If this whole French thing (Justice, Yelle, Daft Punk) feels oddly familiar, it’s because A) it’s happened before, and 2) your getting old. The year was 1998, and the new French Sound was reviving a dance scene that was showing the first signs of decline (in creativity if not in audience). Burned out on the U.S.-UK power axis that seems to always dominate Western musical scenes (with the UK in the lead when it came to electronic music), it was a quick trip across the recently opened Chunnel to find the hottest thing from Paris to export to London, New York, LA and beyond. And what was found was a vast array of musicians (mostly duos, oddly) who would push the electronic sound in all directions. From the heady acid of some faceless lads calling themselves Daft Punk, to the ’80s influenced electro-pop of Cassius and of course Air’s FM radio from Venus musings, the first French invasion was one of the most immediate movements in electronic history’making stars and filling arenas that far surpassed the dance music DJs that came before.
Moon Safari is still like a sold-out arena in the clouds, from the melodically extraterrestrial gurgles on “Sexy Boy” to the atypically classy vocoder on “Kelly Watch the Stars.” Despite instrumentals which at times out-prestige the vocals, “You Make It Easy”, the record posseses a diabolical ability to float between electronic glows and silky acoustics, flawlessely.
The mixes on the bonus disc don’t add too much to the Safari’s scenery. If anything, they allow Air to explore “what could have been” had they fully commited songs to individual styles: “Sexy Boy (Live on the BBC 1998)” is a grinding house take on the tune and the cosmic blues on “Bossa 96″ are chilled out among the chilled out.
Finally, the DVD, Eating, Sleeping, Waiting and Playing is reminiscent of a time when being a Parisian rock-star was an oddity as reflected by the awkward yet, enjoyable language barriers. Sure, the record is ten years old, but the re-release of Air’s classic is trying to tell us something. Do your homework, kids.

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