air - Austin Town Hall

Last Week’s Jams (10.28 – 11.1)

November 4, 2024 nathan.lankford Leave a comment

Just when we thought the year was dragging to a close, we managed to find enough hits to fall in love with and make you a proper playlist! We even have a few of the tracks we covered from Maneater and Boyracer missing, so be sure to check those out. I loved the opening song from Prism Shores; it’s definitely a bright spot on last week, along with the reemergence of Mogwai on the scene. We managed to get in some Austin love for Whalers and Gus Baldwin and the Sketch, not to mentioned representing for the local festival with Levitation interviews from Hello Mary and the Strange Lot. Plus, our pal Michael Maly was able to swing some coverage for Air‘s 25th Anniversary performance of Moon Safari, giving me a chance to slide “Sexy Boy” into yet another playlist. Check it all out below.

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Air Celebrate 25 Years of Moon Safari at Moody Amphitheater in Sublime Futuristic Fashion

November 1, 2024 Michael Maly Leave a comment

Wednesday night at The Moody Amphitheater in Austin, Tx, iconic, electronic French duo Air brought the North American leg of the Moon Safari Tour to its finale. Playing for a capacity crowd, clearly carrying their deep admiration for the 1998, pioneering, electronic classic, Moon Safari, the French duo of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benot Dunckel accompanied by touring drummer Louis Delorme exceeded any expectations that this experience would be nothing less than sublime. Read more

Pastel Coast Shares Distance Single

May 21, 2021 nathan.lankford Leave a comment

It’s Friday, and well, we’ve all got to celebrate surviving another day, let alone looking into a weekend. So, we’ve got French outfit Pastel Coast with a brand new single from their new LP for Shelflife Records. Every time I turn it on, you can definitely hear the influence of their countrymen Phoenix and Air; this tune seems to combine elements of both into a nice little package that seems both upbeat and intoxicating, without being overly kitsch. It’s a fun little tune that’s perfect to start your day, pulsing in and out like a little disco pop show; you know you wanna buy the record; Sun is out on June 4th!

Pastel Coast Distance

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Pleased to Meet You: Garden Gate

June 23, 2016 nathan.lankford Leave a comment

Just a little bit ago, we introduced you to Golden Brown, one of the newer labels out in the world, and today, they return the favor by introducing my to Garden Gate. In listening to this first single from the band’s upcoming record, Dark Harvest, you can immediately feel the psychedelic influences…frankly it’s on the cover art as well. But, upon repeated listens, the interesting thing I found is how similar the group might be to fans of Air…synth work and pop sensation galore. It’s definitely a newer twist on the genre, and a sweet find for me. Look for the album on August 5th.

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Austin Spotlight: Casual Strangers Go Instrumental

February 1, 2016 nathan.lankford Leave a comment

Instrumental music can take on many forms, but often it undoes itself by forming repetitively and boring listeners…this is not what happens with the new single just released from Casual Strangers. While there’s a trip effect to the track, seemingly intentional if you look at the art work for their new album, there’s this electronic soulful vibe that’s quite successful. It reminds me of the early days of Air, when they were crafting these sultry bits of pop music. The Austin band will be releasing Pink Panther on February 26th, with a party the night before over at Sidewinder. Have fun folks.

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Check This Beautifully Dark Wall of Death Sound

October 30, 2015 nathan.lankford Leave a comment

You’d think with Wall of Death as the band’s name that you’d get something dark and heavy. You do, except it comes in via the emotional pull of the track, rather than the music. When listening to the song itself, you find yourself in a strange place; it’s a place that revolves somewhere in the space between Air and a more ghostly Fresh and Onlys. I know, it sounds pretty ridiculous, in a good way, but you’ll have to take a listen to hear precisely what I heard on my first several run-throughs. This tune is the title track to their new album, Loveland, which hits on January 29th via Innovative Leisure.

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Friday Top 5: Meditative Albums

April 8, 2011 jon.wagner One comment

Happy Birthday to a real, badass dude: the Buddha. Without getting into a religious discussion, I feel that some albums are better at relaxing the listener and in some ways engage them at a deeper level. In these cases, the music serves as a map to guide the listener along a journey of self-discovery. In our modern, hectic lives, consumed by outside distractions and never-ending suffering around every corner, few of us can truly turn within and for just a moment, think deeply. As soon as we turn on our favorite album or mix-tape from someone special, we are transported to a meaningful place; there in that moment, enjoying it for what it is. So, in honor of the birth of one of the most influential people to ever grace the earth, here’s a list of the top 5 meditative albums to help get you in a thoughtful mood and let the world around you melt away.

ACL Interviews: Phoenix

September 23, 2009 RayRay 7 comments

Let the ATH ACL festival madness begin! So we’ve started off light with a few spotlights on lesser known ACL artists and now we’re really getting serious with artist interviews. Last year we spoke to some pretty big bands and we hope to reach as many artists as we can this year. To start off our interview series, we have none other than French pop hit makers Phoenix. Guitar player Christian Mazzalai recently sat down with us to chat a bit about his now 10 year old band. Follow the jump for full interview.