Air

The members of Air are no strangers to a well-chosen collaboration, having provided music for an album by Italian poet Alessandro Baricco, composed tracks for Charlotte Gainsbourg’s upcoming debut and contributed songs to Sofia Coppola’s films.

The Parisian duo’s latest, Pocket Symphony, brings them back together with longtime producer Nigel Godrich, as well as guests Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy) and Jarvis Cocker (Pulp), the latter of whom literally stumbled into the sessions. “Believe it or not, [Jarvis working with us] was a complete mistake,” Godin says. “He was coming to the studio to visit a friend but he took the wrong door. He didn’t know we were there. So we said, ‘Hi! Hi!’ and then the next day he was hired! It was very weird.”

While the duo appreciated Cocker’s vocals, they apparently were more interested in vibe than lyrical content. “I don’t even know what he’s talking about,” Godin says. “I don’t care. Since I was a child I heard English and American songs on the radio and I never understood a word of it, so I keep on like that even though I’m an adult. That’s why I can like very crappy things—because I don’t care anything about what they say.”