Air is a French rock band. It was formed by Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoоt Dunckel in 1995.

The two didn't meet until they began studying at the same college. Dunckel, who had studied at the Conservatoire in Paris, played in an alternative band named Orange. One of Dunckel's band mates, Alex Gopher, introduced Godin into the lineup. While Gopher himself departed (later to record for the Solid label), Dunckel and Godin continued on, becoming Air by 1995.

During 1996-1997, the duo released singles on Britain's Mo' Wax ("Modular") and the domestic Source label ("Casanova 70," "Le Soleil Est Prйs de Moi"). Though Air often evinced the same '60s Continental charm as Dimitri from Paris -- due no doubt to the influence of Serge Gainsbourg -- the duo had little in common musically with other acts (Daft Punk) in the wave of French electronica lapping at the shores of Britain and America during 1997. That same year, Air remixed Depeche Mode and Neneh Cherry and joined French musique concrиte popster Jean-Jacques Perrey for a track on the Source compilation Sourcelab, Vol. 3.

Their sound, a variant of the classic disco sound coaxed into a relaxing Prozac vision of the late '70s, looked back to a variety of phenomena from the period -- synthesizer maestros Tomita, Jean-Michel Jarre, and Vangelis, new wave music of the no spiky variety, and obscure Italian film soundtracks.

Air released their debut album “Moon Safari” in early 1998. The singles "Sexy Boy" and "Kelly Watch the Stars" became moderate hits in Britain and earned airplay on MTV. Later that year, Godin and Dunckel mounted an ambitious tour throughout Europe and America, though they had originally decided to forego live appearances.

Their early singles were collected in 1999 under the title Premiers Symptomes; the duo's soundtrack to the Sofia Coppola film The Virgin Suicides followed in early 2000. Air's second studio effort “10,000 Hz Legend” appeared in spring 2001 with a subsequent tour of the U.S., but critics and fans alike didn't appreciate the darker, more experimental direction. They bridged the gap between the pop of Moon Safari and the experimentalism of “10,000 Hz Legend” with their 2004 release “Talkie Walkie”. Along with touring in support of that album, the pair remained busy making music in 2005 and 2006: they collaborated, along with Pulp's Jarvis Cocker and the Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon.