If you were to die tomorrow, how would you spend your final day on Earth?
Jumping into heaven this month with his eyes wide open is ivory twinkler Jean-Benoit Dunckel of French electronic maestros, Air.
Where would you wake up?
I would like to wake up in Sydney, Australia, in the middle of their winter, which would be our summer, and I would go surfing.
Who do you wake up next to?
I would wake up next to a special girl that I know but I can’t tell you her name. I think on your last day you either have to choose between what you know and love in your life and the unknown: things that you haven’t done before or that you’ve never tried.
What would there be left to achieve on your last day?
I would definitely have to play a bit of piano to relive the best moments in my life. I would improvise because that is what music is all about, freedom. And I would like to have a real taste of this musical freedom.
Who do you have at your final dinner?
I would invite my best friends if they’re around. I would also invite some of my neighbours, people on my street who I think are great. Maybe I would also call up some really funny people to come round and people that I have always been too scared to call back because I’m too shy. And some people that I’ve met and got on well with but just didn’t dare call back, again because I’m too shy. If I was going to invite real stars then it would be David Bowie.
What are you going to eat?
I would choose the unknown and good that I rarely eat, so things like caviar. I would also try food that I have never dared to eat in the past, like incredibly spicy stuff.
What would you do that evening?
I would make love all night. I don’t think I’d like to drink any alcohol or take any drugs because it cuts you off from reality and I would like to be really present and conscious during my last day on Earth.
What would be your greatest regret?
To not be able to play music anymore and to completely lose my body and all sensation. Also, to not be able to see my children grow up. But I live my life now almost accepting that it could end at any moment, so I think I’ve already reached the stage when I’ve surpassed myself and I’ve done everything I would have ever wanted to do. I am happy with how I’ve lived my life so far. I live every day like it’s my last but I also try and preserve my body as much as I can.
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What would be the last album that you’d listen to?
I would listen to ‘Transformer’ by Lou Reed.
How are you going to die?
I would like to be really conscious and aware of death coming to get me. I wouldn’t want to be surprised by it all but instead I would readily accept it. So, I would like to jump straight to my death. And I wouldn’t want to die surrounded by my friends or with my friends as I wouldn’t want them to have to see me like that. I would be happy dying alone.
What would your final words be?
‘Rosebud’, the final word in the film Citizen Kane.
What song would you like played at your funeral?
I know it’s probably very egocentric but I would like one of my own songs played at my funeral. Either an Air song or something from my solo project, probably ‘Be My Friend’ because of the message it will give out to the audience about me, a warm message asking everyone to be my friend.
What would you have written on your gravestone?
‘Why me?’
Which dead star would welcome you at the pearly gates, and why?
My piano teacher Michelle who died four years ago. She was very important to me because she was like my second mother.
If you were resurrected the day after, who or what would you come back as?
I would want to come back as a dolphin because they seem very nice creatures and they are also really clever as they communicate in the water through sound. This also means that they are musical. Oh, and they can beat sharks.
Describe your vision of Heaven.
I think it’s hard to imagine Heaven exactly as it is a completely different dimension to what we know now obviously. But Heaven would be like a more complete version of the world and a place where all the senses are more defined and more precise. We become cleverer and more complex people as angels. We have a greater understanding of how the world works and we will be able to help more people because of this.
Air’s latest album is ‘Love 2’. Read ClashMusic’s review of it HERE.
