Air: Moon Safari Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Air: Moon Safari Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 24, 2024

I am an unabashed fan of a broad swath of music that can often be called "chill" or "downtempo house" or any other number of other variant monikers, and one of my proudest achievements as a father is that my oldest son, while perhaps more interested in EDM, also shares a love for this genre and frequently sends me examples that he's discovered and wants me to hear. Occasionally, his geezer father is actually able to alert fils to some group the youngster was previously unware of, which has led to some kind of comical umbrage when a 20 something figures out maybe he doesn't know, or at least hasn't heard, everything yet. My son was kind of humorously upset with me when, for example, I started listening to London Grammar before he did, and something similar was at play with regard to this debut album by Air, which was produced and released when this boy was a toddler probably listening to Disney tunes more than anything. Several of the tracks on the original album became staples of radio and then later streaming services (I can attest to the fact that tunes from this album show up regularly on Sirius XM's Chill channel, for example), in a rare example of something at least a little innovative getting some notice. This release offers the original album on Blu-ray with Dolby Atmos or LPCM 2.0 audio, and as a bonus, this is an "audio Blu-ray" with some actual video content, including a documentary about the band and some interesting music videos.

The Blu-ray album's track list is as follows:

• 1. La femme d'argent
• 2. Sexy Boy
• 3. All I Need
• 4. Kelly Watch the Stars
• 5. Talisman
• 6. Remember
• 7. You Make It Easy
• 8. Ce matin là
• 9. New Star in the Sky
• 10. Le voyage de Pénélope
• 11. Remember (David Whitaker Version)

Air: Moon Safari Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

As mentioned above, there actually is a video side to things on the Blu-ray disc in this package, with both a documentary and four music videos offered in AVC encoded 1080p transfers in a variety of aspect ratios. All of my data software is showing progressive presentations, but all of these look like they had an interlaced component at some point in the workflow, and I wouldn't be surprised if at least some of them were upscales. The documentary tends to look pretty rough a lot of the time, with a number of video anomalies like ringing and even ghosting. The music videos probably are at least a bit of a step up, but there are even some quality variations here, with "All I Need" having more of an upscaled video appearance and "Kelly Watch the Stars" looking a bit better. Screenshots 2, 4, 6, and 8 are from the documentary, and the rest of the non-menu screenshots are from the music videos (screenshot 7 is from "Le soleil est près de moi", which is almost like a trailer for the documentary, hence the similarity in appearance to the screenshots from the doc).

Air: Moon Safari Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Air: Moon Safari features LPCM 2.0 and Dolby Atmos mixes, and if need a clear demonstration of what an Atmos rendering of an album can offer, this is a sterling example. As recently as in my Fleetwood Mac: Rumours Blu-ray review I mentioned how the Atmos audio on that disc really wasn't that different from the 5.1 option, and while this disc doesn't have a "traditional" 5.1 surround option, unlike Rumours, you can literally feel the engagement of the Atmos speakers if you put your hands up to them. While "verticality" may be debatable, there is clear use of all of the surround channels throughout this mix, and the fact that Moon Safari offers some whimsical quasi-sound effects presents some really fun panning where "squiggles", "pops" and "booms" (technical terms) can all waft clearly from the front to the rear of the soundstage. Immersion is consistent throughout all of the tracks. Frequently there will be discrete channelization for items like the evocative Rhodes, but there is also a really well balanced use of the side and rear channels. Beth Hirsch's ethereal vocals sound magnificent, and there is some really appealing ping ponging in "All I Need" in particular where her lead is up front but the backups float in the mid- to rear channels. Fidelity is excellent and the at times forceful low end synths reverberate with significant power.

Air: Moon Safari Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The following supplements are found under the Videos Menu accessible from the Main Menu:

• A Film About Air on Tour by Mike Mills

  Eating, Sleeping, Waiting and Playing (HD; 1:00:34) is an appealing documentary clearly showing the drudgery of much of tour life. Video quality is a little iffy, but audio (DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0) is fine. This has burnt in English subtitles for the French sections, but no optional English subtitles for the English. Optional French subtitles for the English are available.



• Videos

  Sexy Boy (HD; 3:48)

  
  

  Kelly Watch the Stars (HD; 3:46)

  
  

  All I Need (HD; 4:20)

  
  

  Le soleil est près de moi (HD; 4:50)

Additionally, the DigiPack includes 2 CDs. The first CD offers the original album, while the second CD offers the following bonus tunes:

1. Neneh Cherry Kootchi (Air Remix)
2. Crustation Pruple (La Femme D'Argent Mix)
3. Dirty Hiroshima (Demo)
4. New Star (Demo)
5. Ce Matin La (Demo)
6. Maggo Brain (Live)
7. J'ai Dormi Sous L'Eau (BBC Live Session)
8. Sexy Boy (BBC Live Session)
9. Kelly Watch the Stars (BBC Live Session)
10. Kelly Watch the Stars (Extended)
11. Remember (David Whitaker Version)

Finally, a nicely appointed insert booklet is also included which features a retrospective essay by Gabriel Szatan, lyrics, drawings and other production credits data.

Air: Moon Safari Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Some of you may be aware of the absolutely incredible Åkesson family from Sweden, whose paterfamilias Leif is a notable choral conductor and whose sons had a fantastic band called Moon Safari which released several really enjoyable albums. Son Simon Åkesson is currently one of the amazing vocalists in the superb a cappella group Accent, but having heard several of the Åkessons in various musical capacities through the years I've joked that it's obvious that they're our alien overlords and we should just submit to whatever they want. The fact that this Air album may have inspired siblings as musically adept as the Åkesson brothers to name their own band after it might be a salient clue as to how potent and just flat out, well, groovy the music on this album is. If I may be permitted to pun horribly on a great old Hollies tune title, all you'll need is this very Air that you'll "breathe" in order to have a superb listening experience. Audio quality is excellent, and both the accompanying videos and bonus CD in particular are hugely enjoyable. Highly recommended.