Disco de Air: “10,000 Hz Legend [Japan Bonus Track]”

damn ... this album is fantastic - avant-garde weird and classically beautiful at the same time - they obviously don't care about maintaining the MOR audience they earned with the hit "all i need"; and "radio #1", the most commercial song on this album (i guess), ain't gonna set any radio playlists on fire (at least not in the u.s.), but what a rewarding piece o' work ... id've loved to see beth hirsch guest on a track or two like she did on 'moon safari', but beck does a great job on "the vagabond" and "don't be light", 2 of my personal faves ... "electronic performers" and "how does it make you feel?" are psychedelic masterpieces, and "radian" is as gorgeous as anything bach or beethoven ever did ... great art is made at the extremes, and this record IS extreme : fans of 'moon safari' may be put off on 1st listen - but give this a chance - it's truly wonderful and, coupled with great recent music from mirwais, phoenix, and daft punk, it can only make ya wonder what they're puttin in the water over there in france...

Ok I Rarely, RARELY buy a cd that I preview at a listening station. Nowadays its harder for my ear to accept the same old true and tired formula. I decided to listen to AIR on a lark and thought to myself "I will probably be listening to this for about 15 seconds." When I hit play I was transported to a new world of sound that my ear hasnt been to. Needless to say my curiosity was on red alert and I started listening to every song soaking in as much of this neo sonic country as I could. I must have looked funny staring dumbfounded at the CD case. The album I was gonna buy before I found this was slipping further and further away from my fingers until it rested rejected out of reach. After my journey I went to the counter to buy 10,000 Hz Legend from the mortals. I got to my car and popped in the CD and immediately I was transported to Airs universe. The super duo have traits that remind me of pink floyd and kraftwerk. They have pink floyds pioneering spirit and Kraftwerks brain for bizzare arrangements. However the sounds on this album is uniquely their own. The record in my opinion is brilliant. Its unlike anything I have ever heard, it seems to have a life of its own. I havent been this awestruck since rediscovering Radiohead via Ok Computer. The music is very profound and its not begging to be mainstream or asking for your acceptance, it doesn't care its on a whole other level. Air should be proud of themselves they have created a very original album that will stand the test of time. The true mark of a classic. Air have themselves a genuine child from this album, I hope they raise it with a lot of love.

I Don't really get why this album only receives 3.5 stars after 120+ reviews. Perhaps the public thought it would be another album of potential car ads and mellow love songs. Well, Moby's cornered that market, and Air are a bit too cool'n'creative to stand still, even if that's what the punters want. Great though Moon Safari was, what's the point making it again?

Making their own equivalent of Kid A, with added songs, is much more fun. Track for track, Legend is just as melodious as Safari, just harder hitting and punchier. The Electronic pulse of opener Electronic Performers gives way to lush orchestration, Radian is possibly their most beautiful electro-acoustic instrumental yet and Lucky & Unhappy and People in the City drive their way into your subconscious with soulful insistence. So what's the problem?

Admittedly, electronics are very high in the mix, particularly on vocals, but they still are warm and even sexy, especially on the sumptuous How Does It Make You Feel? and Sex Born Poison, sounding as if it's being sung by some crazy-yet-seductive oriental alien queen.

It's always a compliment to an album if you have trouble describing it, largely because the music has few reference points and is therefore largely original. I guess that's the

greatest thing you could say about 10,000 Hz Legend. And 3.5 stars really doesn't do it justice.

Well, here's something special going on. 'Moon Safari' was like lying on the grass while sipping a fresh juice, listening to the rollig waves, somewhere in Cannes or Nice. This is diving into your brain and going all the way back to your good old records from the 70's and 80's, while hanging around your balcony in a sleazy Berlin building with fading colours and rusty ironwork. Air has made tunes that need time to listen to, it's not easy this time but worth the effort! While 'Radian' is about floating above the meadows, 'Don't be light' rolls into a secret drive across industrial debris. In a strange way it's sophisticated and cheap. Well enough said, put on your headphones and dive deep into unfamiliar terrain!

i love this album. i think both moon safari and talkie walkie are great, but there's something special here. takes you to another mental state. you may not want to be there forever, but its nice to visit. often. test your new headphones with this one. show off your stereo system. hope they put it out on sacd or dvd-a (stranger things have happened). rather than judge this effort by the naysayers, be adventurous and dive in to a world full of computers, lady lovers-(noun + verb) and french (geographically and attitudinally).