Nicolas Godin

Last updated

Nicolas Godin
Nicolas Godin Deauville 2011.jpg
Background information
Born (1969-12-25) 25 December 1969 (age 54)
Le Chesnay, Île-de-France, France
Genres Electronic, downtempo, space rock
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)Keyboards, bass guitar, guitar, vocals, vocoder, harmonica, shamisen, koto, drums, banjo
Years active1995–present
Labels Virgin, Because Music
Website www.aircheology.com

Nicolas Godin (born 25 December 1969) is a French musician best known for being one half of the music duo Air. [1]

Contents

Early life

Godin was born in Paris, Île-de-France, France, and studied architecture at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Versailles, along with soon to be musical partner, Jean-Benoît Dunckel, a mathematics student.

Before founding Air, Godin played in the band Orange, [2] with others such as Jean-Benoît Dunckel, Alex Gopher, Xavier Jamaux, and Jean de Reydellet. He and Jean-Benoît have been working together since they were teenagers in the 1980s. [3]

Early career

Contrary to the popular belief, the name of the band Air does not stand for "Amour, Imagination, Rêve" (love, imagination, dream), but rather for description of their music which the duo describes as "airy" (in French aérien). [4] In the beginning, it was a one‑person project. Godin, then an architecture student and amateur musician, was asked by a childhood friend to write a song for a compilation to be released by Source, a small French independent label. "Modulor Mix", a tribute to Le Corbusier, was recorded on Godin's Portastudio, and appeared on the Source Lab album in 1995. With several remixes, it was re‑released on British label Mo' Wax in 1996. [5]

Air

Following this small success, Godin asked his friend Jean-Benoît Dunckel, a classically trained pianist, to join him in Air. Together, they produced further 'maxi‑singles' for Source, with titles like "J'ai Dormi Sous L'eau", "Les Professionnels", "Casanova 70" and "Le Soleil Est Près De Moi". Finally, in 1997, Source asked Air to record a whole album. The duo spent several months in a recording studio near Paris called Studio de Saint‑Nom, and asked a friend—freelance engineer and former Plus XXX assistant Stéphane 'Alf' Briat—to work as a sound engineer on that project. [5]

Their full-length debut studio album Moon Safari , released in 1998, was propelled to chart success by the singles "Sexy Boy", "Kelly Watch the Stars" and "All I Need". Its mixture of synths, strings and guitar made it a unique release in the electronic music genre at the time. Moon Safari went platinum in the United Kingdom [6] and gold in France. [7]

Solo projects

On 18 September 2015, Godin released his first solo album Contrepoint (Because Music), inspired by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. [8] Godin composed the soundtrack for French series A Very Secret Service (2015–2018). Godin released his second studio album Concrete and Glass on 24 January 2020 via Because Music. [9]

Discography

Albums

TitleYearPeak positions
FRA
[10]
BEL
(Fl)

[11]
BEL
(Wa)

[12]
Contrepoint2015759543
Concrete and Glass 2020149
[13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air (French band)</span> French music duo

Air is a French music duo from Versailles, consisting of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel. Their critically acclaimed debut album, Moon Safari, including the track "Sexy Boy", was an international success in 1998. Its follow-up, The Virgin Suicides, was the score to Sofia Coppola's first film of the same name. The band has since released the albums 10 000 Hz Legend, Talkie Walkie, Pocket Symphony, Love 2, Le voyage dans la lune and Music for Museum. The band is influenced by a wide variety of musical styles and artists.

<i>Moon Safari</i> 1998 studio album by Air

Moon Safari is the debut studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released on 16 January 1998 by Source and Virgin Records. Moon Safari was re-released on 14 April 2008 to mark the album's 10th anniversary, including a bound book, a DVD documentary about the duo, and a bonus CD with live performances and remixes, and on 15 March 2024, to mark the album's 25th anniversary.

<i>10 000 Hz Legend</i> 2001 studio album by Air

10 000 Hz Legend is the second studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released in France on 28 May 2001 by Virgin Records and in the United States on 29 May 2001 by Astralwerks. On this album, tracks are longer and more electronic-oriented than on their previous records. These experimentations find the duo expanding their capacities and working with other artists including Beck and suGar Yoshinaga of Buffalo Daughter.

<i>Talkie Walkie</i> 2004 studio album by Air

Talkie Walkie is the third studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released on 26 January 2004 by Virgin Records. "Alone in Kyoto" was included on the soundtrack to the 2003 film Lost in Translation, and "Run" was used in both the Veronica Mars episode "Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner" and the 2004 French film Lila Says. "Talkie-walkie" means walkie-talkie in French.

<i>The Virgin Suicides</i> (score) 2000 film score by Air

The Virgin Suicides is a score composed by French electronic music duo Air for the 1999 film of the same name by Sofia Coppola. It was released on 23 February 2000 by Virgin Records. The album was nominated for Best Soundtrack at the 2001 Brit Awards. The French edition of Rolling Stone magazine placed The Virgin Suicides at number 49 on their list of the 100 essential French rock albums. In 2014, NME placed the album at number 11 on their "61 of the Greatest Film Soundtracks Ever" list. In 2019, Pitchfork placed the album at number four on their "Top 50 Best Movie Scores of All Time" list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walk Away (Franz Ferdinand song)</span> 2005 single by Franz Ferdinand

"Walk Away" is a song by Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand and is featured on their second album, You Could Have It So Much Better. It was released 5 December 2005 as the second single from that album in the United Kingdom, entering the UK Singles Chart at number 13 a week later.

<i>Premiers Symptômes</i> 1997 EP by Air

Premiers Symptômes is the debut EP by French electronic music duo Air. It consists of singles issued between 1995 and 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Benoît Dunckel</span> French musician

Jean-Benoît Dunckel is a French musician best known for being one half of the French music duo Air, along with Nicolas Godin.

<i>Darkel</i> 2006 studio album by Darkel

Darkel is the debut solo studio album by French musician Darkel, one half of the French electronica band Air. It was released in September 2006.

<i>5:55</i> 2006 studio album by Charlotte Gainsbourg

5:55 is the second album by French musician and actress Charlotte Gainsbourg. It was also her first album in twenty years. Charlotte collaborated on the album with French duo Air, English musician Jarvis Cocker, Irish singer-songwriter Neil Hannon, and Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich. "The Songs That We Sing" and "5:55" were released as singles. The album went platinum in France, selling over 500,000 copies. In the United States, the album sold 22,000 copies. "The Songs That We Sing" was No. 78 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.

<i>Pocket Symphony</i> 2007 studio album by Air

Pocket Symphony is the fourth studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released on 5 March 2007 by Virgin Records. It features collaborations with Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannon. Pocket Symphony incorporates some of the Japanese instruments Godin had recently learned to play from an Okinawan master musician: the koto and the three-string, banjo-like shamisen. However, a press release claims that "conventional instruments continue to play a great role" in the duo's music. The album features art by Xavier Veilhan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air (French band) discography</span>

French electronic music duo Air has released six studio albums, one collaborative studio album, two soundtrack albums, one mix album, one compilation album, one remix album, two video albums, one extended play, twenty-two singles and sixteen music videos. The band's first release was the 1995 single "Modular Mix", which peaked at number 177 in the United Kingdom. Their debut extended play, Premiers Symptômes, was released in July 1997; it peaked at number 12 in the UK and was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). Moon Safari, Air's debut studio album, was released in January 1998. It peaked at number 21 in France and was certified gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP). Moon Safari reached the top ten in countries such as Ireland and the UK and produced three singles: "Sexy Boy", "Kelly Watch the Stars" and "All I Need". All three singles reached the top 40 in the UK; "Sexy Boy" and "All I Need" reached the top 25 in Finland and the Netherlands respectively.

<i>City Reading (Tre Storie Western)</i> 2003 studio album by Air and Baricco

City Reading (Tre Storie Western) is a 2003 album by the French duo Air in collaboration with the Italian writer Alessandro Baricco. In this album, Baricco narrates some passages from his novel City with Air's music in the background. The impetus for the album was in 2001, when Air performed background music to a live theater reading of City at the request of Baricco. The following month, they recorded three excerpts from his book: Bird (track 1), La Puttana Di Closingtown (tracks 2–10) and Caccia All'Uomo (tracks 11–19). The album was mixed by Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich.

<i>Emmaus Mouvement</i> 1999 compilation album by Various artists

Emmaüs Mouvement: 1949–1999 Emmaüs a 50 ans is a compilation album for the 50th anniversary of the Emmaüs Mouvement, founded by Abbé Pierre in 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All I Need (Air song)</span> 1998 single by Air

"All I Need" is a song by French music group Air from their debut album Moon Safari (1998). The song was written by group members Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel, along with American singer Beth Hirsch, who provides vocals on the song. Production of the song was handled by the former two. The song was released as the third single from Moon Safari on 9 November 1998.

The original concept for mellow came from founder Patrick Woodcock, a multi-instrumentalist, who had befriended Nicolas Godin (Air) while they were getting their architecture degree in Versailles. They were brought together by their shared passion for 1960s and 1970s vintage instruments, such as the mellotron, the moog, and other old organs and drum machines, which they both subsequently incorporated in their music. After a short stint with Godin during Air's first incarnation, collaborating on Premiers Symptômes as a musician and arranger, as well as on Moon Safari, and co-writing '"Ce Matin-Là"', Woodcock felt he needed to form his own band. He called on his old friend Pierre Bégon-Lours, then a sound engineer who had access to a recording studio near Paris where they recorded their first demos in 1997. Another sound engineer, enlisted by Bégon-Lours, joined the band for a couple of years.

Alexis Latrobe, known professionally as Alex Gopher, is a French mastering engineer, electronic musician and producer. He worked as a sound engineer at Translab Studio, notably for Angèle, Clara Luciani, Lomepal, -M-, Mr. Oizo, Gesaffelstein and Etienne Daho. Latrobe has contributed a great amount to the French touch movement of the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stromae discography</span>

The discography of Belgian singer-songwriter Stromae consists of three studio albums, one extended play, 21 singles and five promotional singles.

<i>Le voyage dans la lune</i> (album) 2012 studio album by Air

Le voyage dans la lune is the sixth studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released on 6 February 2012 by Virgin Records.

<i>Concrete and Glass</i> 2020 studio album by Nicolas Godin

Concrete and Glass is the second studio album by French musician Nicolas Godin. It was released on 24 January 2020 through Because Music.

References

  1. Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 149. ISBN   9780879306076.
  2. "Nicolas Godin". Nndb.com. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  3. Perpetua, Matthew (12 October 2009). "Interviews: Air". Pitchfork . Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  4. Laura Fournier, « Interview du groupe » [archive], sur electrolibre.nicematin.com, 26 novembre 2010
  5. 1 2 "Nicolas Godin & Jean-Benoît Dunckel (AIR): Building Atlas Studio". Sound on Sound . September 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  6. "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. 25 February 2000. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012.
  7. "Certifications". Disque en France. Archived from the original on 14 September 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  8. Hogwood, Ben (20 September 2015). "Nicolas Godin – Contrepoint". musicOMH . Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  9. Bloom, Madison; Strauss, Matthew (27 November 2019). "Air's Nicolas Godin Announces Album, Shares Video for New Song: Watch". Pitchfork . Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  10. "Discographie Nicolas Godin". lescharts.com. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  11. "Discografie Nicolas Godin". Ultratop . Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  12. "Discographie Nicolas Godin". Ultratop. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  13. "Top Albums (Week 5, 2020)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 4 February 2020.