Air @ Fringe by the Sea, North Berwick, 2 Aug

New is out, old is in. Twenty-seven years after it was released, iconic French electro band Air have been touring their debut album Moon Safari in full, stopping off at North Berwick – surely the smallest town on their roster – to play Fringe by the Sea’s Big Top. Alongside drummer Louis Delorme, the band emerge onto, or rather into, their stage: a custom built perspex glass box that encases them high above the audience. It’s a clever indicator of the tour’s emphasis on the meeting of retro and modern: the band’s all white outfits, sleek staging and overall space travel vibes sitting alongside the dreamy 90s electro synths that made a name for them all those years ago.

The set kicks off with La femme d’argent, the first song on Moon Safari that establishes the ethereal, languid energy of the concept album: this is interstellar travel as gentle, vibey exploration motivated by nothing darker than the light side of the moon. Doused in a soft pink light, the band shift to the moody yet inviting Sexy Boy, before launching into hit after hit: All I Need, Kelly Watch the Stars and Talisman follow in quick succession. 

Noted for the cinematic potential of their music – it has appeared in everything from The Virgin Suicides to 10 Things I Hate About You – Air lean into the visual component of their songs, with dazzling lights and projections spinning as they play on, unphased. During one song, a monkey wearing an I <3 Moon T-shirt careens through space, in another bright flash of strobe lights.

When Moon Safari is all played out, the band turn briefly to some of their other beloved songs: the aforementioned Sofia Coppola-approved Highschool Lover adds a touch of bittersweet melancholy, while the extremely tender Alone in Kyoto begins the encore, leaving the show on a heartfelt, yearning note. Air may have catalysed a whole new generation of synth-pop musicians, but as this show proves, there is still no one doing it quite like them.

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Fringe by the Sea runs until 10 Aug

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