Nicolas Godin
{{short description|French musician (born 1969)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Nicolas Godin
| image = File:Nicolas Godin Deauville 2011.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Godin at Deauville American Film Festival 2011
| background = solo_singer
| birth_name =
| alias =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1969|12|25|df=y}}
| birth_place = Le Chesnay, Île-de-France, France
| instrument = Keyboards, bass guitar, guitar, vocals, vocoder, harmonica, shamisen, koto, drums, banjo
| genre = Electronic, downtempo, {{nowrap|space rock}}
| occupation = Musician, songwriter
| years_active = 1995–present
| label = Virgin, Because Music
| associated_acts = Air, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Pierre Rousseau, Beck, Jarvis Cocker, Orange
| website = {{URL|http://www.aircheology.com/}}
}}
Nicolas Godin (born 25 December 1969) is a French musician best known for being one half of the music duo Air.{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Dave |title=Alternative Rock |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZHP-r9-eqdAC&pg=PA149|year=2000|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |isbn=9780879306076 |page=149}}
Early life
Godin was born in Paris, Île-de-France, France, and studied architecture at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Versailles, along with soon to be musical partner, Jean-Benoît Dunckel, a mathematics student.
Before founding Air, Godin played in the band Orange,{{cite web|url=http://www.nndb.com/people/411/000041288/ |title=Nicolas Godin |publisher=Nndb.com |accessdate=31 March 2012}} with others such as Jean-Benoît Dunckel, Alex Gopher, Xavier Jamaux, and Jean de Reydellet. He and Jean-Benoît have been working together since they were teenagers in the 1980s.{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/7711-air/ |title=Interviews: Air |first=Matthew |last=Perpetua |work=Pitchfork |date=12 October 2009 |accessdate=31 March 2012}}
Early career
Contrary to popular belief, the name of the band Air does not stand for "Amour, Imagination, Rêve" (love, imagination, dream), but rather for description of their music which the duo describes as "airy" (in French aérien).Laura Fournier, « Interview du groupe » [archive], sur electrolibre.nicematin.com, 26 novembre 2010 In the beginning, it was a one‑person project. Godin, then an architecture student and amateur musician, was asked by a childhood friend to write a song for a compilation to be released by Source, a small French independent label. "Modulor Mix", a tribute to Le Corbusier, was recorded on Godin's Portastudio, and appeared on the Source Lab album in 1995. With several remixes, it was re‑released on British label Mo' Wax in 1996.{{cite web |url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep11/articles/air.htm#Top |title=Nicolas Godin & Jean-Benoît Dunckel (AIR): Building Atlas Studio |work=Sound on Sound |date=September 2011 |accessdate=31 March 2012}}
Air
Following this small success, Godin asked his friend Jean-Benoît Dunckel, a classically trained pianist, to join him in Air. Together, they produced further 'maxi‑singles' for Source, with titles like "J'ai Dormi Sous L'eau", "Les Professionnels", "Casanova 70" and "Le Soleil Est Près De Moi". Finally, in 1997, Source asked Air to record a whole album. The duo spent several months in a recording studio near Paris called Studio de Saint‑Nom, and asked a friend—freelance engineer and former Plus XXX assistant Stéphane 'Alf' Briat—to work as a sound engineer on that project.
Their full-length debut studio album Moon Safari, released in 1998, was propelled to chart success by the singles "Sexy Boy", "Kelly Watch the Stars" and "All I Need". Its mixture of synths, strings and guitar made it a unique release in the electronic music genre at the time. Moon Safari went platinum in the United Kingdom{{cite web|url=http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/Search.aspx |title=Certified Awards Search |publisher=British Phonographic Industry |date=25 February 2000 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313211501/http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx |archivedate=13 March 2012 }} and gold in France.{{cite web |url=http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/pag-259165-CERTIFICATIONS.html?year=2001&type=8 |title=Certifications |publisher=Disque en France |accessdate=31 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914215627/http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/pag-259165-CERTIFICATIONS.html?year=2001&type=8 |archivedate=14 September 2011}}
Solo projects
On 18 September 2015, Godin released his first solo album Contrepoint (Because Music), inspired by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.{{cite web |url= http://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/nicolas-godin-contrepoint |title=Nicolas Godin – Contrepoint |first=Ben |last=Hogwood |work=musicOMH |date=20 September 2015 |accessdate=22 September 2015}} Godin composed the soundtrack for French series A Very Secret Service (2015–2018). Godin released his second studio album Concrete and Glass on 24 January 2020 via Because Music.{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/airs-nicolas-godin-announces-album-shares-video-for-new-song-watch/|title=Air's Nicolas Godin Announces Album, Shares Video for New Song: Watch|website=Pitchfork|last1=Bloom|first1=Madison|last2=Strauss|first2=Matthew|date=27 November 2019|accessdate=28 November 2019}}
Discography
{{see also|Air (French band) discography}}
=Albums=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year ! scope="col" colspan="3"| Peak positions |
| scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| FRA {{cite web|url=https://lescharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Nicolas+Godin|title=Discographie Nicolas Godin|website=lescharts.com|accessdate=28 November 2019}} ! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| BEL ! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| BEL |
|---|
| scope="row"| Contrepoint
| 2015 | 75 || 95 || 43 |
| scope="row"| Concrete and Glass
| 2020 |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20130910043410/http://rocknrolldating.com/interview/nicolas-godin 2010 Nicolas Godin interview] on RocknRollDating
- {{IMDb name|id=0324073}}
{{Air (French band)}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Godin, Nicolas}}
Category:French electronic musicians
Category:French male composers
Category:French male guitarists
Category:French pop guitarists
Category:Virgin Records artists
Category:Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Category:People from Le Chesnay