By J.R. Griffin

Blame it on Napster (R.I.P.). But months before the release of 10,000 Hz. Legend - the second U.S. full-length album from the hip French duo of Air - computer-chair music critics worldwide were expounding on the relevance of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel's latest work. Most were saying that it's a hard album to get through, since the warm melodies found on 1998's Moon Safari have been replaced with a darker, prog-rocky mood, a couple of songs that sound like the ethereal edge of Pink Floyd and two tracks featuring folk music and spoken word from Beck. Many compared it to Radiohead's Kid A. Many more were quick to call those opinions complete shite.

They all, however, agreed on one thing: After awhile, it sticks. Whatever 10,000 Hz. Legend is (the band says it means nothing), fans eventually need all 10,000 whatevers of it. But if music lovers think listening to the album is difficult, they should have tried making it. Moon Safari took a couple of months to create, so did the score for The Virgin Suicides, which the guys conceived in 1999. Legend took over a year and a half.

"Sometimes, I was very surprised about how empty I was," admits Dunckel during the New York press tour. "But when we didn't have ideas, we would just eat food and relax until they came. I think we were being very courageous, very tough, concerning our fight against lack of inspiration."

After months of sitting around and not doing much, the two found their inspiration in others. For the album, they're joined by members of Buffalo Daughter and Moog Cookbook. But they got the biggest surprise out of working with alternative troubadour Beck for the tracks "The Vagabond" and "Don't Be Light."

"We liked Beck's vibrations and his outlook on life," said Dunckel. "In the beginning we thought that Beck was more of a producer and maybe just a professor of sound. But we soon learned that he's a real singer and really good. Recording with him was magic." Sift through the gentle rhythms and cinematic soundscapes and you'll find that many of the ideas on 10,000 Hz. Legend are tongue-in-cheek, and many are pretty heavy, even for French dudes.

"We questioned the real reasons of living," said Dunckel. "The last song on the album is about death, and being near death when you die."

But until they're forced to deal with the great beyond, Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoit Dunckel are busy blowing away crowds with their stunning live shows and proving that it's okay to be different, even if you were out there to begin with. Besides, the guys knew they were on to something special this time around way before those Napster freaks did.

"When we first played the new album for the record company it was clear that they had no idea what to think of it," said Dunckel. "But you could tell there was something good because of the expressions on their faces. They looked confused, scared and happy all at the same time."

Source: Meanstreet