Air & Vegyn

Blue Moon Safari

2025 (Warner France)
downtempo

(This article’s English version was produced with AI-assisted translation)

Revisiting a classic is a complex and ambitious task. On one hand, it’s a glorious homage to those who shaped us; on the other, it requires a philological approach, or the risk of distorting the original is just around the corner—along with the possibility of unleashing a wave of purists ready to throw their hands in the air. Now on his third album, Joseph Winger Thornalley—son of Phil Thornalley, bassist for The Cure in 1983–1984—can boast production credits for Frank Ocean, alongside collaborations with high-profile names like Dean Blunt and Travis Scott.

Arrangement is Vegyn’s secret weapon, and here he chooses to showcase it in full light. At times he dares and stumbles; other times he achieves respectable results, and occasionally even manages to soar—like on the opener “New Star In The Sky”, turned into a gentle trip-hop ballad. The classic is reinterpreted, but not betrayed; preserved, yet renewed. In other moments, however, one is left scratching their head. “Sexy Boy” features a poorly balanced timbral dissonance—maybe the guitar clashes with the Rhodes chords, or perhaps the iconic vocal sample deserved a different placement.

It’s almost inevitable to say that our judgment is conditioned by what we’ve already experienced. Moon Safari is a cornerstone of its era, and a rework inevitably stands on more fragile ground. That’s exactly what comes through in “All I Need”: it’s not unpleasant, but the addition of a neo-psychedelic element within a downtempo frame feels slightly off compared to the original. One gets the sense that the refinement achieved by Air was a delicate balance—and it takes very little to disrupt the magic.

Some tracks now feel far removed from the original (“Kelly Watch The Stars”: where did the vocoder go?), while others manage to convince. “Ce Matin-Là” becomes an ambient shoreline where gentle waves break at sunset, and “Remember” drifts into a dreamy trancey detour. Yet the less successful tricks return quickly, as with “Talisman”, which shifts from the elegant cinematic indietronica of the 1998 release to something closer to elevator-friendly dance-pop. And one wonders: why all this?

No answer is given. Vegyn’s deep respect for the French duo is evident. But the risk is that, aside from a few exceptions, this album doesn’t quite spark a true desire to come back to it. If anything, it makes you want to revisit the original.

27/06/2025

Tracklist

  1. New Star In The Sky (Vegyn Remix)
  2. Sexy Boy (Vegyn Remix)
  3. All I Need (Vegyn Remix)
  4. Kelly Watch The Stars (Vegyn Remix)
  5. Ce Matin Là (Vegyn Remix)
  6. La Femme D'Argent (Vegyn Remix)
  7. Remember (Vegyn Remix)
  8. You Make It Easy (Vegyn Remix)
  9. Talisman (Vegyn Remix)
  10. Le Voyage De Penelope (Vegyn Remix)

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