Sounds of Travel 13: Ce Matin La

Here at Gadling we’ll be highlighting some of our favorite sounds from the road and giving you a sample of each — maybe you’ll find the same inspiration that we did, but at the very least, hopefully you’ll think that they’re good songs. Got a favorite of your own? Leave it in the comments and we’ll post it at the end of the series.

For me, traveling music has to provide a good background. It has to to flow with your up and down emotions, fit a variety of situations, but be distinct enough that it brings back memories when you return home. For that reason, in my last post I wrote about St. Germain, which is one of my favorite artists to listen to while traveling. Along those same lines comes Air, another electronica-inspired group that hails from France.

As I wrote about St. Germain, music like this immediately takes me back to living in France; I can envision the first time and place that I listened to either of these two groups. But Air is a little more than that, the duo’s second album Moon Safari has become my traveling soundtrack — no matter what the destination — and my song of choice is Ce Matin La.


Some people tend to veer away from songs without lyrics, but for me, that makes them better travel songs; Ce Matin La is smooth and cheerful, and without lyrics, it gives a good background but doesn’t distract you from your surroundings. I’ve listened to it while waiting for the train in Vietnam, I’ve listened to it while crossing Sweden by bus, and I’ve listened to it on road trips all along the West Coast. Somehow Ce Matin La manages to seamlessly blend into all of those situations, making me reminiscent more of the feelings that go along with travel rather than a specific place. Unlike other songs that remind me of a particular experience, Ce Matin La is therefore simply my travel song. It embodies being on the road and passing through new places and the emotions that go along with that.

Another reason that Ce Matin La invokes traveling for me is the name. First, it’s in French, and anything in my third language speaks to me on a slightly more exotic level. Second, translated it means “that morning.” Who knows what morning Air is referencing, but when you listen to the song you can easily feel yourself sitting and drinking a cup of coffee in some other country with the whole day ahead of you, ready to be discovered. With light tones and a smile-invoking melody you are immediately transported into travel mode, which is exactly what one needs in these gray winter months!

You can check out previous Sounds of Travel posts here.