straight to an album plz

If we just went ahead and made 4-track CDs standard, with track faders instead of an EQ on your stereo, then interesting people could hear it if they wanted and the rest of you pissy killjoys wouldn't have to.

yeah sod commentaries tho, give us individual tracks from the music to mess around with for personal pleasure

Well - either way!

how about a few bonus comedy sketches

did ya hear the one about childhood?

its innocence can only ever be approximated, as through a sepia-tinged, melancholic facsimile!

*armpit fart*

sounds lame to me, like director's commentary on DVDs

just give me more MUSIC

kind of like a dream, no WORSE - am i right guys?

1) directors commentaries are often rad 2) this is a fun and hilarious idea 3) f u

lolll slocks

Just reading through this thread for the first time, and although I like Air France, Boat Club are even better. Thanks for the tip.

dear max,

i think it's cool that you have the time to watch a movie and then watch it a whole second time without any audio just to hear the director comment on his own film so that the DVD companies can have a special features tab on the menu.

love your biggest admirer

also this vvvv

i want remixes

― gr8080

i actually have no problem with this but i do wish they'd do an album and not, you know, an EPK

this thread made me remember some tracks of "color filter" on "i often think in music" , i refreshed my memory with a listen online at
http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=113829&highlight=113841
what do y'all think?
back then i had so many favorites, jumping from "give this a whirl" to "fearless" to etc really
maybe it's a bit too eager or crisp or naive (or what?) for being of now tho

I'm at work so can't listen but it's always good to see you here, Sébastien

yeah how bout we skip that and go straight to an album plz

i actually have no problem with this but i do wish they'd do an album and not, you know, an EPK

when i met joel, he didn't know if they would do an album. they like the EP format, i guess.. i should really transcribe that thing one day..

Yeah I don't know if I could handle a whole album of Air France. They're almost too pretty and gorgeous to that much of at once.

to TAKE that much of

yeah i said it, pretty AND gorgeous

take pretty much gorgeous EP

you don't have to listen to the album from start to end tho :)

also this vvvv

i want remixes

they have remixed 'skeleton boy' by friendly fires. it's pretty.

has anyone heard this? http://www.sincerelyyours.se/yours0103.php

Yes I have - very promising.

New Air France song - with someone called Roos. Available as part of this rather sweet site they've put out to celebrate Midsommer in Gothenburg...

http://www.gbgbelongstous.se/

It is now officially summer !
Thanks for the link, Treblekicker.

Thanks Treblekicker!

topical monicker

tropical monicker

nice song, but srsly can't be bothered to read that site (unless it's really great...?)

Pretty sure the beat on this new one is sampled or at least influenced by Saint Etienne - "Only Love Can Break Your Heart (A Mix in Two Halves)"

i wouldnt be so cagey spencer, it sounds like a st etienne song thru and thru, and im not gonna complain

Does Air France demographic consists mostly of gay men? I ask because I love them and I think it's one of the best pop acts this decade but the only people in my city that knows of them, besides me, are my gay friends. I always think twice before dropping Air France at my house if any of my slightly homophobic acquaintances are at sight.

Same thing happened to me with Hercules & Love Affair but with them I know they're gay subculture icons, I've never known for sure with Air France. Anyone care to enlighten me?

Btw the new song is brilliant and it definitely sounds like some sort of update on that Saint Etienne track.

I certainly don't break the trend but they've always struck me as more frail-fey-indie than gay.

Somewhere I said that if early Saint Etienne combined Pet Shop Boys with A. R. Kane, The Tough Alliance and Air France start to divide that combination into separate pieces

(not to say that TTA = PSB and etc, rather that TTA sound like the Saint Etienne that reminds me of PSB, whereas Air France sound like the Saint Etienne that reminds me of A. R. Kane)

They just seem like an intensification of the dreamier end of early Saint Etienne to me.. and Saint Etienne in their early days were, well, PSB meets A.R. Kane in a way..

I should give em another chance, though; their music just kinda seemed to be rubbing my favorite album in my face all the time, which seemed kind of cruel

"They just seem like an intensification of the dreamier end of early Saint Etienne to me.. and Saint Etienne in their early days were, well, PSB meets A.R. Kane in a way.."

I think this is precisely what i'm getting at, minus the shrug factor.

has anyone seen air france live? i feel like it must be the greatest thing ever.

The song posted is great but i completely disagree that it sounds anything like Weatherall's mix of Only Love Can Break Your Heart. Not even close. For one, it's about 15-20bpms faster and much more cluttered with percussion.

I'm pretty sure they sampled the beat, sped it up, eq'd and then started layering; just using it as a starting point.

don't know where else to post this but new jj track:
http://www.sincerelyyours.se/yours0113.php

wow! such a nice one!

so there's a jj album out now

Would I like this?

Well, I better download the song and find out.

Um, yeah, it's starting out very St. Etienne. Like this.

Whoops... I just started a jj thread: jj no. 2: A mix of Scandinavian balearic (I know)/outer space R&B/folk-y gloriousness...

There's a tiny clip of Air France's remix of Saint Etienne up on youtube now.

Details of the Air France remix of Saint Etienne finally released. It seems it's gonna be on a limited to 200 copies promo (only available through the St Etienne fanclub) for their Foxbase Beta album (that's the Foxbase Alpha album re-worked by Richard X). I don't think the Air France remix is on the CD (or 2xCD) versions of the album. No release date on the 12", only that it's at the pressing plant now.

1. Only Love Can Break Your Heart - Richard X extended vocal
2. Only Love Can Break Your Heart - Richard X extended instrumental
3. Spring - Air France Remix
4. Girl 7 - Richard X Foxbase Beta album version

New Air France (I think? sounds v different) track on their myspace now called "Balearic Dream"

And another odd blog post http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=63897182&blogId=513029120

Arrghh - it's the Levellers.

I prefer their earlier work.

Their No Way Down EP and On Trade Winds EP 10"s I thought were sold out until I found it suddenly available on Insound.com. I grabbed one quick because apparently they are limited to 500 copies with no repress. Anyone else order it?

I'm trying to track down a couple of tracks called Meet Me By The Pier and Please Don't Die On My Doorstep. I've found a site that's streaming them but I'd prefer to have decent quality MP3s instead of audio rips if possible. If someone could upload them then I'd be extremely grateful!

I wish these guys would hurry the fuck up with a return

was thinking that the other day. Their entire oeuvre is what, thirteen tracks? Not even a CD's worth

i was just tonight torturing myself trying to work out why i thought there was major personnel overlap between the swedo-balearic lot. being most certain of all that air france was a tough alliance offshoot. am i right at all here or did i just smang together the whole sincerely yours lot in my head for convenience's sake?

neither Joel nor Henrik are in Tough Alliance. and yeah, they really should hurry the fuck up. I interviewed them in early 2009 and they said a single in the summer (which happened), an EP in the fall of that year (which didn't, unless a slight reworking of "Spring" by Saint Etienne counts) and an album in the spring of 2010 (which also didn't). their English label, Something in Construction, claims that they'll have new music out this year (I guess Service is also saying that Jens Lekman's third album will finally be out this spring, too, though by his own admission he still has a 'long way to go' on the EP and the album he intends to release).

aw i was really hoping this revive meant a new song

Their No Way Down EP and On Trade Winds EP 10"s I thought were sold out until I found it suddenly available on Insound.com. I grabbed one quick because apparently they are limited to 500 copies with no repress. Anyone else order it?

― Evan, Wednesday, October 14, 2009 12:24 AM (1 year ago)

I love this record.

http://theairfrance.tumblr.com/

Those snare sounds are, dare I say it, a little witch house, but otherwise this sounds like business as usual - which is of course no bad thing. Hurrah! Also that video makes an Air France show look like so much fun, I get the feeling it would be so much fun to just chill with them for an afternoon.

Nice style of announcement, pretty unsure about the content though. These snares put fear in my once so eager heart.

Would love if the line "Pray for Air France" is indeed a nod to "Rosemary's Baby".

definitely praying here

<3 these dudes...

terrible tragedy

http://k.min.us/jdqyg8.png/

It’s June again and there’s upright hedge-parsley everywhere and people biking to the ocean. Here in the northern part of the world, it never really gets dark this time of year, which is probably one of very few advantages of living so near the Arctic Circle.

It looks like our calendar say that we are djing some dates in July.Together with Star Slinger we are supporting Memory Tapes.

July 5 - Fleche d’Or (PARIS)
July 6 - XOYO (LONDON)
July 7 - Manchester Deaf Institute (MANCHESTER)
July 8 - The Arches (GLASGOW)

We promise to do everything possible to get a song out the days before we leave. We’re sitting in the studio right now, trying to tie things together. It’s a pretty quiet song, not so very direct, not so housy, a bit more downish. Most people never like our songs at first, they seem to require the addition of memories. So I guess the song will need some resurfacing of past real life experiences before it slowly sneaks up on you.
It will be very nice to return to the British isles, we have always fun and sunny memories from there. Very few seem to take notice of us there but the people who do are always a little bit older and so beautifully supportive, they are very nerdy when it comes to music and popular culture, like us. And they drink canned Pimm’s.

If I wasn't only twenty-three that description of a UK fan would be spot-on. Anyway, very exciting!

this is the best music for summer nights, hands down

I said this in the balearic thread, but if you missed it, the Southern Shores "Atlantic" EP is really good in an obviously-influenced-by-these-guys way.

The DJ sets were fun by the way, probably the only time I'll ever get to dance to Ciara's "Ride" and Saint Etienne's "Shower Scene" in the one set.

big ups boxedjoy

all air france fans: http://soundcloud.com/cascine/sets/southern-shores-atlantic

"tangier winds" is...

this is kinda stunning stuff

yeah i think 'tangier winds' is the best too (i guess thats what you mean?) but on im not feeling this really

i did listen to the no way down ep today & it was so fantastic best music for summer nights otm

i have 2 feelings about this

- it's such a direct rip off of air france, but the music sounds so damn good that i could give a shit less

- it's also clubbier & slightly less twee than air france, so in that sense it's a bit different. like, "night is young" could be a banging diva house track in the hands of others

this is what they look like :D

http://www.cascine.us/band/southernshores/1.jpg

hello dude on right.

"grande comore" is pretty tough alliance

the horns on that

idk i'm pretty enamored w/ this, gotta say

i only gave it half a listen just now but i thought it sounded closer to tough alliance or i guess slightly 'heavier' air france but i mean what you want from air france is lightness so (oh xps)

listening to 'night is young' again it is more straightforward and dance-oriented i guess idk if its less twee than just yeah 'heavier' fewer of those gossamer touches maybe less 'natural'

'grande comore' is really good too tho ok ill stop live blogging this but i like it more listening again

idk if its less twee than just yeah 'heavier' fewer of those gossamer touches maybe less 'natural'

right

I don't really hear any of the swagger or bravado implied in TTA's music in this Southern Shores EP.

I really like your Pitchfork write-up of "Tangier Winds" Jordan, and I'm glad to see this getting some hype now.

Sweet new AF track! Free download! It Feels Good To Be Around You - my weekend begins!

Yay! Any news of a new album yet?

This is gorgeous. The bass is surprisingly thick as well.

Yeah this is great! Love the lush female vocals.

LOVE IT.

actually will switch from laptop to desktop right now just to have the first listen of this on a decent stereo. and to further the thrill of anticipation to hardly bearable.

lmao @ the embedded art on the version i downloaded:
http://i.imgur.com/4tDHT.jpg

YOURS0172 it feels good to be around you

mp3 by air france

"i remember when i was supposed to do the page which says "a city is not a home.." and i suggested a line beneath the text to make it more elegant. after one and an half hour of trying back and forth with different lengths of the line joel says
- maybe it should be hand drawn? and maybe it could break in the centre like it was drawn by someone in great mental pain?
and i was like
- nigga wut?"

just to make it clear why we had to wait for this. and why it was so fucking worth it.

SY august 2011

. . .

\(o_O)/

i don't think this is amazing btw -- not pop enough for me

"Not enough pop"?

I do not understand that sentiment. Surely it is not way less "pop" than their previous songs? It's hardly a great departure. Are you sure you aren't expecting something from Air France that they aren't in the first place?

New track is really good

http://www.factmag.com/2011/09/05/fact-mix-280-air-france/

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

http://theairfrance.tumblr.com/post/19956285930/well-make-this-brief-because-it-hurts-too-much

We’ll make this brief, because it hurts too much.

During the first year of Air France, somewhere in the middle of the last decade, everything seemed to come so easily. At least it feels like that right now. We’d meet on friday nights to drink wine, listen to music and picture ourselves far off, somewhere on the outskirts on the big map Henrik had on his wall. The songs we made during those nights weren’t really supposed to ever leave the hard drive, but somehow they did, and somehow they took us to almost all the places on that big map we had dreamt about. We got to play records at the Rough Trade store in London, we went to the Red Square, we woke up on Iceland during a volcanic eruption, we drank beer at the cliffs of the Niagara, we spent a night in a freezing staircase in Warzaw (otherwise a fantastic weekend), we saw dolphins in the waters of LA, we got a smile from Larry David as he passed us on a street in Paris, watching us trying to open a bottle of wine, we played records for 4 hours under a blistering July sun in New York, we spent a day in the most beautiful spa in Budapest, we’ve heard our nervous voices on radio and TV, we’ve played records after two sold out Saint Etienne shows (but to be honest, only a handful stayed behind to see us), we’ve written a song together with our idol Clare Grogan (although we did managed to botch it) and we got sampled by Lil B. But it’s the little moments that has been the most dear to our hearts, like the days and nights in Brackenbury Village that we spent in our manager’s back yard with his wonderful wife and sons, who made us feel like part of the family, or being drunk on airplanes, just the two of us, and all the people we’ve been fortunate enough to get to know, if only for a night.

And we have probably produced 7 albums since No Way Down; a UK Garage record, a house record, an r ‘n’ b record… but we’ve never been able to finish anything, nothing was ever good enough. We have tried so hard, and we truly gave it all we had. And now we have decided to stop trying, even though it breaks our hearts. But for all the reasons mentioned above, and for a thousand more, we don’t regret a thing.

We wish we could thank all the people who has helped and inspired us, but we’d probably forget to mention half of you, so here’s just a big thank you to those who were involved in the making of the record: Teresa and Kajsa for singing so beautifully, Angelica of Body Language for lending her voice to a song that would have been called “I always think about you when I’m drunk”, our patron Kevin Campbell who helped us in giving this record one last chance (there are no words that can describe just how grateful we are), our Eric of Sincerely Yours, our manager David Laurie, our publisher XL, Joe for running our facebook page.

And much love to Rich Thane, families and girlfriends, sister Hanna, Henning Fürst, Marc Hogan, all of you who sent us letters, all of you who stuck around to watch us play, and all of you who opened your homes and hearts and cars and took us to water falls, big squares, beaches, record stores, monuments, valleys, mountains and zoos.

Goodbye for now. Who knows, maybe we’ll see you again in another shape. After all, we’re people that never stop dreaming.

Henrik and Joel
Gothenburg

fuuuuuuuuck

boooooooooooooooooooooo

:((((((((((

fuck

well dammit release those seven albums of material at least!

maybe they're just trying to lower expectations

Seems like a weird decision. And people made comparisons with Avalanches as well.

:(

If it's seven albums worth of really subpar material I'm happier for them to never see the light of day really. It's sad coming so soon after the Studio split, like I really expected to see these artists grow and do more amazing things.

a bearable monday wrecked, fml

they're prob just taking the "reunite for a huge coachella/lollapalooza paycheck" fast track

they should chill out, not put so much pressure on themselves

sooo

basically their music didn't meet their own standards and now they're quitting? that seems like such a weird reason to break up

bummertown

seems like the best reason to break up

they had "no way down" /caruso

Yeah, if you're not happy with what you're creating as a band, it's the best time to break up. Should be a more common occurrence imo.

I am 100% on board with their reasons, I just wish it wasn't true, feeling a bit devastated tbh

i'm not attacking their rationale it just seems so open ended and yea, uncommon

I feel like the cause of them breaking up is intimately related to the cause of their greatness - the struggle to make stuff that actually departs from established forms.

Like, with both Studio and Air France the break-ups feel premature and very disappointing in a way that I don't think I'd feel if, say, Hatchback announced he was quitting music - even though I totally love Zeus & Apollo and I would be disappointed.

The difference for me is that with Studio and Air France I feel like their music past and future is not and would not likely be interchangable with the work of other artists, that there is no capacity for others to step in and fill that gap.

Way upthread Matt made a 'lol old ILM' comparison to Disco Inferno, and it strikes me as not coincidental that Disco Inferno broke up for basically the same reasons (albeit probably with a greater amount of internal and external tensions).

really bummed out by this. These guys (and Studio/Tough Alliance) meant a lot to me circa 2007-2009 - so much musical sunshine during a very bleak period of my life. :( :(

yes, they really hit that sweet spot. Hope this thread gets bumped for solo stuff otherwise I will probably miss it.

sort of like a dream... no, better

otm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoHDlIVQp-4&feature=p­layer_embedded#at=427

at 7:05

wow thanks, always wondered where that sample came from.

woooooowwww

WAH

amazing

!!

awesome

kind of like a dream, isnt it??

ha that is (indeed) kinda surreal to see/hear.

Their No Way Down EP and On Trade Winds EP 10"s I thought were sold out until I found it suddenly available on Insound.com. I grabbed one quick because apparently they are limited to 500 copies with no repress. Anyone else order it?

― Evan, Wednesday, October 14, 2009 12:24 AM

http://collectorsfrenzy.com/details/300705915103/Air_France_No_Way_DownOn_Trade_Winds_2x_EP_LP_500_copies_RARE_Washed_Out_M83

Wow!

Just in case someone (like me, 5mins before) is missing out on this as well:
http://kickthetragedy.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/air-france-rare.html
(They are real, aren't they?)

Always noticed these two tracks in their last.fm-profile but never got round to actively search for them.

http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/features/articles/the-sweetness-of-air-france-120996

xp who is the vocalist on 'meet me by the pier' up there? regardless, i love it

this a crafty article. i love to hear air france riding bike

aw, i'm half drunk with a snus in my lip-- that was a great read

they dated twin sisters!!

after two lackluster years finally it's this right type of summer again. still hot and humid after 11pm, every window open to let the cool air in, blasting air france onto the dark streets.

good thing neither trade winds nor no way down or even the other stuff wears off in the slightest.

It seems to have circulated a bit, but I was unaware of this until yesterday, so maybe of interest to anyone... Quite nice.

Yumi Zouma – It Feels Good To Be Around You (ft. Air France)
http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/new-music/song-of-the-day/yumi-zouma-it-feels-good-to-be-around-you-148591

i miss them so much. "it feels good to be around you" was massively underrated upon release -- i think it got some flack for sounding a bit 'chillwave' but i know no other recordings quite like it. i'm glad they fretted over the mix so intensively because the end result is a masterpiece.

it's sad and even a bit crass to say, but i kind of feel like if it had gotten BNT that might've been all the encouragement they needed to give the album another push.

"meet me at the pier" and "please don't die" were never confirmed to be legit air france, were they? definitely inspired by, but to my ears it really lacks air france's touch.

lastly: does anyone know a better EP than no way down? by anyone? i'm not sure i know one. maybe windowlicker comes close, or (contentious choice) sebastiAn's ross ross ross...

Man I haven't thought about that band in years but they had an EP that I really loved in college

also oh man I was so so so so hard into Ross Ross Ross when it came out!! Another one I have not thought about in yeeaaaaars

yeah, that kind of dance music is very demode now, but i still thnk it holds up as a piece of work. the structural logic and execution of "ross" is insane, and "head/off" is even more exquisite. version of "walkman" on the EP is also stellar though not quite on the same level.

would still choose no way down over it, though.

New album by Southern Shores out on Sept 2nd
https://southernshores.bandcamp.com/album/loja
Two songs already released, on first listen sub-Atlantic EP, but ok. You take what you can get nowadays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMMJ6d4DmrA

new Southern Shores album is *almost* excellent, there are a few moments where it slows down leaning into cliche "downtempo" boom-bap beats and it doesn't quite land, but the first half is so blatantly Air France that I cannot resist it

guys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_sP-1iFGOo

one of them is back!

solo project from Joel Karlsson, exactly what I would have wanted from them if they had ever come back

This is great. Thanks for sharing. Had no idea he had new music out.

oh wow, wonderful to have one of them back

he has another song here: https://soundcloud.com/user-182026883/hug-me-honey-1

from the air france fb:

Hello!
It's been a long, long while. 10? 15 years? Well, time flies. Some of you might have already noticed that Joel has a smaller music project called Hello Stranger! The first songs is called ”I promised you a miracle” and is based on samples from Erykah Badu, Smokey Robinson, the legendary radio host Rankin Miss P, as well as lines from the movie Before Sunrise.
”I couldn't resist making music; it's too much fun. But I can’t putting too much pressure on myself, so I will only release songs sporadically and just have fun. Four bad songs and a good one now and then? Hopefully, Henrik is joining me later on. Have a wonderful late summer and don't forget to listen to the crickets; it's their time of year”.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/70lYzqPiGYMjTeo6LVjM4a...
Instagram: @hellostrangerstrangerhello

just heard “karibien” on the loudspeakers at the mall I was at