Stereolab are a UK-based band whose style, mixing 1950s–1960s pop and loung… Read Full Bio ↴Stereolab are a UK-based band whose style, mixing 1950s–1960s pop and lounge music with the “motorik” beat of krautrock, was one of the first to which the term “post-rock” was applied. People frequently refer to their style as being "avant-pop." They are noted for the use of vintage keyboard instruments like Moog synthesizers and Vox and Farfisa organs. Stereolab is also notable for founding their own record label, Duophonic Records, with a grant from UK charity The Prince’s Trust. The band is often referred to as “The Groop” by their fans (and in the title of their song “The Groop Play Chord X” on the album Space Age Batchelor Pad Music).

They were founded in 1990 by songwriters Tim Gane (guitar, keyboards), formerly of the band McCarthy, and Laetitia Sadier (sometimes credited as Seaya Sadier; vocals, keyboards, trombone, guitar), who is from France and sings in both English and French.

Over the years, Gane and Sadier have enlisted a large number of other musicians to accompany them on stage and on record. The initial line-up featured Martin Kean, formerly of The Chills, on bass, and Joe Dilworth (from their Too Pure label-mates Th’ Faith Healers) on drums, with Russell Yates (of Moose) and Mick Conroy (ex-Modern English) also appearing at early live shows. In 1993 they recruited Andy Ramsay (drums), who has remained in the group line-up ever since, and Mary Hansen (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion). Hansen’s distinctive backing vocals became an important aspect of the Stereolab sound, and she remained a regular feature of the line-up until her death in a cycling accident on December 9, 2002. Multi-instrumentalist Sean O’Hagan of The High Llamas has also been a frequent contributor, particularly with string, brass and keyboard arrangements to the band’s studio albums. John McEntire (Tortoise) has also contributed keyboard, electronic effects and studio help over the years. Other members have come and (in some cases) gone over the years, including Duncan Brown, Dave Pajo (from Tortoise), Richard Harrison and Simon Johns (all bass); Gina Morris (vocals); and Katharine Gifford and Morgane Lhote (both on keyboards).

Early Stereolab material displayed a heavy influence of krautrock sounds, particularly Neu! and Faust, characteristically relying on droning, repetitive guitar or keyboard riffs, with or without vocals. Early heavy use of distorted Farfisa combo-organ sounds were also reminiscent of early recordings by The Modern Lovers. As the band developed, they incorporated new instrumentation, and an increasingly complex sense of rhythm and structure, frequently making use of irregular time signatures as well as unorthodox chord progressions and melodic intervals. The band has often made copious use of female backing vocal lines.

Lyrically, Stereolab’s music is quirky (song titles evoke memories of 1950s science fiction stories, and are often borrowed directly from old films and records of the period, but have nothing to do with the song’s content), but highly politically and philosophically charged, sometimes with a decidedly Surrealist or Situationist bent. (Sadier notes the libertarian Marxist theoretician Cornelius Castoriadis as a particular inspiration.) Sadier’s lyrics, in both French and English, often read like highly condensed sociological texts, standing in deliberate and distinct counterpoint to the lush hedonic pop sound of the band. A prime example would be “Ping Pong” from Mars Audiac Quintet, which is an explicit restating of Marxist theory concerning the relationship between economic cycles and war cycles.
Stereolab earned a minor place in the Britpop movement, with their sound proving influential to bands like Blur: occasional keyboard-driven b-sides and singer Damon Albarn’s love of retro keyboards showed the influence, and in recognition Laetitia Sadier was invited to provide vocals on “To The End” from Parklife.

Despite the band’s fan base and critical acclaim, Stereolab has not achieved high levels of financial or popular success. On June 7, 2004, suits at the Warner Music label (to whom the band was signed in the U.S.) announced they were dropping Stereolab in response to the poor sales (40,000 to that date) of Margerine Eclipse. This was part of an ongoing effort by Warner to cut costs; The Breeders and Third Eye Blind were also dropped from the label for this reason. Laetitia Sadier is now also a member of Monade, which is essentially expressive of her own singular musical goals.

Blue Milk
Stereolab Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

C'est l'image qui,
Vit dans le sang
Elle enfante eternellement
Aneantit toute la vie
Fusion de mondes universels

De l'esprit et do sang
De l'esprit et do sang

Et do sang
Source de bonheur
Qui c'est la fougue de la vie
Where's the father ou'est sa voir?
L'autre qu'on aime la fene tre do soi
Qui mele et qui associe les tendances

Cours vers la mer
Te donne une fin et un debut
Reconnais l'appel eperdu

De l'esprit et do sang
De l'esprit et do sang

Le rapport a la mort
Qui c'est la fougue de la vie

De l'esprit et do sang
De l'esprit et do sang

Blue milk
It is the image that lives in the blood
It gives birth eternally, obliterates all life
Fusion of universal worlds
From spirit and blood
Source of happiness
Yes, it's the spirit of life
Where's the father
Where is his voice
The other that one loves
One's window that mingles and joins the sentiments
Running toward the sea,
Gives you an end and a beginning

Recognize the submerged call
The connection in death that is the spirit of life.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Blue Milk" by Stereolab carry a heavy message of existentialism and the transcendent nature of life. The song delves into the intermingling of spirit and blood, pointing to a deep and powerful connection between the physical and metaphysical. The image in the lyrics, living in the blood, is eternal and powerful, creating and annihilating all life. The fusion of universal worlds, both spiritual and physical, combine in a way that is both beautiful and tragic.

The lyrics also touch on the idea of happiness as a source of life's vibrancy. The spirit of life is described as a source of happiness and vitality, something that brings with it the excitement and vigor that defines existence. However, the lyrics also ask, "Where's the father, where is his voice?" pointing to the idea that there may be something missing, a sense of incompleteness in life or a lack of understanding of what truly gives it meaning.

The final stanza of the song brings the ideas together as it describes "the connection in death that is the spirit of life", reminding us that even though death may be the great unknown, it is inevitable and a natural part of the cycle of life. "Blue Milk" is a deep and introspective look at the nature of existence, reminding us of the beauty and mystery of life even as it confronts us with our own mortality.

Line by Line Meaning

C'est l'image qui,
It is the image that

Vit dans le sang
Lives in the blood

Elle enfante eternellement
It gives birth eternally

Aneantit toute la vie
It obliterates all life

Fusion de mondes universels
A fusion of universal worlds

De l'esprit et do sang
From spirit and blood

Source de bonheur
A source of happiness

Qui c'est la fougue de la vie
Yes, it's the spirit of life

Where's the father ou'est sa voir?
Where is the father, where is his voice?

L'autre qu'on aime la fene tre do soi
The other that one loves, one's window

Qui mele et qui associe les tendances
That mingles and joins the sentiments