Released in 1999, the film of the Virgin Suicides was directed by Sophia Coppolla and marked her debut feature. It starred James Woods and Kathleen Turner along with Kirsten Dunst and Josh Hartnett, and was an adaptation of the 1993 novel of the same name by Jeffrey Euginedes. Set in Grosse Point Michigan, although sharing little with the colocated John Cusack film from two years earlier. It is the story of five sisters and the emotional and psychological impact their lives, and ultimately tragic deaths, have on a group of boys who lived nearby.

The film received some acclaim and notices at the time, as did the novel, and it continues to hold up in terms of production and storytelling. Still being discovered today via the streaming world. However, what also marked it out, was its soundtrack, being the second full album of music released by Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel as Air. Their first proper album, ‘Moon Safari’, had come out at the beginning of 1998.

Some pretty groundbreaking early singles (Modular Mix for one) and their appearance on Super Discount with the still euphoric ‘Soldissimo’ had placed them at the centre of what was being called a movement. At the time, they’d been included in the perhaps lazy grouping of all things vaguely danceable and Gallic as ‘French Touch’. Martin James’s excellent and thorough book, ‘French Connections’ brings the story together, but as a ‘genre’ it included acts as diverse as the obvious big hitters like Daft Punk and Bob Sinclar to the more deeper, cerebral Motorbass and St Germain. At the same time, ‘Moon Safari’ had also rode, or maybe more accurately was crucial in creating the wave of another since maligned genre from the time, chill out.

Again, including them in this group is a bit of a generalisation, and would hugely understate their musicality and ability to capture atmosphere and emotion through sound. Both members of the group had come from non-traditional musical backgrounds (architecture and mathematics respectively) and this fact feels somehow aligned to the stylistic choices and overall artistry employed in their music. Its precision and measuredness, twinned with such a strong understanding of shape and form. Yet quite simple in many ways, melodies and instrumentation that never feels overwrought or engineered.

For historical context, ‘Moon Safari’ was released in the same year as The Prodigy put out ‘Fat of the Land’, Chemical Brothers’ ‘Dig Your Own Hole’, Erykah Badu’s ‘Baduizm’, ‘New Forms’ by Roni Size and Portishead’s eponymous debut. But then there was also ‘OK Computer’ and 'Be Here Now’ in that same year. Hindsight maybe, looking back it feels like the tide of mainstream musical taste was beginning to turn away from the straight ahead guitar music that had dominated the mid 90’s. Dance music and its many offshoots had always been there of course. But it was around this time that the rise of the super clubs gathered pace too. Cream and the like laying the foundations of the corporate experience many consider to be what clubbing is today. For better or worse, depending on where you let the algorithm take you.

Of course as well as the going out, there was the afters, and with that the concept of the chill out. It was also a time when many clubs had a second room to play that music. Even the Orbit, den of techno iniquity it was, had a space for the more expansive music being played by DJs like Mixmaster Morris. Air’s debut album broke out, and in a lot of ways became an indicator of a lifestyle choice and statement of taste, for better or worse.

It’s hard to imagine that success didn’t mean there was pressure to simply do a Safari II and keep the ball rolling. And yet, what did they do? Well, not that. Air went away made the ‘Virgin Suicides’, and created a perfectly audio accompaniment to the movie, that at the same time could stand alone as album in its own right. Compare that with the follow up to ‘Homework’ (Discovery) it’s now easy to see the somewhat bold move it was.

Twenty five years of time and space has now passed between that original release and this new analogue redux. It’s been given over to the original sound engineer, Stephane ‘Alf’ Briat to return to the original tapes and re-energise those tracks in a new way. The new mixes, especially on headphones, really add something new to the feel of the originals, warmer, fuller in sound and enhancing the expansive soundscapes of the originals when listened to side by side. The expanded version includes demos and remixes that all give an insight into the process of taking what are often pretty raw ideas to the more polished end states that make up the final album.

What marks out the Virgin Suicides is a happiness to take risks and also a commitment to the artistry and honesty of making a film soundtrack just that. It’s not a playlist of tracks that kind of match the mood or provide a promo clip for the trailer. And yet, it’s not necessary to watch the film and enjoy the music. It very much stands alone in its own right, taking the listener through the highs and lows of the movie, without the need for the visual accompaniment.

Those 25 years since its first release feel like a long time. Much has happened in the interim, although doesn’t every generation feel like their time was the most eventful? But this is Air’s unique talent, an ability to make music that draws on tradition, but still feels very contemporary at the same time. The years have passed, but this record still has a timeless quality. Tracks like ‘Suicide Underground’ are perfectly atmospheric and enveloping, while ‘Playground Love’ is just a great Air single. Lyrically simple with a great hook. ‘Clouds Up’ snaps with a drum pattern that shows their funky side, especially in the super raw demo version. ‘Dark Messages’ warped horror ambiance shimmers thoroughly as does the haunting ‘The Word Hurricane’, one of the two spoken word tracks on the album (along with ‘Suicide Underground’). It descends into a vortex of sound in a still thrilling way, always keeping the darkness close. The Virgin Suicides is a timepiece and yet, a new discovery. That 25 years has been very kind.

Virgin Suicides Redux is out now.