The Berlin duo STEREO TOTAL has created a colourful and fascinating universe. Oscillating between the essential punk rock, disco and electro garage chanson and genious diletantism, the songs dazzle us for an instant (most of them not for longer than two minutes), leaving us stunned by their intensity.
At the beginning of this ever-expanding musical universe (pleasantly enough!): a woman, a man, and an inexhaustible, sparkling imagination. Françoise Cactus, (who was born Van Hove in Burgundy and has chosen Berlin as her home for something like a generation now) a writer, local diva, who has performed, among other things, as drummer and singer of the "Lolitas" in the eighties. Then there is Brezel Göring, an inexplicable mixture of the hyperspeedy "Grand Duduche" and the elegant, unobtrusive crooner, with a soft voice and a lively rhythm. Bent over his synthesizer, happy as a young boy, he reminds one of the hallucinated inventor Géo Trouve-tout.
To sum up STEREO TOTAL's short history, which began with the single "allo j'écoute", let us list the different elements characteristic of their musical art: a minimalistic production (in a positive sense), meaning a home-made-trash-garage-sound crossed with underground, authentic as well as amateurish, ironic as well as effective, pop as well as...political. An untiring creative energy, as if it could never suffice, "Oh, but you haven't heard this one!" and wop! here we go again, hardly leaving time to draw a deep breath. A brilliant sense of composition as well as for covering other's material, whatever the source, combined with an excessive love for French chanson (the main weak spot being an evident admiration for the master Gainsbourg). A mystery of words resulting from the French-German/ male-female bilingualism, words in which accents are merrily blended and become more and more exotic from album to album (Japanese, Turkish, Spanish, English). And finally, an explicit and surprising sensitivity for electronic effects and a thrilling beat. A gift of pop music and its everlasting history.
The unexpected combination of two traditions - French chanson and German electronica (which not only relates to Kraftwerk, but also to the uniquely German sound of "Neue Deutsche Welle", popular in the eighties, and the emergence of electrogroove, a sound which has flourished over the past ten years in numerous clubs in Berlin is again at its best, enchanting its listeners.
Just as the German audience adores Françoise Cactus charming French pronunciation of the German lyrics, her French collection of texts, poetic and playful, solemn and cheeky, anarchistic and light, makes her the most unknown composer and singer of French chansons - and it is high time that she be discovered. Fragile and irresistible, she stands behind her tiny drum kit and hammers the songs to a sequence in a devilish rhythm. In a matter of seconds she passes from a romantic ballad (No! Do not listen! It's a sad song!) to pure and simple rock, animating Brezel Göring (as well as the crowd) to leap. Indefatigable accomplice and perfect entertainer, Brezel Göring is at her side, stepping on the gas, his fingers working the knobs of his machine or the cords of his rectangular guitar.
Musique automatique
Stereo Total Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
la musique mathématique
la musique télépathique
la musique érotique
la musique automatique
de l'automate à musique
si tu presses ce bouton
de ma bouche à mon micro
de mon micro à l'ampli
de l'ampli à la sono
de la sono à ton oreille
la musique automatique
la musique barbiturique
la musique énigmatique
la musique romantique
mon automate, une machine
extrêmement sophistiquée
te joue une petite musique
très compliquée
de ma bouche à mon micro
de mon micro à l'ampli
de l'ampli à la sono
de la sono à ton oreille
de ma bouche à ton oreille
de ton oreille à ton cerveau
de ton cerveau à mon antenne
télépathique (tic tic tic)
la musique automatique
la musique excentrique
la musique euphorique
la musique héroïque
la musique automatique
la musique hystérique
la musique hypnotique
la musique cosmique
la musique automatique
la musique nostalgique
la musique pathétique
la musique chaotique
The lyrics of Stereo Total's "Musique automatique" describe the process of music creation, from the musician's voice to the listener's ear, through various technological devices that amplify and distribute the sound. The song title and refrain refer to the idea of automatic music, generated by a machine rather than a human performer, which represents the intersection between art and technology. The lyrics also play with different adjectives that modify the noun "musique", suggesting a wide range of emotional and aesthetic effects that music can produce.
The first stanza starts with the repetition of "la musique" and adds the adjectives "automatique", "mathématique", "télépathique", and "érotique", which indicate different aspects of music according to the pattern, the communication, the sensuality, and the association with automatons. The second stanza elaborates on the concept of "automate à musique", a mechanical device that plays a "démonstration" of a complex composition. The third stanza connects the voice of the vocalist to the various stages of audio processing, culminating in the listener's perception of the sound. The fourth stanza repeats the initial structure of adjectives, but this time suggests a wider spectrum of moods, from the romantic to the cosmic, from the héroïque to the chaotique. The lyrics thus celebrate the power and diversity of music, while also questioning the role of technology in its creation and reception.
Line by Line Meaning
la musique automatique
Automated music
la musique mathématique
Music with mathematical precision
la musique télépathique
Telepathic music
la musique érotique
Erotic music
la musique automatique
Automated music
de l'automate à musique
From the music box
si tu presses ce bouton
If you press this button
voilà le morceau démonstration
Here's the demonstration piece
de ma bouche à mon micro
From my mouth to my microphone
de mon micro à l'ampli
From my microphone to the amplifier
de l'ampli à la sono
From the amplifier to the singers
de la sono à ton oreille
From the artists to your ear
la musique barbiturique
Music inducing sleep (barbiturate-like)
la musique énigmatique
Enigmatic music
la musique romantique
Romantic music
mon automate, une machine
My automation, a machine
extrêmement sophistiquée
Extremely sophisticated
te joue une petite musique
Plays you a little music
très compliquée
Very complicated
de ma bouche à ton oreille
From my mouth to your ear
de ton oreille à ton cerveau
From your ear to your brain
de ton cerveau à mon antenne
From your brain to my telepathic antenna
télépathique (tic tic tic)
Telepathic (tic tic tic)
la musique excentrique
Eccentric/quirky music
la musique euphorique
Euphoric music
la musique héroïque
Heroic music
la musique hystérique
Hysterical music
la musique hypnotique
Hypnotic music
la musique cosmique
Cosmic music
la musique nostalgique
Nostalgic music
la musique pathétique
Pathetic music
la musique chaotique
Chaotic music
Contributed by Madelyn C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Tatiana García
La musique automatique
La musique mathématique
La musique télépathique
La musique érotique
La musique automatique
De l'automate à musique
Si tu presses ce bouton
Voilà le morceau démonstration
De ma bouche à mon micro
De mon micro à l'ampli
De l'ampli à la sono
De la sono à ton oreille
La musique automatique
La musique barbiturique
La musique énigmatique
La musique romantique
Mon automate, une machine
Extrêmement sophistiquée
Te joue une petite musique
Très compliquée
De ma bouche à mon micro
De mon micro à l'ampli
De l'ampli à la sono
De la sono à ton oreille
De ma bouche à ton oreille
De ton oreille à ton cerveau
De ton cerveau à mon antenne
Télépathique (tic tic tic)
La musique automatique
La musique excentrique
La musique euphorique
La musique héroïque
La musique automatique
La musique hystérique
La musique hypnotique
La musique cosmique
La musique automatique
La musique nostalgique
La musique pathétique
La musique chaotique
Tatiana García
La musique automatique
La musique mathématique
La musique télépathique
La musique érotique
La musique automatique
De l'automate à musique
Si tu presses ce bouton
Voilà le morceau démonstration
De ma bouche à mon micro
De mon micro à l'ampli
De l'ampli à la sono
De la sono à ton oreille
La musique automatique
La musique barbiturique
La musique énigmatique
La musique romantique
Mon automate, une machine
Extrêmement sophistiquée
Te joue une petite musique
Très compliquée
De ma bouche à mon micro
De mon micro à l'ampli
De l'ampli à la sono
De la sono à ton oreille
De ma bouche à ton oreille
De ton oreille à ton cerveau
De ton cerveau à mon antenne
Télépathique (tic tic tic)
La musique automatique
La musique excentrique
La musique euphorique
La musique héroïque
La musique automatique
La musique hystérique
La musique hypnotique
La musique cosmique
La musique automatique
La musique nostalgique
La musique pathétique
La musique chaotique
A ryar
Esse som é muito bom
paul elliott
Got the album an age ago
Still sounds fab
Great post and musique et fantastique
Alexander Laurence
RIP Françoise Cactus of the group Stereo Total, who has died in Berlin at the age of 57 after a long illness.
@stereototal
Nohemis
love this song! thanks for sharing
alonsoboulevard
Im from Mexico and i remember being walking the streets of paris when i was 17 listening this shit good tames indeed
K u r i b o h
Les tengo malas noticias, chavos, hoy falleció la vocalista 😥
Sergio Sánchez Padilla
@alonsoboulevard Y sí vinieron o cancelaron por la pandemia?
Soy Favi
Que padre, todos queremos conocer Francia 😄. Yo no conozco Francia pero me fascina stereo total. Au revoir,
alonsoboulevard
@MorricsBM ya fue gue :C