Air France (band)

Air France were a Swedish indie pop band formed in Gothenburg by Joel Karlsson and Henrik Markstedt. They were signed to the record label Sincerely Yours, founded by fellow Gothenburgers The Tough Alliance. Air France's music has been described as "post-rave bliss",[1] "beach foam pop",[2] and "Balearic disco",[3] although Karlsson said that the Balearic movement "is something I can't relate to at all".[4]

Air France
OriginGothenburg, Sweden
Genres
Years active2005–2012
Labels
Past membersJoel Karlsson
Henrik Markstedt
Elisabet Sjögren

History

Formation

Air France were formed in Gothenburg in 2005 by two longtime friends, Joel Karlsson and Henrik Markstedt.[4][5][6][7] The duo were strongly influenced by dance music and acts such as Saint Etienne.[4][7] The band's first track, "Behind Cabin Curtains", was lost after a hard drive crash.[7] They were joined by Elisabet Sjögren in 2006[8] after the duo decided that they needed a female vocalist.[9] The band initially stated that they would not play any live shows,[8] although they later changed their stance.[6]

On Trade Winds

Air France were eventually noticed by Sincerely Yours founder Eric Berglund, resulting in the band signing to the label. In December 2006, they released their first EP On Trade Winds, which received moderate attention.[7]

"Afraid You Told Someone About Us", a cover of a song by Au Revoir Simone, was released in April 2007, followed later that year by the single "Hold On to Me, Baby".[10]

No Way Down

The band released their second EP No Way Down in June 2008 to favourable reviews from critics.[11] Pitchfork gave the EP a rating of 8.6, listing it in their Best New Music column[3] and eventually placing it at number 14 on their list of the 50 best albums of 2008.[12] No Way Down initially only received a Swedish release,[3] but it was later released in the United Kingdom at the end of the year by the label Something in Construction, alongside On Trade Winds.[12]

Final recordings and split

Air France released the single "GBG Belongs to Us" in 2009.[10] The single was accompanied by a dedicated website, which was eventually taken down when the band forgot to pay the domain hosting fee.[7] Later that year, it was announced that the band had signed a publishing deal with XL Recordings, aiming to release their debut album in 2010.[13] The album never materialised as the band were not satisfied with their output.[7][14] In August 2011, a new track from the band, "It Feels Good to Be Around You", was released.[15]

In March 2012, Air France released a statement announcing that they had decided to break up.[14] In the statement, they cited their difficulties in producing new music that they felt was "good enough" and wrote that they had "decided to stop trying, even though it breaks our hearts".[14]

On the second anniversary of Air France's split, the New Zealand indie pop band Yumi Zouma released a cover of Air France's final single "It Feels Good to Be Around You" featuring guest vocals from Karlsson and Markstedt.[16]

Discography
EPs
Singles
  • "Afraid You Told Someone About Us" (2007)[10]
  • "Hold On to Me, Baby" (2007)[10]
  • "GBG Belongs to Us" (2009)[10]
  • "It Feels Good to Be Around You" (2011)[15]
Remixes

References
  1. "'No Way Down' for Air France". Fact. 26 June 2008. Archived from the original on 3 August 2008. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  2. Garrett (26 June 2008). "Air France "No Way Down EP" (Sincerely Yours)". CrownDozen. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2008.
  3. Hogan, Marc (26 June 2008). "Air France: No Way Down EP". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  4. Hogan, Marc (18 February 2009). "Air France". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  5. "Ideal Music for the Summer, Air France". Tape Recorder. 8 June 2008. Archived from the original on 10 June 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2008.
  6. Lester, Paul (28 January 2009). "No 473: Air France". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  7. Thane, Rich (26 March 2013). "The Sweetness Of Air France". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  8. "Air France". Nöjesguiden (in Swedish). 29 November 2006. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  9. Jönsson, Carina (10 May 2007). "De har släppt en skiva – men vill inte spela live". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  10. Urella, Matteo (9 January 2019). "It Feels Good To Be Around You: A Conversation With Air France". Medium. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  11. "Reviews for No Way Down [EP] by Air France". Metacritic. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  12. "The 50 Best Albums of 2008". Pitchfork. 18 December 2008. p. 4. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  13. "Air France sign publishing deal with XL, ready debut album". Fact. 9 September 2009. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  14. Markstedt, Henrik; Karlsson, Joel (26 March 2012). "We'll make this brief, because it hurts too much..." Tumblr. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  15. Breihan, Tom (5 August 2011). "New Air France: "It Feels Good to Be Around You"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  16. Beauchemin, Molly (26 March 2014). "Listen to Yumi Zouma's Cover of Air France's "It Feels Good To Be Around You", Featuring Voices of The Members of Air France". Pitchfork. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
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