Pocket Symphony is the fourth full-length studio album by French electronic music duo Air. Released in 2007, this album paves a new direction for the band. It incorporates eastern music influences and more acoustic soundscapes, rather than relying predominantly on synthesizers and electronic production. A combination of electronic, rock, and classical musical elements can be heard in the album. While the piano takes on a prominent role, other instruments, such as the shamisen and koto, also feature prominently.
"Pocket Symphony" was recorded over the course of a year in Air's recording studio, "Atlas Studio", with co-producer Nigel Godrich, who had worked previously with Radiohead and Beck. The album was released to lukewarm reviews and contains 12 tracks, including the popular numbers "Once Upon a Time", "Mer du Japon", and "Napalm Love". Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy and Jarvis Cocker of Pulp, the English rock band, perform guest vocals on the songs "Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping" and "One Hell of a Party", respectively. The album art was produced by Xavier Veilhan, a well-known French artist.
Though the album did not fare as well as their previous work, the band believes that Pocket Symphony is a showcase of maturity and musical advancement while retaining their distinctive sound. Its dreamy, ambient melodies and depth of instrumentation are a testament to Air’s growth and evolution as pioneers in the electronic music scene.
