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Pocket Symphony
Studio album by Air
Released	5 March 2007 (2007-03-05)
Studio	Revolvair (Paris) Gang (Paris)
Length	47:47
Label	Virgin
Producer	Nigel Godrich Air
Air chronology
Talkie Walkie (2004) Pocket Symphony (2007) Love 2 (2009)
Singles from Pocket Symphony
"Once Upon a Time" Released: 29 January 2007 "Mer du Japon" Released: 11 June 2007

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	63/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The A.V. Club	A−
Entertainment Weekly	C+
The Guardian
The Irish Times
Mojo
NME	2/10
Pitchfork	6.6/10
Spin
Uncut

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. 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. 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. As of February 2012, it had sold 77,000 copies in the United States.

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

Track listing

All tracks are written by JB Dunckel and Nicolas Godin, except "One Hell of a Party", lyrics by Jarvis Cocker, and "Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping", lyrics by Neil Hannon and Cocker

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Pocket Symphony.

Air

• Nicolas Godin – bass (tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 7–9, 11); solina (track 1); guitars (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6–11); synth bass (track 2); drum machine (tracks 2, 4, 5, 9); shamisen (tracks 2, 3); piano (track 3); koto (tracks 3, 8–11); synthesizers (track 5); vocals (track 6); glockenspiel (tracks 7, 11); tambourine (tracks 7, 8); drums (track 8); Memorymoog (tracks 9, 11); wind chimes (track 11)
• JB Dunckel – piano (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7–11); synthesizers (tracks 1–9, 11, 12); vibraphone (tracks 1, 10); vocals (tracks 2, 4, 6–8, 11); glockenspiel (track 2); samples (track 3); ARP percussions, xylophone (track 5); voice pad (tracks 5, 11); drum machine (tracks 6); Rhodes (tracks 7, 11, 12); synth bass (track 10)

Additional musicians

• Joey Waronker – drums, percussion (tracks 1, 3, 7)
• Magic Malik – flute (tracks 2, 7)
• Tony Allen – drums (track 2)
• Jarvis Cocker – vocals (track 3)
• Neil Hannon – vocals (track 10)
• Joby Talbot – string arrangements, string conducting (tracks 1, 12)
• David Richard Campbell – string arrangements (track 10)

Technical

• Nigel Godrich – production, engineering
• Air – production
• Darrell Thorp – engineering
• Florian Lagatta – engineering
• Simon Hayes – engineering assistance
• Andrew Rugg – engineering assistance
• Bob Ludwig – mastering at Gateway Mastering (Portland, Maine)

Artwork

• Xavier Veilhan – artwork
• Lili Fleury – artwork
• Laurent Pinon – artwork

Charts

References

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.
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• 2007 albums
• Air (French band) albums
• Albums produced by Nigel Godrich
• Astralwerks albums
• Virgin Records albums