Air France (band)

Last updated

Air France
Origin Gothenburg, Sweden
Genres
Years active2005–2012
Labels
Past membersJoel Karlsson
Henrik Markstedt
Elisabet Sjögren

Air France were a Swedish indie pop band formed in Gothenburg by Joel Karlsson and Henrik Markstedt. They were signed to the record label Sincerely Yours, founded by fellow Gothenburgers The Tough Alliance. Air France's music has been described as "post-rave bliss", [1] "beach foam pop", [2] and "Balearic disco", [3] although Karlsson said that the Balearic movement "is something I can't relate to at all". [4]

Contents

History

Formation

Air France were formed in Gothenburg in 2005 by friends Joel Karlsson and Henrik Markstedt. [4] [5] [6] [7] The duo were influenced by dance music and acts such as Saint Etienne. [4] [7] The band's first track, "Behind Cabin Curtains", was lost after a hard drive crash. [7] They were joined by Elisabet Sjögren in 2006 [8] after the duo decided that they needed a female vocalist. [9] The band initially stated that they would not play any live shows, [8] although they later changed their stance. [6]

On Trade Winds

Air France were signed by Sincerely Yours founder Eric Berglund, and in December 2006 they released their first EP On Trade Winds, which received moderate attention. [7]

"Afraid You Told Someone About Us", a cover of a song by Au Revoir Simone, was released in April 2007, followed later that year by the single "Hold On to Me, Baby". [10]

No Way Down

The band released their second EP No Way Down in June 2008 to favourable reviews. [11] Pitchfork gave the EP a rating of 8.6, listing it in their Best New Music column [3] and eventually placing it at number 14 on their list of the 50 best albums of 2008. [12] No Way Down initially only received a Swedish release, [3] but it was later released in the United Kingdom at the end of the year by the label Something in Construction, alongside On Trade Winds. [12]

Final recordings and split

Air France released the single "GBG Belongs to Us" in 2009. [10] The single was accompanied by a dedicated website, which was eventually taken down when the band forgot to pay the domain hosting fee. [7] Later that year, it was announced that the band had signed a publishing deal with XL Recordings, aiming to release their debut album in 2010. [13] The album never materialised as the band were not satisfied with their output. [7] [14] In August 2011, a new track from the band, "It Feels Good to Be Around You", was released. [15]

In March 2012, Air France released a statement announcing that they had decided to break up. [14] In the statement, they cited their difficulties in producing new music that they felt was "good enough" and wrote that they had "decided to stop trying, even though it breaks our hearts". [14]

On the second anniversary of Air France's split, the New Zealand indie pop band Yumi Zouma released a cover of Air France's final single "It Feels Good to Be Around You" featuring guest vocals from Karlsson and Markstedt. [16]

Discography

EPs
Singles
Remixes

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alphaville (band)</span> German synth-pop band

Alphaville is a German synth-pop band formed in Münster in 1982. They gained popularity in the 1980s. The group was founded by singers Marian Gold, Bernhard Lloyd, and Frank Mertens. They achieved chart success with the singles "Forever Young", "Big in Japan", "Sounds Like a Melody", "The Jet Set", and "Dance with Me". Gold remains the only continuous member of Alphaville. They took their name from Jean-Luc Godard's film of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Price</span> British electronic musician

Stuart David Price is an English electronic musician, DJ, songwriter, and record producer. His acts include his own band Zoot Woman, Les Rythmes Digitales, Paper Faces, Man with Guitar, Thin White Duke, and the parodic French moniker Jacques Lu Cont.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tough Alliance</span>

The Tough Alliance, or TTA, was an electronic pop music duo from Gothenburg, Sweden. The duo first came together in 2003 and consisted of childhood friends Henning Fürst and Eric Berglund. Previously on Swedish record label Service, in 2006, they started their own label, Sincerely Yours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Juan MacLean</span> American electronic musician

John MacLean, better known by the stage name of The Juan MacLean, is an American electronic musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foals (band)</span> British indie rock band

Foals are a British rock band formed in Oxford in 2005. The band's current line-up consists of Greek-born lead vocalist and guitarist Yannis Philippakis, drummer and percussionist Jack Bevan, rhythm guitarist Jimmy Smith and bassist Walter Gervers. They are currently signed to Warner Records, and have released seven studio albums to date: Antidotes (2008), Total Life Forever (2010), Holy Fire (2013), What Went Down (2015), and Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1 & 2 (2019) and their most recent, Life Is Yours (2022). They have also released one video album, six extended plays and thirty-five singles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bon Iver</span> American indie folk band

Bon Iver is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon. Vernon had originally formed Bon Iver as a solo project, but it eventually became a band consisting of Vernon, Sean Carey, Michael Lewis, Matthew McCaughan, Andrew Fitzpatrick, and Jenn Wasner

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Future Islands</span> American synth-pop band

Future Islands is an American synth-pop band based in Baltimore, Maryland, comprising Gerrit Welmers, William Cashion, Samuel T. Herring, and Michael Lowry (percussion). The band was formed in January 2006 by Welmers, Cashion and Herring—the remaining members of the performance art college band Art Lord & the Self-Portraits—and drummer Erick Murillo.

JJ, styled as jj, is a Swedish band who has released music through the Gothenburg-based independent label Sincerely Yours and the Bloomington, Indiana-based label Secretly Canadian. The band consists of Joakim Benon and Elin Kastlander.

<i>No Way Down</i> 2008 EP by Air France

No Way Down is the second and final extended play by Swedish indie pop duo Air France. It was released on 26 June 2008 by Sincerely Yours.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toro y Moi</span> American singer, producer, and graphic designer (born 1986)

Chaz Bear, known professionally as Toro y Moi, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and graphic designer. He is often recognized as a spearhead of the chillwave genre in the 2010s, alongside contemporaries Washed Out and Neon Indian, although his music has explored various styles since. His stage name is a multilingual expression consisting of the Spanish words toro and y and the French word moi.

Dayve Hawk, better known by his stage name Memory Tapes, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer, and the former frontman of the Philadelphia-based band, Hail Social.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanlines</span> American indie duo

Tanlines is an American electronic music and indie rock duo from Brooklyn, New York composed of percussionist Jesse Cohen and guitarist and vocalist Eric Emm. Their influence is drawn from various genres including pop, indie, dance and world music. Tanlines' debut album Mixed Emotions was released on March 20, 2012, and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Heatseekers album chart. Tanlines' songs are represented by Downtown Music Publishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dum Dum Girls</span> American rock band

Dum Dum Girls was an American rock band, formed in 2008. It began as the bedroom recording project of singer and songwriter Dee Dee. She is currently based in Los Angeles. The name is a double homage to the Vaselines' album Dum Dum and the Iggy Pop song "Dum Dum Boys".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christian Karlsson (DJ)</span> DJ and record producer

Lars Christian Karlsson, also known by his stage name Bloodshy, is a Swedish DJ, percussionist, record producer and remixer known for his work with the musical groups Bloodshy and Avant, Miike Snow, Ingrid, and Galantis. He started his international music career as one half of the electro pop duo Bloodshy & Avant with Pontus Winnberg, producing and co-writing tracks for pop stars such as Madonna, BoA, Kylie Minogue, and Katy Perry. Bloodshy & Avant notably co-wrote and produced Britney Spears' single "Toxic", which earned them a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording in 2005. While continuing to work with Bloodshy and Avant, Karlsson also became a member of the indie pop band Miike Snow around 2007. Miike Snow, the group's debut album, was released in 2009, and peaked at number 11 on the Top Electronic Albums chart in the United States. Miike Snow won the 2011 European Border Breakers Award, and their second album Happy to You reached No. 1 on the Belgian Heatseekers Albums Chart and 43 on the Billboard 200.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Embassy (band)</span> Swedish pop band

The Embassy is a Swedish pop duo consisting of guitarist/vocalist Fredrik Lindson and keyboardist/programmer Torbjörn Håkansson. Their music can be described as a blend of disco, twee pop and pub rock. Their music was first released by the independent label Service but is currently released via the bands own imprint, International. The group's post-modernist attitude, anti-rock aesthetics and disrespectful live performances have made them both loved and loathed.

Elvin Estela, better known by his stage name Nobody, is an American hip hop producer based in Los Angeles, California. He is a resident DJ at Low End Theory. He has collaborated with 2Mex, Abstract Rude, Freestyle Fellowship, Busdriver, and Mystic Chords of Memory. He has also been a member of Blank Blue and Bomb Zombies. Better Propaganda placed him at number 73 on the "Top 100 Artists of the Decade" list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angel Olsen</span> American musician

Angel Olsen is an American singer-songwriter from St. Louis, Missouri who lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sales (band)</span> American indie pop band

Sales is an American guitar-based indie pop band from Orlando, Florida. The band's members are musicians Lauren Morgan and Jordan Shih. They are joined on tour by Malcolm Martin, who serves as the live drummer and percussionist.

Ryan Farrington, known by his stage name Akouo, previously known as Mynse, is an Australian electronic musician, producer and DJ. He is also a member of the hip hop duo Letters to the Sun with Coin Banks. He became the first Tasmanian-based act to perform at Splendour in the Grass in 2015. He has released one studio album: Outwit the Muscle (2008).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yumi Zouma</span> New Zealand alternative pop band

Yumi Zouma are a New Zealand alternative pop band from Christchurch, Canterbury. The band consists of Christie Simpson, Josh Burgess, Charlie Ryder, and Olivia Campion (drums). The band's name is an amalgamation of the two friends who encouraged the group to start writing together.

References

  1. ↑ "'No Way Down' for Air France". Fact . 26 June 2008. Archived from the original on 3 August 2008. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  2. ↑ Garrett (26 June 2008). "Air France "No Way Down EP" (Sincerely Yours)". CrownDozen. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2008.
  3. 1 2 3 Hogan, Marc (26 June 2008). "Air France: No Way Down EP". Pitchfork . Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 Hogan, Marc (18 February 2009). "Air France". Pitchfork . Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  5. ↑ "Ideal Music for the Summer, Air France". Tape Recorder. 8 June 2008. Archived from the original on 10 June 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2008.
  6. 1 2 Lester, Paul (28 January 2009). "No 473: Air France". The Guardian . Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Thane, Rich (26 March 2013). "The Sweetness Of Air France". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  8. 1 2 "Air France". Nöjesguiden (in Swedish). 29 November 2006. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  9. ↑ Jönsson, Carina (10 May 2007). "De har släppt en skiva – men vill inte spela live". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Urella, Matteo (9 January 2019). "It Feels Good To Be Around You: A Conversation With Air France". Medium . Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  11. ↑ "Reviews for No Way Down [EP] by Air France". Metacritic . Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  12. 1 2 "The 50 Best Albums of 2008". Pitchfork . 18 December 2008. p. 4. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  13. ↑ "Air France sign publishing deal with XL, ready debut album". Fact . 9 September 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  14. 1 2 3 Markstedt, Henrik; Karlsson, Joel (26 March 2012). "We'll make this brief, because it hurts too much..." Tumblr . Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  15. 1 2 Breihan, Tom (5 August 2011). "New Air France: "It Feels Good to Be Around You"". Pitchfork . Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  16. ↑ Beauchemin, Molly (26 March 2014). "Listen to Yumi Zouma's Cover of Air France's "It Feels Good To Be Around You", Featuring Voices of The Members of Air France". Pitchfork . Retrieved 23 August 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.