In this episode, Nico shares the story behind ‘Moon Safari‘, sharing how each track came to life, the creative choices that shaped the album, and the instruments and techniques that defined the iconic Air sound.

Tracks discussed: Sexy Boy, La Femme d’argent, Talisman, Kelly Watch the Stars

TN:156 AIR – Tape Notes (mp3)

I was amazed at how much of Moon Safari was recorded in a home studio. After talking about writing timeless music, Nicolas Godin’s provided the following recommendations:

You need a Prophet 5 to have the American sound, you need a Roland Juno or Jupitar 8 to have the Japanese sound, you need a Minimoog because this is the basis, this is what Kraftwerk used, it is a mono synth, and then you need a modular synth like the ARP 2600.

This reminded me of Mark Ronson’s bag of tricks that he likes to have.

Godin closes with the following advice:

When you don’t know what to do, let the music decide

This reminded me of Jon Hopkins discussion of creating what the body allows.