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Track Listings
| 1. Modulor Mix |
| 2. Casanova 70 |
| 3. Les Professionnels |
| 4. J'ai Dormi Sous L'eau |
| 5. Le soleil est près de moi |
| 6. Californie |
| 7. Brakes On (Gordini Mix) |
Product Description
AIR Premiers Symptomes (1999 French 7-track CD album originally released in 1997 compiling the French duos single releases from 1995-97 includes 2 bonus recordings: Californie and Brakes On [a remix of Alex Gophers Gordini Mix] sealed picture sleeve)
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Since "Premiers Symptomes" means "first symptoms," it's appropriate that it's the name of Air's collection of early singles. This French duo created a warm sweep of electronica that sounded like a complete , which is only marred by two funky, rather awkward songs pasted on to the end.
"Modular Mix" kicks it off -- a dreamy song that sounds like the soundtrack for an underwater movie. "Casanova 70" and the languid "Les Professionals" add a lounge-y sound. And "J'Ai Dormi Sous L'Eau" and "Le Soleil Est Près de Moi" are sweet and slow , almost like a pair of trip-hop lullabies.
The rerelease of "Premiers Symptomes" was given a bonus -- two new tracks, "Californie" and "Brakes On." Well, they're a mixed blessing. They're actually very fun songs -- funky, dancey and "Californie" has a stretch of ethereal electronica halfway after about a minute. But they just don't quite mesh with the early work.
"Premiers Symptomes" was compiled of singles released before the hit "Moon Safari," and so it has something of the same dreamy feeling. It's only a half hour long, but it's worth it to get the the romantic blend of ambient, trip-hop, funk and a hint of 60s psychedelic pop -- in a word, sensual chillout music!
Songs like "Modular Mix" have layers upon layers of shimmering keyboard. But "Casanova 70" and "J'ai Dormi Sous L'Eau" favor a more jazzy sound, with synthesized horns behind some twittery synths, while the spacey beats of "Les Professionals" sounds like a rainy morning near an alien city. Beside all these smooth sounds, the brash, bass-heavy extra songs sound harsh to the ear.
"Premiers Symptomes" is a must-have for Air fans (newbies had better start with something else), although the last two tracks aren't quite in sync with the first five.... Read more ›
"Modular Mix" kicks it off -- a dreamy song that sounds like the soundtrack for an underwater movie. "Casanova 70" and the languid "Les Professionals" add a lounge-y sound. And "J'Ai Dormi Sous L'Eau" and "Le Soleil Est Près de Moi" are sweet and slow , almost like a pair of trip-hop lullabies.
The rerelease of "Premiers Symptomes" was given a bonus -- two new tracks, "Californie" and "Brakes On." Well, they're a mixed blessing. They're actually very fun songs -- funky, dancey and "Californie" has a stretch of ethereal electronica halfway after about a minute. But they just don't quite mesh with the early work.
"Premiers Symptomes" was compiled of singles released before the hit "Moon Safari," and so it has something of the same dreamy feeling. It's only a half hour long, but it's worth it to get the the romantic blend of ambient, trip-hop, funk and a hint of 60s psychedelic pop -- in a word, sensual chillout music!
Songs like "Modular Mix" have layers upon layers of shimmering keyboard. But "Casanova 70" and "J'ai Dormi Sous L'Eau" favor a more jazzy sound, with synthesized horns behind some twittery synths, while the spacey beats of "Les Professionals" sounds like a rainy morning near an alien city. Beside all these smooth sounds, the brash, bass-heavy extra songs sound harsh to the ear.
"Premiers Symptomes" is a must-have for Air fans (newbies had better start with something else), although the last two tracks aren't quite in sync with the first five.... Read more ›
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I have just listened to this album. After having listened to 'Moon Safari' first I just had to get my ears around this. I just felt the tracks on this album were hauntingly beautiful, it's chill out mastery at its best, especially 'Le Soleil est Pres de Moi'. A definite to have in your collection. Lie back and just close your eyes.....
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By gibbons
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD
The previous reviewer makes a few errors, this was made prior to Moon Safari, it was a combination of previous songs and releases. If anything Zero 7 took their sound from this and Moon Safari, the time difference between releases of debut records was about 4 years, in favour of Air. And most importantly, this album is a purer version of the Air sound. Some of the songs on this mini album are not just breathtaking but absolutely of a time that never existed and you know you are listening to something important. It is hard to make a listener feel like they do when they hear this record. Buy this album if you want a less sugary dose of Moon Safari. It is beautiful. I can't recommend it highly enough.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Guy Peters
Format:Audio CD
Even though the French duo became known by the public at large after the 1998 release of their debut Moon Safari, a refreshing ambient electro-pop album that succeeded in uniting Anglo-saxon and continental influences (ranging from Gainsbourg and Françoise Hardy, Bacharach and Mancini, Kraftwerk and Jean Jarré to Massive Attack and Kruder & Dorfmeister), they'd already been tinkering and refining their sound for a few years. Premiers Symptomes basically gathers the material that was released in the two years preceding Moon Safari, on different labels and for different occasions (some of this previously appeared on a label sampler). Even though there's a less song-oriented approach (in fact, it took me several listens to be able to distinguish these songs from one another), the seeds of the successful debut album are already here. There's a reliance on vintage keyboards (Moog, Rhodes, Korg, etc), while the soundtrack-styled, laidback vibe has more in common with the music of Broadcast, Stereolab and Massive Attack than most other French acts at the time, like Etienne de Crécy (who produced "Modular" and "Les Professionels") or Daft Punk. As such, the duo succeeds in fusing analogue and digital elements into a warm, fluffy blanket of sound - comfy keyboard sounds, serene beats, swaying basses and the occasional muffled horn - that's an aural delight. Since this music was (or seemed to be) more about vibe than anything else, you won't be focusing on structures, melodies and choruses, which aren't the core of the music to begin with.... Read more ›
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Derek Knight
Format:Audio CD
If your favourite bits of Moon Safari were the spaced out instrumentals, then this album is absolutely essential. In turns ambient, jazzy and dreamlike, this is music to kick back and drift off to.
As a compilation of pre-Moon Safari material, this hints at the wonders to come, literally in the coda to 'Les Professionels', which was so good they turned it into 'All I Need'. And the gallic film soundtrack atmosphere is a clear precursor to the equally rewarding 'Virgin Suicides OST'.
'Le Soleil Est Pres De Moi' is the beguiling and sun drenched centrepiece, which deserves to be on everyone's personal summer mixtape. Or winter one for that matter. It evokes the hazy air of a summer day perfectly. (You even get the video as a multimedia bonus.)
The 2 bonus tracks not on the original release don't quite fit in with the mood of the rest of the album, but are pleasant enough in their own right, but they don't really stand comparison with the quality of the preceding 5 tracks. Which is about the only thing wrong with this release. And why buy the Limited Edition version? Well, you get the funky sliding retro sleeve, so you can create you own psychedelic patterns with the dots as you listen to the music. Those Air boys think of everything!
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A must have Air album!
If you liked the laid-back, chilled-out feel of "la femme d'argent" from "Moon Safari" then this album is definitely for you.
One of my all time favourite Air albums ;-)
One of my all time favourite Air albums ;-)
Published 7 months ago by MattMatic
5.0 out of 5 stars
never tire of this atmospheric beauty
I've had this over 10 years now and just love it. Struggle to find a best track on it - maybe track 5, however it's a beautiful piece of music in it's entirety. Read more
Published 21 months ago by RabC
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great compilation
This album is a great compilation of the bands first few E.P`s on the Source label. The band have never really managed to better these instrumental tracks- the production is spot... Read more
Published on 26 Feb 2005
4.0 out of 5 stars
Back To Their Roots
When I first heard this album, I thought it was Air's debut. Clueless as I was, the titles were all French and with just 7 tracks it was easy to be fooled. Read more
Published on 28 Feb 2004 by Harvs
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, but too short for an album
This album feels a bit like a continuation of Moon Safari, so if you've heard that album you'll have a pretty good idea of what to expect. Read more
Published on 28 Jan 2004 by G. Andreou
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautifully Intimate
I am astounded and blown away by this wonderful album. It starts off with the calming, soothing "Modular Mix", which follows onto the summer-feeling "Casanova 70". Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2003 by "bishbosh_1990"
5.0 out of 5 stars
Enchantingly French...
This is an acutely well composed, calculated and articulated collection of off-hand singles, coined idly by Parisian duo Dunckel and Godin aka Air over a period of time subsuming... Read more
Published on 26 Oct 2002 by "eatontom2"
5.0 out of 5 stars
this is good
Just for the record, this is a round up of tracks released on 12" before Moon Safari was recorded.
My (rather heavy) vinyl copy has only the first 5 tracks on it and yet... Read more
Published on 10 Oct 2002 by EGAG
3.0 out of 5 stars
Proceed with Caution
Your opinion of this record is likely to be influenced by your previous exposure to Air. If you liked "Moon Safari" their previous album then this is likely to be a... Read more
Published on 29 July 2002 by "pooperdooper"
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