No. 339: Air - "Pocket Symphony" (2007)

I was lucky enough to secure a few days on a small private island in the Maldives back in 2009, and I spent many hours alone on a crisp white strip of beach - laying back in a white plastic lounge chair at the water's edge - quietly gazing out over the calm Indian Ocean with this album coming through my headphones. So forgive me if sound like I'm on Air's payroll...
This is French duo Air's fifth album and overall it sort of has a Japanese feel to it. I learned later that there were some interesting Japanese stringed instruments used in the recording - the best example being on the track "One Hell Of A Party", featuring vocals from Jarvis Cocker from Pulp. Very nice indeed.
Air seem to be the masters of this style of "downtempo electronica", but don't expect any big variations in mood or feel from track to track on this album - it's a very consistent-sounding record: each piece seems to drift into the next, which makes it the perfect background album for those lazy chill-out afternoons with a few friends.
For me, though, it will forever be linked to memories of sipping from a fresh coconut, looking out over the various stunning shades of ocean blue, and wondering how I can procure myself a monkey butler.