Air, Fringe by the Sea, North Berwick review: 'a real coup'
Air reached for the stars at this joyous Fringe by the Sea show, writes David Pollock
Air, Big Top, North Berwick ★★★★
Three men in sterile white outfits, locked inside a large perspex box and playing meditative, chilled-out electronic music might not immediately strike the listener as the perfect headliner for a sunny Saturday evening festival set. Yet North Berwick’s Fringe by the Sea staged a real coup in booking the French electronic group Air.
The duo (Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel were joined by a third musician, forming a keyboards-guitar-drums trio) haven’t toured since 2017, yet last year they brought a complete performance of their classic 1998 debut album Moon Safari to the Royal Albert Hall, to much excitement and acclaim.
Fringe by the Sea cannily secured the production’s Scottish debut, making for an extraordinarily busy and anticipated concert, because Moon Safari’s reputation persists. A concept album built around a sound rather than a theme, listeners tended to experience it as a whole rather than leaning on just the hits.
Yet there were well-known singles too, and after the bubbling introduction of La Femme D’argent launched this set, the key trio of Sexy Boy, All I Need and Kelly Watched the Stars re-established what people loved most about Air; the singular freshness and joy of their melodies, coupled with their Kubrickian, retro-futurist visual aesthetic.
The music was recreated live with pinpoint sonic accuracy, a new depth of bottom end to the sound even encouraging a few inventive audience members to try dancing. The cube in which the band stood was internally walled with video screens, meaning the backdrop was all around them, a visual feast to match the sonic tableau.Clouds of red-lit alien smoke billowed over the lip of the stage during Talisman, and multicoloured lights like Close Encounters of the Third Kind hovered around the band during New Star in the Sky.
They took a bow after the album then launched into the set’s second half, a series of other hits and key songs. This began with the gospel-infused Venus, the visuals and the music combining to take the audience even deeper into hyperspace.
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