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.
Italian Shoes Continuum
Stereolab Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Naturel
Pas la peine
De ses ailes
Il revient
Lassez le
Dans les veines
L'eau de seine
Son chemin
Italian Shoes Continuum
Pursue the
Natural
Not the sorrow
Of its wings
It returns
Leave it
In the veins
To run like
The water of the Seine
It's path
The lyrics of Stereolab's song "Italian Shoes Continuum" are poetic and open to interpretation. In general, the song seems to be a meditation on the complexities of life and the enduring power of the natural world. The opening lines, "Chassez le naturel / Pas la peine de ses ailes / Il revient," suggest that it is impossible to truly suppress the natural world or our own natural instincts. No matter how hard we try to restrain ourselves, our true nature will always reassert itself. The next lines, "Lassez le / Dans les veines / Suivre comme l'eau de Seine / Son chemin," seem to imply that we should let nature run its course, allowing it to flow through us like the river Seine. Rather than trying to control or manipulate the natural world, we should simply observe and follow its lead.
The title of the song, "Italian Shoes Continuum," is somewhat enigmatic. It seems to suggest a fusion of high style and natural rhythms, as if the two can coexist in harmony. The song itself is dreamy and abstract, with a repetitive melody and evocative lyrics that encourage the listener to lose themselves in the music. Overall, "Italian Shoes Continuum" is a haunting and memorable song that invites multiple interpretations and encourages listeners to reflect on the mysteries of life and nature.
Line by Line Meaning
Chassez le
Pursue the
Naturel
Natural
Pas la peine
Not the sorrow
De ses ailes
Of its wings
Il revient
It returns
Lassez le
Leave it
Dans les veines
In the veins
Suivre comm
To run like
L'eau de seine
The water of the Seine
Son chemin
It's path
Italian Shoes Continuum
Title of the song
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
Written by: LAETITIA SADIER, TIMOTHY JOHN GANE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind