Pocket Symphony

For the type of composition, see Pocket symphony.

Pocket Symphony
Studio album by
Air
Released5 March 2007 (2007-03-05)
Studio
  • Revolvair (Paris)
  • Gang (Paris)
Length47:47
LabelVirgin
Producer
Air chronology
Talkie Walkie
(2004) 		Pocket Symphony
(2007) 		Love 2
(2009)
Singles from Pocket Symphony
  1. "Once Upon a Time"
    Released: 29 January 2007
  2. "Mer du Japon"
    Released: 11 June 2007
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic63/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
The A.V. ClubA−[3]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[4]
The Guardian[5]
The Irish Times[6]
Mojo[7]
NME2/10[8]
Pitchfork6.6/10[9]
Spin[10]
Uncut[11]

Pocket Symphony is the fourth studio album by French electronic music duo Air, released on 5 March 2007 by Virgin Records. It features collaborations with Jarvis Cocker and Neil Hannon.[12] Pocket Symphony incorporates some of the Japanese instruments Godin had recently learned to play from an Okinawan master musician: the koto (also referred to as a Japanese floor harp) and the three-string, banjo-like shamisen. However, a press release claims that "conventional instruments continue to play a great role" in the duo's music.[13] The album features art by Xavier Veilhan.

Pocket Symphony debuted at number 40 on the US Billboard 200, with 17,000 copies sold in its first week.[14] As of February 2012, it had sold 77,000 copies in the United States.[15]

The term "pocket symphony" was popularised by English journalist Derek Taylor, who used it to describe the Beach Boys' 1966 single "Good Vibrations".

  1. ^ "Reviews for Pocket Symphony by Air". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  2. ^ Phares, Heather. "Pocket Symphony – Air". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  3. ^ Matos, Michaelangelo (6 March 2007). "Air: Pocket Symphony". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  4. ^ Howe, Sean (2 March 2007). "Pocket Symphony". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  5. ^ Simpson, Dave (9 March 2007). "Air, Pocket Symphony". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  6. ^ Courtney, Kevin (2 March 2007). "Air: Pocket Symphony (Astralwerks)". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Air: Pocket Symphony". Mojo. No. 161. April 2007. p. 108. ISSN 1351-0193.
  8. ^ Elan, Priya (2 March 2007). "Air: Pocket Symphony". NME. Archived from the original on 18 January 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2015.
  9. ^ Richardson, Mark (7 March 2007). "Air: Pocket Symphony". Pitchfork. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  10. ^ Walters, Barry (March 2007). "Air: Pocket Symphony". Spin. Vol. 23, no. 3. p. 86. ISSN 0886-3032. Retrieved 13 June 2018 – via Google Books.
  11. ^ "Air: Pocket Symphony". Uncut. No. 119. April 2007. p. 92. ISSN 1368-0722.
  12. ^ "Air and Jarvis team up". NME. 17 November 2006. Retrieved 19 November 2006.
  13. ^ "Pocket Symphony press release" (Press release). Archived from the original (doc) on 24 January 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2007.
  14. ^ Hasty, Katie (14 March 2007). "Notorious B.I.G. Scores Another 'Great' On The Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  15. ^ Mapes, Jillian (4 February 2012). "Air Over 'The Moon' About Film Score Turned Full Album". Billboard. Retrieved 6 September 2017.