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.
Leleklato Sugar
Stereolab Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Confused, virtuously by nature, obscurity
Undetermined, it's shape so distant
In it there are beings what abyss, on a order
He wanted an illusion (leading a move at life-force)
Order he insisted, troubled vision (created in the darkness)
The lyrics of Stereolab's "Leleklato Sugar" are quite cryptic and open to interpretation. The song begins with the imagery of confusion and obscurity. The first line, "It is confused, indiscernible," suggests a lack of clarity or understanding. The second line, "Confused, virtuously by nature, obscurity," adds to this ambiguity by implying that confusion is a natural and virtuous state. The next two lines, "Undetermined, it's shape so distant," continue this theme of vagueness and lack of form.
The second half of the song introduces a character who "wanted an illusion" and "insisted on order." This person seems to be seeking clarity and structure in a world that is inherently confusing and indeterminate. The phrase "troubled vision (created in the darkness)" suggests that this person's desire for order and clarity may be causing them distress.
Overall, the lyrics of "Leleklato Sugar" seem to be exploring the tension between clarity and confusion, order and chaos. The song suggests that while we may crave order and understanding, these things are impossible to achieve fully in a world that is inherently confusing and complex.
Line by Line Meaning
It is confused, indiscernible
The subject being described is inherently and purposely obscure and difficult to understand.
Confused, virtuously by nature, obscurity
The subject's confusion is not a flaw, but a deliberate part of its essence.
Undetermined, it's shape so distant
The subject is not yet fully formed or realized, and is still in a very distant state.
In it there are beings what abyss, on a order
Within the subject, there are entities or concepts that are both deep and incomprehensible, yet still have a sense of order and purpose.
He wanted an illusion (leading a move at life-force)
The subject desired a false sense of reality or a distraction in order to propel itself forward in some way.
Order he insisted, troubled vision (created in the darkness)
Even in this state of confusion and obscurity, the subject still wants some sense of order or structure, but this desire is causing discomfort or anxiety. This need for order may have been born out of a dark or difficult situation.
Contributed by Lily K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
vista7
I love this song; it's kind of like Lab really wanted to go out with a bang. I think this song is the pinnacle of where Gane wanted their sound to go. I heard in interviews where he really liked show tunes and it's so apparent in their late records.I was a big fan of the their last 2 records. They went out still producing great records which is something a lot of bands can't say.
vista7
like I was saying great song; Gane understood the limitations of being a "guitar band" or being a "synth" band; there's so many moments of brilliance on their last 5 records; it's just overwhelming to me.
Gonsalo7 Paniagua
Depois de tantos anos escutando ,ainda me emociona muito essa faixa ,que prova a evolução musical da banda ,mesmo sem ter a doce Mary Hansen ,nos vocais....
Captain Easychord
One of the better songs on their later, post-Mary releases. Melodically, it’s reminiscent of the Beatles’ Good Night (especially the “dream sweet dreams” bit).
I HATE VIDEOS
awesome music by an awesome band. is there another band who makes melodies as good as these guys do.
Gonsalo Paniagua
realmente stereolab the best
candylane44
Yeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Im so happy! thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you! haha! Love this song!
Barna101010
It is surprising, this song has Hungarian title.
cardio vas.curder
thissssssssssss songe iz underrated
Biodub
@candylane44 :D hey, dont thank me. thank stereolab for making such a kick ass song ;)