Latest news with #MoonSafari
Scotsman
04-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Air, Fringe by the Sea, North Berwick review: 'a real coup'
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... 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. 'Air couple joyous melodies with a retro-futurist visual aesthetic' 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. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 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. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Air 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 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.
The Herald Scotland
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Let's rock: Oasis, AC/DC, Nile Rodgers and a Hollywood star?
As Henry James said on his deathbed, 'So here it is at last, the distinguished thing.' Whatever else you might think about Oasis, there is no question their reunion gigs this summer have been a phenomenon. The demand for tickets, the furore over dynamic pricing for said tickets, and, finally, the gigs themselves. Critics have been falling over themselves to hand out five stars, audiences have been enthusiastically singing along and Noel and Liam even seem to be getting along. There may still be tickets available for their Murrayfield appearances, but you're going to be paying through your nose to get them (at the time of writing one ticket resale company was looking for more than £500 for their cheapest tickets and nearly £2,000 for their dearest). Is that value for money? Depends on how desperate you are to see the band, I guess. And many clearly are. By all accounts, though, fans of the Dig Out Your Soul album (it's possible there's one or two) may be a little disappointed by the setlist. It's largely - and, let's face it, understandably - drawn from the first couple of albums Definitely Maybe and (What's the Story) Morning Glory. It will be interesting how those songs recorded when the band were full of youth and hunger and attitude sound in middle age. Air Big Top, Fringe by the Sea, North Berwick, August 2 More 1990s nostalgia. But rather like Oasis's Beatle obsession, the sound of French duo Air was always rooted in the past. Their debut album - the gorgeous, swoony, Moon Safari, which Air will play in full for the first time in Scotland - was the sound of the space age 1970s rebooted and updated; a record to watch lava lamps to. The tunes - all electronic keyboards, beeping synths, vocoder and strings - bubble and pop like a dream you had of a childhood summer. Throw in Beth Hirsch's breathy vocals on You Make It Easy and All I Need and you have one of the defining albums of the end of the century; one whose influence you can hear in the music of the likes of Andrew Wasylyk (who, along with Tommy Perman, is tonight's support, which is rather pleasing). For a while there Moon Safari was so ubiquitous it felt like you didn't feel the need to ever hear it again, but now, more than a quarter of a century later, its low-key pleasures feel refreshed. Cherry Blossom Girl for the encore though? Lughnasadh Music and Arts Festival, Forgan Arts Centre, Newport-on-Tay, August 2 In fact the Glasgow-based, Mercury-nominated multinstrumentalist, producer and composer Liam Shortall (aka is just one of the names on the bill for the second Lughnasadh festival. Such stellar Scottish talents as Kathryn Joseph, Scared Paws and Becky Sikasa are also among the acts confirmed. But if the meaty, beaty and bouncy new single Don't Listen is anything to go by, may be one of the highlights Ezra Collective Big Top, Fringe by the Sea, North Berwick, August 9 The band's only Scottish date in the current tour. The Mercury Prizewinners - the first jazz act to win the award - tapped into Afrobeat and Latin rhythms on their most recent Dance, No One's Watching. They are the UK's 'most exhilarating live act' according to the Guardian and they certainly lit up the stage at the Brits earlier this year. So, should be fun. Dancing will probably be compulsory. Nile Rodgers & Chic, Barrowland, Glasgow, August 12 & 13 I know the Gallagher brothers are in Edinburgh in August and the world's biggest arts festival will be keeping everyone busy, but, really, you can't tell me there will be anything on anywhere in the country that will be more fun than these two nights at the Barrowland Ballroom. The simple truth of it is that, for the last 50 years Nile Rodgers has been and remains the nearest thing we have to a human incarnation of pop music, whether in his own band Chic or in his work with Diana Ross, Madonna, Sister Sledge, Bowie, Duran Duran or Daft Punk. Nile Rodgers Having come through serious illness he has spent the last few years reminding us of just how central he has been to pop's story with his live gigs which draw on his disco era and beyond. There's an argument to be made that the last minute of Sister Sledge's 1979 hit Thinking of You - produced by Rodgers and the late, great Bernard Edwards - is one of the greatest in music history. Feel free to discuss. Michael Shannon & Jason Narducy and Friends The Garage, Glasgow, August 20 Yeah, that Michael Shannon. The two-time Oscar nominee and star of Knives Out and Bullet Train has teamed up with indie rocker Jason Narducy to tour a show playing R.E.M. songs. This time around they are essaying their take on Fables of the Reconstruction (1985), the third album of the band from Athens, Georgia, and home to songs like Driver 8 and Can't Get There From Here. If you want an imprimatur of Shannon's seriousness it's worth noting that when Shannon and Narducy played Athens (the American one) earlier this year the members of R.E.M. turned up to join them onstage. AC/DC Murrayfield, Edinburgh, August 21 AC/DC The old gods are disappearing. Black Sabbath - the inventors of metal - have played their final gigs. Indisputably with the death of Ozzy. Those who followed them - the NWOBHM bands (to use the acronym of the time) - are themselves getting on a bit. In short, Gotterdamerung is getting close. And yet AC/DC are still going strong. Vocalist Brian Johnson still sounds like he's been gargling rusty lead and petrol, Angus Young is still dressing up as a schoolboy at the age of 70 and they still sound like a dinosaur mating with a Transformer. Long may they do so. PP Arnold - Soul Survivor Queen's Hall, Edinburgh, August 22 The Fringe's music programme is the usual mixture of the classical, the comic, the curious, the trad acts, the tribute acts and Dean Friedman. But alongside Peter Doherty and Pussy Riot, to this gig featuring soul singer PP Arnold stands out. Formerly one of Ike and Tina Turner's Ikettes, Arnold came to London to support the Rolling Stones in 1966 and never left. Over the years she's worked with everyone from Peter Gabriel and Paul Weller to Rod Stewart. And her version of The First Cut is the Deepest (released back in 1967) stomps all over Rod's take from 10 years later. Sam Fender Ingleston, Edinburgh, August 22 The closest thing to a British Bruce Springsteen? Time will tell, but the Geordie singer has the heart, the tenderness, the passion for the job and an ear for an anthem. To be honest, for all the very apparent Springsteen influence, Paul Weller might be a better comparison. Fender has Weller's ability to catch working-class life in all its joy and despair in a lyric. In the decades to come 17 Going Under is the song we will play to understand this moment in time. Chappell Roan Ingleston, Edinburgh, August 26 & 27 Chappell Roan (Image: PA) The sound of pop in 2025. Winner of the Best New Artist at the Grammys this year, Chappell Roan has gone from nowhere to A-lister in the last couple of years. Originally from small-town Missouri, she's moved to LA, embraced her queerness and become a proper pop star. It's been hard to avoid her hit Pink Pony Club in the last 12 months. Her songbook is fun, fizzy, sexually frank and hookier than a former New Order bassist. A potent reminder that pop is not dead, whatever baby boomers like me might say.
BreakingNews.ie
15-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BreakingNews.ie
Air Play Moon Safari at Fairview Park: Everything you need to know
Air coming back to Dublin for a Moon Safari Fairview Park was undoubtedly fantastic news for their Irish fans who were unable to secure a ticket for their gig at Trinity Summer Series last year. Air's album Moon Safari celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, with its release catapulting Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel to the uppermost rung of electronic music's ladder, leaving an indelible imprint on pop culture at the end of the 20th Century. Advertisement Despite being young 20-somethings at the time and having only released one EP to date, Godin and Dunckel's stars aligned, and together they were blessed with the creative skill to make what many feel are the perfect electronic pop songs. Today, the record's legacy is canonical, but its multi-million success was far from assured at the time of release. Says Dunckel: 'We were a duo doing some electronic thing, dreaming of selling 10,000 copies and being recognised by other musicians as cool. Then suddenly, we met the world.' In no time at all, Air's downtempo influence was easy to detect all around. Moon Safari birthed hit singles in 'Kelly Watch The Stars', 'All I Need' and 'Sexy Boy', sold millions of copies around the world, and pushed Air into headline status at major festivals. 25 years on, it's not hard to reason why Moon Safari has stood the test of time. So, if you are headed to see Air play Moon Safari at Fairview Park on Tuesday, keep reading to find out everything you need to know. Advertisement When and where is it on? Air play Fairview Park in Dublin on Tuesday, June 17th. Are there any tickets left? Thankfully for you, some tickets are still available on from €77.45. Don't forget to download the concert tickets onto your phone in advance of the concert, just in case any issues arise around internet connection at Fairview Park. Screenshots will not work on the day as Ticketmaster use live or dynamic barcodes that update regularly. Who are the support acts? No support act has been announced yet, but it is worth noting that when Air played Trinity's Summer Sessions in 2024, there was no support act because they played Moon Safari in full, along with songs from their back catalogue. When should I arrive? Doors open at 7pm, with the show starting at 8pm. Advertisement Stage times have not yet been announced, but we will update here when we have them, and keep an eye on Air's social media in the meantime. How do I get there and home again? Promoters have encouraged concert-goers to plan and book return travel arrangements in advance, allowing at least an extra two hours travel time to and from the venue. Because traffic delays are inevitable, it is also encouraged to walk, cycle, use public transport and private coach services. Worth noting, though, that promoters don't operate transport to and from the venue, so attendees must arrange that themselves in advance. Advertisement By Dart: The nearest Dart station to Fairview Park is Clontarf Road Dart Station. By Bus: Dublin Bus numbers 14, 15, 27a and 27b run from Eden Quay to near the venue, and so do bus numbers 6, H1, H2, H3, and 130 from Abbey Street Lower, while from Talbot Street, you can get the 42 and 43 buses. You can get off any of them at the Fairview Park bus stop. However, for operational reasons, bus stops 519 and 616 will be closed from 10pm until 11pm on concert days. By foot: If you want to walk to Fairview Park from Dublin city centre, it should take less than an hour, if you are so inclined. By car: Concert-goers are advised not to travel to the event by car, as there is no public parking at the event. Promoters have asked attendees not to park illegally or in residential areas and to use public transport instead. However, if you must drive to Dublin for the concert, it would be worth looking into park and ride options or asking someone you know who lives in the area in advance of the concert if you could park your car at their house for the evening. There will be signs on approach to the concert, which will take place at the Annesley Bridge end of Fairview Park. What are they expected to play? Of course, you never know what a band will play until they stand on stage on the night, but here is a snippet of what fans can expect based on the duo's concert in Brazil in May: Advertisement La femme d'argent Sexy Boy All I Need Kelly Watch the Stars Talisman Remember You Make It Easy Ce matin‐là New Star in the Sky (Chanson pour Solal) Le voyage de Pénélope Venus Cherry Blossom Girl Run Highschool Lover Don't Be Light What's the story with security? No queuing is allowed before the gates open, and concert-goers are advised to allow sufficient time to travel to the event and pass through security checks. Anyone who does turn up early will be turned away. Under 16s must be accompanied to the concert and at all times by someone over 25, and strict age monitoring will be in place. Unaccompanied people under 16 will be refused entry to the event without a refund. The promoters have recommended that nobody under the age of five attend. No camping or collapsible chairs are permitted on site. Security checks will be in operation, and everyone will be subject to a search as a condition of entry. Additional searches may take place once inside the venue. No bags larger than A4 size are allowed inside the venue, and attendees are strongly advised not to bring big bags or backpacks as they may experience delays or be refused entry. There will be no storage facilities on site. Any items left at entrances or in surrounding areas will be removed and disposed of accordingly. Other items not allowed into the grounds include, but are not exclusive tlimitedflags bigger than A3, glass, cans, umbrellas, alcohol, e-scooters and e-bikes, and professional cameras and audio recording equipment. There are no re-admissions to the concert, either, so if you leave, you can't come back in, and don't rush to the exit after the concert. Remember too, that Fairview Park is a residential area, so respect the local community by not littering, not engaging in anti-social behaviour and by not parking illegally. There's a lot to be said for being sound. What's the weather giving? At the time of writing, Tuesday is expected to be cloudy with some sunny spells, but rain is forecast in the evening, and temperatures are expected to be between 11 and 19 degrees. Bear in mind, though, that we are in Ireland and that Fairview Park is a standing-only venue, with all concerts taking place outdoors on grass under canvas. So, check the weather forecast on the day, look outside, and dress accordingly for Irish weather—think boots or runners, layers, raincoats/ponchos, and sun cream, but remember, no umbrellas.
New York Post
30-05-2025
- Health
- New York Post
Slash your stress by 65% — and in just 8 minutes — with this dreamy fix to ‘calm your brain,' neurologist says
Take aurally. Turns out the ultimate anxiety remedy may not be in your medicine cabinet — but on Spotify. An eight-minute ambient track called 'Weightless' by British band Marconi Union is being hailed as the musical equivalent of a chill pill. 3 The track, 'Weightless' by Marconi Union (above) — cooked up with sound therapists to melt stress — actually works, according to science. Just Music The song was actually designed to de-stress listeners — and science says it works. In a study by Mindlab International, participants tasked with solving complex puzzles while wearing biometric sensors experienced a staggering 65% drop in anxiety when 'Weightless,' originally released in 2014, played. 'Unlike most songs, it was composed in collaboration with sound therapists, with the [primary] purpose of slowing down the body's stress response,' Dr. Steven Allder, consulting neurologist at Re:Cognition Health, told Parade in a recent interview. The trippy tune starts at 60 beats per minute — the average resting heart rate — and gradually slows to 50, syncing with your body's rhythm like a lullaby for your nervous system. 'This subtle deceleration encourages a process known as entrainment, where the listener's heart rate and breathing naturally begin to match the tempo of the music, a physiological shift that supports relaxation,' Allder explained. 3 It's no shock this chill track 'Weightless' has become the anthem of relaxation — no pounding beats or sob stories here, just pure ear candy for the anxious soul. Moon Safari – It's no wonder the tune has become the poster child for musical stress relief. Unlike gym bangers or heartbreak ballads, this song goes easy on your eardrums. 'Weightless also features no sharp or abrupt transitions in rhythm, tone or volume,' Allder said. 'By avoiding these fluctuations, 'Weightless' maintains a constant auditory landscape, which promotes calm and reduces mental stimulation.' In other words: It's the anti-EDM. The 'Weightless' craze joins a growing body of research showing music can do everything from sharpen focus to soften pain — if you hit the right notes. For those looking to get in the zone rather than out of their head, neuroscientist Friederike Fabritius swears by Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Goldberg Variations.' 'When I have to focus, I always listen to [that] same song and I instantly get into flow,' Fabritius told Parade in a previous interview. Her hack: train your brain to associate one tune with deep work — Pavlov, meet Spotify. 3 Trying to focus, not freak out? Brain expert Friederike Fabritius says Bach's 'Goldberg Variations' hits the sweet spot for getting in the zone. Tomasz Zajda – Classical music is a smart bet for study tunes, Dr. Erin Hannon of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, also told the outlet. She recommends tracks with 'a slow to moderate tempo, with moderately predictable pitch and rhythmic structure and lower levels of chaotic noise and dissonance, such as screaming.' Dr. Christina Agvent added in a previous study conducted by OnePoll on behalf of online university CSU Global that 'listening to music while studying can be an extremely helpful tool for some students in improving their focus,' especially among younger listeners — nearly 60% of Gen Z students say they plug in to study. And it's not just your mind that benefits. Music might also help turn down the volume on physical pain. In a recent McGill University study, participants reported lower pain levels when listening to tunes set to their own natural rhythm. So whether you're grinding through emails or gritting through aches, one thing's clear: the right beat can hit a lot harder than Advil. As Caroline Palmer of McGill put it, 'soothing or relaxing music works best as a pain reliever' — and tempo may be the secret sauce. Consider it doctor's orders: press play and chill out.
