Air vs. Stereolab

These are two quite loungey acts, both of which I have loved, that got started in the 90s. I've been into Air since the early 2000s, and more recently discovered Stereolab, and have been loving it. My favourite Stereolab album is Dots and Loops, though I like the Krautrock vibe of music off Emperor Tomato Ketchup very much and I think my favourite Air album became 10 000 Hz Legend (an album I was once rather dismissive of for some reason). At some time I want to do a loungey music thread, which will cover a lot of ground, including the person in my avatar, Serge Gainsbourg.

Any recommendations based on Stereolab or Air would be appreciated.

Another vote for AIR. Actually I’ve got you to thank for getting me into them, Greg, so thanks a bunch
It was of course with the 10000 Hz Legend album but have since then bought pretty much everything I could get my hands on from the band. There are no duds to be heard imho. The last album I span before turning in last night was Pocket Symphony. The night before it was Love 2.
I really love how they mix contemporary electronics with all kinds of real instruments and styles.

I own and love the exact same Stereolab albums you mention in the OP and gravitate more towards Dots And Loops. Haven’t spun the other in ages though. Maybe it’s time for a revisit.

As for recs? I’m blank this moment tbh...but maybe Swedish band Les Big Byrd. They frolick in the same types of Krautrocking corridors as Stereolab. Fun, groovy, psychedelic and very melodic. I’ve thought about suggesting them a couple of times but always seem to forget.
Never actually thought about how unique sounding AIR is...but trying to come up with some other artists that sounds even remotely similar..underlines how original of a sound they wield.

Hi,

First vote to no preference. To me it´s totally same if these bands would have never exists. As also quite many same kind of "serious" artists of 1990-2000. But of course people have right to love them.

Guldbamsen wrote: Another vote for AIR. Actually I’ve got you to thank for getting me into them, Greg, so thanks a bunch It was of course with the 10000 Hz Legend album but have since then bought pretty much everything I could get my hands on from the band. There are no duds to be heard imho. The last album I span before turning in last night was Pocket Symphony. The night before it was Love 2. I really love how they mix contemporary electronics with all kinds of real instruments and styles. I own and love the exact same Stereolab albums you mention in the OP and gravitate more towards Dots And Loops. Haven’t spun the other in ages though. Maybe it’s time for a revisit. As for recs? I’m blank this moment tbh...but maybe Swedish band Les Big Byrd. They frolick in the same types of Krautrocking corridors as Stereolab. Fun, groovy, psychedelic and very melodic. I’ve thought about suggesting them a couple of times but always seem to forget. Never actually thought about how unique sounding AIR is...but trying to come up with some other artists that sounds even remotely similar..underlines how original of a sound they wield.

Glad to have got you into Air -- I've got into a lot of music because of you, including Electric Orange and Dungen methinks, which I was playing yesterday.

Les Big Byrd is very good, had to look it up to remember, that cover image of They Worshipped Cats is very memorable. Been a while since I listened to that, but it was a favourite of mine from 2014. Listening now, and enjoying it all over. -- forgot how ballsy it can be, ballsy in a good kind of sweaty way.    Pretty much anything pyschey and Krautrocky, of course, tends to appeal to me. Great recommendation for those into Stereolab, various MGMT and the like.

^ Thanks. reading your post properly now, I have Die Wilde Jagd's Uhrwald Orange album, I like it a lot. It seems most of the modern stuff I search for these days tends to get "boxed" with Krautrock/ Progressive Electronic/ Berlin School.

siLLy puPPy wrote: I don't think anyone really sounds like Air. They were quite unique however if you like downtemp styled electronica like Air then you might like Portishead, Massive Attack (especially Mezzanine) and even Enigma. Did you know that Stereolab basically stole its sound from a band called Family Fodder? To be fair they only had a song or two on the album "Monkey Banana Kitchen" but Stereolab caught wind of that and ran away with it. Stereolab is tagged indietronica on RYM. Some other bands in that same general genre that i like are MGMT and The Postal Service. Other types of electronic space pop that is roughly related included Messer für Frau Müller although it's a more bouncy space pop but still rather loungy with some surf rock. The 60s was full of fun space pop. Artists like Esquivel, Dick Hyman, The Tornadoes and 101 Strings were all somewhat popular. Air sort of revived some of the sounds with more contemporary electronica sounds.

My friends were big on Enigma, I was into it too (liked the Gregorian chants in it, I am Gregorian after all, and considering all the loud House music that they would play - we were big nightclubbers, it made for a lighter ambiance. I haven;t listened to much Portishead, but I do like the acid jazz qualities of the music I have heard. I have heard some MGMT and some The Postal Service (seem to remember it reminding me of Moby), will refresh my memories later. With MGMT I had particularly liked "Metanoia".

Dick Hyman I know more by name as I thought it hilariously rude (up there with Dick Black's A Taste of Dick Black). And Esquivel need more exploring by me. Don't recall the Tornadoes and 101 Strings-- will look into those you've mentioned. I know that Brian Eno and CLuster were Air influences and various soundtrack stuff like Escape from new York. I would also think loungey music like Serge Gainsbourg would have been an influence.

Love this song, which is really why I post it.



Thanks for that vid, I enjoyed that.

moshkito wrote: Hi, Air is really nice ... good choice!

Thanks Pedro; much appreciated.

Edited by Logan - February 07 2020 at 14:58

I used to listen to Stereolab.....still have a few of the earlier to mid cd's by them.

I must admit that Uhrwald Orange is about as big of a posterchild for the ol ‘marinade-album’ as I’ve ever heard. Sure from the get-go I dug the hell out of 2000 Elefanten but sort of slipped in and out of focus/awareness during some of the longer and more monotonous tracks. As you probably know, I’ve been struggling immensely with my back and general balance, and the only other thing besides very strong opiates perscribed from the doctor (presumably to make me a junkie? I got fairly close inside a week of taking those awful pills) is weed. Anyway I found gentle and chillax music to complement my medicine well - mostly because I found myself tensing up when music got too aggressive/forcefully angular - even if I usually love that stuff..but I realised just how much better my recovery went with my increased focus on more soothing sessions of music compared to what I normally threw on.
Where Uhrwald Orange suddenly began to blossom was when I started to listen to it late at night with headphones on..preferably in bed. Coming from a slew of bleeping Berliner Schule albums and general mellow affairs I was, maybe subconsciously, searching for something that straddle the line between that and something more ‘pervasive’ if you catch my drift
It dawned on me that the music actually works in much the same manner as NEU’s. What initially seems simple almost bordering on the naive..really is quite complex. It happens in small micro-shifts or attenuations of notes and harmonics..but it’s deliberate and ends up coming across highly originally imho.
The longer it’s marinaded with me the more the flavours come together to form a far more intricate picture than what I initially saw.

I’m so happy that you dig my man Klaus Then again I had a feeling you’d like him. Most of the folks I’ve played him to have, much like yourself, fallen head over heels for the guy. He’s a lovable chap for sure. The debut and the newest Du Bist So Symmetrisch are also quite wonderful

Wow! This is a blast from the past. I've not really listened to either for along time. I will do again. I know Air better than Sterolab. I have at least 3 Air albums; Premiere Symptoms, Moon Safari & 10,000HZ. All very different IIRC, but I iked them all.

I'd need to listen to Stereolab again, but based on memory, I enjoyed Air more.

no preference