French electronic-pop act Air will return October 6 with the release of their fifth studio album entitled “Love 2.” The twelve song set is the first album to utilize the duo’s new Paris-based recording facility, Atlas Studio. In the past, Air has worked with producers such as Nigel Godrich (Radiohead, Paul McCartney) and Tony Hoffer (Beck, Supergrass), but “Love 2” marks the first time the group wrote, recorded and produced everything on the album.
In gearing up for “Love 2”, two singles will precede the release. On July 7, opening track “Do The Joy” will be hit digital retailers, followed by “Sing Sang Sung” on August 25.
Air’s 1998 debut, “Moon Safari,” set the stage for the budding “downtempo” electronic music style, and has sold 364,000 according to Nielson SoundScan. Air’s first four albums have a combined for a total of 733,000 sales. They also wrote the score for the 2000 film “The Virgin Suicides,” which has sold 158,000. Over the years, they’ve ventured away from the lush orchestration of “Moon Safari” and explored melding those sounds with dark, synth pop.
But on “Love 2,” fans can look forward to a wide mix of sounds and arrangements that have sprung up in Air’s work over the years. They explore more jazzy grooves during “Love” and “Tropical Disease,” while creating a warmth and sensuality during the instrumentals “Be A Bee” and “Eat My Beat.” But the colder electronic approaches that the group first displayed on “10,000HZ Legend” surface with the robotic vocals of “Missing The Light Of The Day” and on the swirling psychedelia of “Night Hunter.”
And it wouldn’t be an Air album with out some straight-forward takes on French pop: “Heaven’s Light,” “Sing Sang Sung” and “You Can Tell It To Everybody” continue the duo’s work in this tradition.
Air is planning on touring Europe and North America, beginning in early 2010. They will kick things off with a hometown show at the Casino de Paris.
Here is the track list for “Love 2”:
“Do The Joy”
“Love”
“So Light Is Her Footfall”
“Be A Bee”
“Missing The Light Of The Day”
“Tropical Disease”
” Heaven’s Light”
“Night Hunter”
“Sing Sang Sung”
“Eat My Beat”
“You Can Tell It To Everybody”
“African Velvet”