Air's Safari planet

Air’s 1998 debut album Moon Safari sounds just like the title implies. The French duo takes the listener through a 45-minute cosmic journey to exactly what electronic music should be. It’s rare to come across a freshman effort that shows such innovation, pop appeal and high production value.

With the 10th anniversary of Air’s first release comes a special-edition set that includes the original album, a 10-song bonus disc, a DVD and 12-page booklet. Of course, it’s for any fan of Air, but it’s also for anyone who needs an album that will make you both unwind and tap your feet.

Moon Safari is a chiller of an album – it’s in no way the kind of electronica you’d rave to. Naturally, one would assume that chilled out electronic music might be the most boring thing that’s happened to music since Kenny G. Trust me on this, though – it’s neither Dirty Vegas nor a feeble attempt at trendy elevator music.

Instead of drawing from experimental contemporaries, Air looks back at the poppy sounds of the ’60s and ’70s. Some jams sound so groovy and psychedelic you feel like you’re a mod in Swinging London. Others are so smooth, suave and disco-esque that they’d fit perfectly at Studio 54.

Moon Safari isn’t exclusive to just electronic beats, either, as the use of piano, horn and strings often adds a lovely effect. And it’s through just the right balance of throwback influence, modern technology and sultry vocals that Moon Safari becomes a classic record.

The mistake of many electronic artists, who try to make their jams have commercial quality, is their choice to oversimplify. And the oversimplification begins to sound redundant – with an overused lyric and extended repetitive beat. Air adds depth to electronica without trying too much all at once.

Moon Safari has such a debonair and polished sound – you can’t help but feel powerful affect while listening to it. The sleek synths and Bond-esque buildups in some songs make you feel like you’re in a foreign movie too obscure to even know. And you don’t know whether you should shoot at Russian criminals or make love to your equally gorgeous undercover spy partner.

The album makes you feel so good you think you could actually star in such a movie. And as Air’s contribution to the 2000 Sofia Coppola film “The Virgin Suicides” indicates, there is no one audience or setting this band appeals to.

The sound waves almost emit endorphins through your ears to your body, making it impossible to not be relaxed. And trust me – this is coming from one of the least calm individuals you will ever meet.

Even though a lot of songs are in English, the guys from Air – Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Duckel – are so French you can practically smell the buttered croissants and clove cigarettes on them.

The hour-long documentary that comes along with this special edition set, “Eating, Sleeping, Waiting and Playing,” is an arty look at Air on tour. If you’re already annoyed by my use of spacey imagery and romantic metaphors, there’s no hope for you to enjoy the music, much less the vision of Air.

The artists that perform with Godin and Ducket speak on the documentary of the two’s style - one musician cited that he has the freedom to play however he wants, as long as it coincides with the band’s feeling behind the music.

Other features on the DVD include the complete Air music video collection (all four of them), as well as a storyboard for “Kelly Watch the Stars” video and a drawing for the “Sexy Boy” clip, as provided by their director Mike Mills. As for the extra CD, one can find live versions of “Sexy Boy,” “Kelly Watch the Stars” and “Take It Easy,” as well as a few remixes and demo versions of other jams.

Air is an example of how a band can provide catchy hooks and complex layers to a generally misconceived genre. Whether you’re an electronic-music fan or hater, there’s something you’ll appreciate in the dreamy Moon Safari.