Air

Air's spaceship lands among the Roman ruins of Ostia Antica. And that alone tells you this will be a special night, built entirely on temporal contrasts: the French duo's electronics draped in their usual retro charm, futuristic visions suggested by visuals and lights projected onto the sand-colored stone of the Augustan-era amphitheater. A breathtaking backdrop for the celebration of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel, cosmic couriers of the french touch who for 20 years have been touring through space and time, on a journey already immortalized by the anthology "Twentyears". And it's precisely the tracks from that double compilation that will dominate a setlist retracing the hits and hidden gems of the two spacemen who once landed at the court of Versailles.

The long preliminary stroll through the splendid Roman ruins renews one's wonder at why these places aren't swarmed by the hordes of tourists who elsewhere crowd even the most unremarkable locations. Maybe because we're in Italy – that alone should settle the question once and for all. Instead, we're in Berlin, in transit from Australia, with Parcels, the opening band that bursts onto the stage while it's still not quite dark, the red of the sunset mingling with the grey haze veiling the Ostia night. Their electropop, suspended between funk and retromania, warms up the crowd, who clearly relish a fresh, engaging performance highlighted by "Overnight", produced by none other than Daft Punk, the other reigning kings of French Touch, whose punch is distinctly felt in the sound. "This is the most beautiful place we've ever played," says keyboardist Louie Swain. And who's going to argue with that...

It's just past 10pm when Godin and Dunckel, dressed strictly in white, take the stage, flanked by two session musicians on drums and synthesizers respectively. Godin juggles guitar, mandolin, bass and synthesizers, even running his voice through a vocoder for a couple of songs, while Dunckel works the moog and synths (including the legendary Korg MS-20), lending a hand with the backing vocals. The staging is understated, with five three-dimensional mirror panels placed behind the band, reflecting their images.

The start is soft, with the velvety atmospheres of "Venus" spreading out like stardust across the amphitheater's tiers, as the two of them play at intertwining their voices. It will be the first of five tracks drawn from "Talkie Walkie", the 2004 album that this writer wouldn't place on an ideal Air podium, but which the band themselves, it seems, consider far more significant, including half of its tracks (5 out of 10) in the setlist. No doubt, though, about the undying charm of the single "Cherry Blossom Girl", a dream-pop confection that clings to you relentlessly, amid dreamy guitar arpeggios, cognac-soaked keyboards and precious Stereolab-style backing vocals. Air wrap it in purple with the stage's mirrored set design. But also shining, on this Ostia night, are the muffled modulations of "Run" and the whistled little tune of "Alpha Beta Gaga", which pushes through amid cheerful mandolin flourishes and electric neon flashes, while the rarefied calm of "Alone In Kyoto" - immortalized by Sofia Coppola's "Lost In Translation" - will be reserved for one of the encores.

The other reference album - as is inevitable - is "Moon Safari", the 1998 masterpiece, represented by another set of five, from which, however, this writer's own two fixations are excluded: "You Make It Easy" (whatever happened to you, Beth Hirsch?) and "Le Voyage De Penelope". No great loss, though, because "Talisman" and "Remember" exude all their magical seventies essences steeped in alien lounge and vocoder chants, and a thrilling rendition of "Kelly Watch The Stars" ignites the crowd's enthusiasm, evoking the most famous ping-pong match in the history of music video.

Left for the final encores, instead, are the hit of hits "Sexy Boy", which will get everyone jumping to their feet like a scored goal with its crackling pulses, and a "La Femme d'Argent" that will gradually shift its sly cocktail-lounge shape into a dissonant, spectacular psychedelic crescendo.

More surprising, if anything, is discovering that the third pivotal album of the set is the often-overlooked second effort, "10,000 Hz Legend", from which Godin and Dunckel draw a varied quartet of tracks, ranging from the Floyd-like psychedelia of "Don't Be Light" to the ethereal "Radian", from the dreamlike whisper of "How Does It Make You Feel" to the robotic chant of "People In The City".

But scattered tracks from other works also find room in the setlist, like a poignant, entirely instrumental "Playground Love", the sole - alas - representative of the immense "The Virgin Suicides" soundtrack, or like a "J'Ai Dormi Sous L'Eau" dug up straight from the 1997 debut EP "Premiers Symptômes". Left out, on the other hand, are the 2007 Pocket Symphonies (a shame!), the pop trinkets of "Love 2" (2009) and all those later experimentally-minded works that saw Air busying themselves between tributes to Méliès ("Le Voyage Dans La Lune") and museum-use creations ("Music For Museum").

But after an hour and a half of a concert marked by elegance and excellent acoustics, there's every reason to be fully satisfied. Less cold, more engaged than on other occasions (see the Fiesta performance a few years back), almost moved, hand on heart, by the warm welcome from the audience, Air leave the stage, disappearing among the ruins of Ostia Antica. Their spaceship departs again, its destination - as always - unknown. But looking up at the sky now, you can make out the stars. And, like Kelly, all we can do is stare at them.

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