Nicolas Godin

Nicolas Godin (b. 1969, Bordeaux, France) is a French musician, composer, and architect who is best known as co-founder, with Jean-Benoît Dunckel, of the electronic duo Air. Godin studied architecture at the Paris School of Architecture (ENSA Paris-La Villette) before turning to music. Air formed in Versailles in 1995 and rapidly became one of the defining acts of the French electronic music scene of the late 1990s.

Their debut album, Moon Safari (Source/Virgin, 1998), with its combination of warm synthesizer textures, vocal harmonies, and cinematic atmosphere, reached international audiences and remains one of the most widely heard records of the period. Their score for Sofia Coppola's film The Virgin Suicides (2000) further extended their reach into cinema and contemporary culture. Subsequent albums — 10 000 Hz Legend (2001), Talkie Walkie (2004), Pocket Symphony (2007), Love 2 (2009) — sustained a practice that drew on psychedelia, bossa nova, progressive rock, and electronic production. Air performed at major venues and festivals internationally and their work has been widely used in film, advertising, and television.

Godin has also pursued solo work: his debut solo album, Contrepoint (Because Music, 2015), adapted twelve Bach preludes and Baroque compositions for synthesizers and electronics, demonstrating the architectural precision underlying his approach to sound. He has maintained a parallel engagement with the built environment and design.