There's nothing easy about the laid-back cool of Air's music. On record and for film soundtracks, the French electronic duo turns distressed dreams into symphonies plucked from cotton candy clouds — sonically light, but heavy with emotion. Yet to see Air's members perform live, everything seems so effortless.

Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel have been looking back on Air's catalog recently, extending the anniversary tour of their debut album. Surrounded by synths and keys bearing Air's block-letter logo, the band opens this Tiny Desk with "Le Voyage de Pénélope," the piano-driven, interstellar fantasia from 1998's Moon Safari. Talkie Walkie's "Cherry Blossom Girl," a sweet love song with slightly sinister undertones, gets stripped back to acoustic guitar, a sparse Rhodes melody and close harmonies.

Officially released 25 years ago, Air's score for The Virgin Suicides, Sofia Coppola's first film, still captures a specific, yet universal nostaglia. In her essay for NPR Music, writer Paula Mejía says the soundtrack has "become a reference point for film composers aiming to create more than just an atmosphere for characters to inhabit." Watching Air perform "Highschool Lover" and "Dirty Trip" behind the Desk, a collective memory occurs — not from the movie itself, but our own teenage selves re-living crushes, awkward encounters and impossible-to-describe feelings.

SET LIST

• "Le Voyage de Pénélope" 

• "Cherry Blossom Girl" 

• "Highschool Lover" 

• "Dirty Trip" 

MUSICIANS

• Nicolas Godin: piano, guitar, bass, vocals

• Jean-Benoît Dunckel: keys, piano, vocals

• Louis Delorme: drums, keys, vocals

TINY DESK TEAM

• Producer: Robin Hilton

• Director/Editor: Maia Stern

• Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell

• Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter

• Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Sofia Seidel

• Audio Engineer: Hannah Gluvna

• Production Assistant: Dora Levite

• Photographer: Maansi Srivastava

• Tiny Desk Team: Kara Frame, Ashley Pointer

• Series Editor: Lars Gotrich

• Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

• Executive Director: Sonali Mehta

• Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton

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