Air has been labeled as an electronic band, but they have made a genre of their own with their unique sound. They use instruments like a Moog synthesizer, Korg MS-20, Wurlitzer and Vocoder to make music reminiscent of the 1970s but clearly new. Their influences include Jean Michel Jarre, Nagelis, Fancis Lai and Pink Floyd. Band members Nicholas Godin and Jean-Beniot Dunckel met while both attending college in Versailles. They began as bandmates in the rock band Orange but the band quickly dissolved when bandmate Alex Gopher and others dropped out. The two continued and formed their own band, Air. Air stands for Amour, Imagination, Rêv, which means love, imagine and dream. The band first released a few singles during 1996 and 1997 entitled, “Modular,” “Casanova 70” and “Le Soleil Est Pres de Moi.” They signed with Virgin records and released Moon Safari in 1998. Two singles from the album, “Sexy Boy” and “Kelly Watch the Stars,” were popular in Britain and could be seen on MTV. They also began a live tour to promote the album. They released their early songs in 1999 as Premier Symptomes. They made a soundtrack in 2000 for The Virgin Suicides, a Sofia Coppola film. The soundtrack features unique tracks by the duo with songs like “High School Lover,” “Playground Love,” “Dirty Trip” and “Dark Messages.” They released their second album in 2001, 10,000 Hz Legend. It included tracks like “Lucky and Unhappy,” “Caramel Prisoner” and “How Does it Make You Feel.” They also embarked on a tour for this album, but fans weren’t receptive to the album’s darker sound. They toned back the darkness for their third album, Talkie Walkie. The Album featured singles like “Cherry Blossom Girl,” “Surfing on a Rocket” and “Alpha Beta Gaga.” After that, they worked on Charlotte Gainsbourg’s 5:55 along with Jarvis Cocker from the Pulp and Neil Hannon from Divine Comedy. Dunckel also released a solo album, Darkel.The band released their newest effort, Pocket Symphony, in 2007. They are touring the world in 2008 to promote that album. The album sounds similar to their popular Moon Safari. Some of the tracks include “One Hell of a Party (Featuring Jarvis Cocker),” Left Bank,” “Mer Du Japon” and “Napalm Love.” This band has shown they have a diversity of sounds from catchy pop tunes to the decidedly darker songs. Air is still making great music with their inimitable sound.