Wikipedia

Pocket Symphony

For the type of composition, see Pocket symphony.

Pocket Symphony is the fourth studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released on 5 March 2007 by Virgin Records. It features collaborations with Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannon.[12] Pocket Symphony incorporates some of the Japanese instruments Godin had recently learned to play from an Okinawan master musician: the koto (also referred to as a Japanese floor harp) and the three-string, banjo-like shamisen. However, a press release claims that "conventional instruments continue to play a great role" in the duo's music.[13] The album features art by Xavier Veilhan.

Pocket Symphony
Studio album by
Air
Released5 March 2007 (2007-03-05)
Studio
  • Revolvair (Paris)
  • Gang (Paris)
Length47:47
LabelVirgin
Producer
Air chronology
Talkie Walkie
(2004) 		Pocket Symphony
(2007) 		Love 2
(2009)
Singles from Pocket Symphony
  1. "Once Upon a Time"
    Released: 29 January 2007
  2. "Mer du Japon"
    Released: 11 June 2007
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic63/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The A.V. ClubA−[3]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[4]
The Guardian[5]
The Irish Times[6]
Mojo[7]
NME2/10[8]
Pitchfork6.6/10[9]
Spin[10]
Uncut[11]

Pocket Symphony debuted at number 40 on the US Billboard 200, with 17,000 copies sold in its first week.[14] As of February 2012, it had sold 77,000 copies in the United States.[15]

The term "pocket symphony" was popularised by English journalist Derek Taylor, who used it to describe the Beach Boys' 1966 single "Good Vibrations".

Track listing

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All tracks are written by JB Dunckel and Nicolas Godin, except "One Hell of a Party", lyrics by Jarvis Cocker, and "Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping", lyrics by Neil Hannon and Cocker

No.TitleLength
1."Space Maker"4:01
2."Once Upon a Time"5:01
3."One Hell of a Party"4:02
4."Napalm Love"3:27
5."Mayfair Song"4:19
6."Left Bank"4:06
7."Photograph"3:51
8."Mer du Japon"3:04
9."Lost Message"3:32
10."Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping"3:36
11."Redhead Girl"4:31
12."Night Sight"4:17
Opendisc bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Time Capsule"4:19
14."The Duelist" (featuring Jarvis Cocker and Charlotte Gainsbourg)4:40
Japanese edition bonus track[16]
No.TitleLength
13."Time Capsule"4:19
iTunes Store bonus tracks[17]
No.TitleLength
13."The Duelist" (featuring Jarvis Cocker and Charlotte Gainsbourg)4:40
14."Crickets" (originally not available in the United States[18])3:32

Personnel

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Credits adapted from the liner notes of Pocket Symphony.[19]

Air

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  • Nicolas Godin – bass (tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 7–9, 11); solina (track 1); guitars (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6–11); synth bass (track 2); drum machine (tracks 2, 4, 5, 9); shamisen (tracks 2, 3); piano (track 3); koto (tracks 3, 8–11); synthesizers (track 5); vocals (track 6); glockenspiel (tracks 7, 11); tambourine (tracks 7, 8); drums (track 8); Memorymoog (tracks 9, 11); wind chimes (track 11)
  • JB Dunckel – piano (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7–11); synthesizers (tracks 1–9, 11, 12); vibraphone (tracks 1, 10); vocals (tracks 2, 4, 6–8, 11); glockenspiel (track 2); samples (track 3); ARP percussions, xylophone (track 5); voice pad (tracks 5, 11); drum machine (tracks 6); Rhodes (tracks 7, 11, 12); synth bass (track 10)

Additional musicians

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Technical

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  • Nigel Godrich – production, engineering
  • Air – production
  • Darrell Thorp – engineering
  • Florian Lagatta – engineering
  • Simon Hayes – engineering assistance
  • Andrew Rugg – engineering assistance
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering at Gateway Mastering (Portland, Maine)

Artwork

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  • Xavier Veilhan – artwork
  • Lili Fleury – artwork
  • Laurent Pinon – artwork

Charts

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References

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  1. ^ "Reviews for Pocket Symphony by Air". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  2. ^ Phares, Heather. "Pocket Symphony – Air". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  3. ^ Matos, Michaelangelo (6 March 2007). "Air: Pocket Symphony". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  4. ^ Howe, Sean (2 March 2007). "Pocket Symphony". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  5. ^ Simpson, Dave (9 March 2007). "Air, Pocket Symphony". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  6. ^ Courtney, Kevin (2 March 2007). "Air: Pocket Symphony (Astralwerks)". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Air: Pocket Symphony". Mojo. No. 161. April 2007. p. 108. ISSN 1351-0193.
  8. ^ Elan, Priya (2 March 2007). "Air: Pocket Symphony". NME. Archived from the original on 18 January 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  9. ^ Richardson, Mark (7 March 2007). "Air: Pocket Symphony". Pitchfork. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  10. ^ Walters, Barry (March 2007). "Air: Pocket Symphony". Spin. Vol. 23, no. 3. p. 86. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved 13 June 2018 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ "Air: Pocket Symphony". Uncut. No. 119. April 2007. p. 92. ISSN 1368-0722.
  12. ^ "Air and Jarvis team up". NME. 17 November 2006. Retrieved 19 November 2006.
  13. ^ "Pocket Symphony press release" (Press release). Archived from the original (doc) on 24 January 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2007.
  14. ^ Hasty, Katie (14 March 2007). "Notorious B.I.G. Scores Another 'Great' On The Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  15. ^ Mapes, Jillian (4 February 2012). "Air Over 'The Moon' About Film Score Turned Full Album". Billboard. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  16. ^ "Pocket Symphony : Air". HMV Japan. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  17. ^ "Pocket Symphony by Air". Apple Music. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  18. ^ "Pocket Symphony by Air". iTunes Store. Archived from the original on 29 November 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  19. ^ Pocket Symphony (liner notes). Air. Virgin Records. 2007. 094638548126.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Air – Pocket Symphony". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  21. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Air – Pocket Symphony" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  22. ^ "Ultratop.be – Air – Pocket Symphony" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  23. ^ "Ultratop.be – Air – Pocket Symphony" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  24. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Air – Pocket Symphony". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  25. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Air – Pocket Symphony" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  26. ^ "Hits of the World". Billboard. Vol. 119, no. 12. 24 March 2007. p. 75. ISSN 0006-2510 – via Google Books.
  27. ^ "Air: Pocket Symphony" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  28. ^ "Lescharts.com – Air – Pocket Symphony". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  29. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Air – Pocket Symphony" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  30. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Air". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  31. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Air – Pocket Symphony". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  32. ^ ポケット・シンフォニー | エール [Pocket Symphony | Air] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  33. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Air – Pocket Symphony". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  34. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Air – Pocket Symphony". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  35. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Air – Pocket Symphony". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  36. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Air – Pocket Symphony". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  37. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Air – Pocket Symphony". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  38. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  39. ^ "Air Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  40. ^ "Air Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  41. ^ "Air Chart History (Top Dance/Electronic Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  42. ^ "Classement Albums – année 2007" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  43. ^ "2007 Year End Charts – Top Electronic Albums". Billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 7 May 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
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