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.
Mass Riff
Stereolab Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The only and real force of change
The one that can counter horror
Is to increase the capacity
Is to magnify the potential
Is to enhance capability
Of action of all the people
To decide for humanity
Is to magnify the potential
The joy to love
To know to learn
Are the essence
Of existence
And so couldn't they
Govern it too?
To open up
Thanks to a word
The joy to love
To know to learn
Are the essence
Of existence
And so couldn't they
Govern it too?
The joy to love
To open up
The lyrics to Stereolab's song "Mass Riff" are a powerful call to action for individuals to work together towards peace and change. The opening lines "The only rampart against war, The only and real force of change" set the tone for the rest of the song. The singer acknowledges that the only way to counteract the atrocities of war and horror in the world is to increase the capacity, magnify the potential, and enhance the capabilities of all people. By doing this, they can come together and make decisions for the betterment of humanity. The repetition of "to increase the capacity, to magnify the potential" emphasizes the importance of these actions and creates a sense of urgency.
The second half of the song takes a more optimistic tone, celebrating the joy of love, knowledge, and learning. The lyrics question why these positive forces couldn't be the governing forces of the world. The line "To open up thanks to a word" suggests that communication and dialogue are key to achieving this goal.
Overall, "Mass Riff" is a thought-provoking and inspiring song that encourages listeners to take action towards positive change.
Line by Line Meaning
The only rampart against war
There is only one thing that can prevent war
The only and real force of change
This thing is also the only force for real change
The one that can counter horror
This thing is what can stop atrocities
Is to increase the capacity
The solution is to expand the ability
Is to magnify the potential
To make this happen, we need to increase what is possible
Is to enhance capability
This requires boosting the competence
Of action of all the people
Of everyone's ability to act
To decide for humanity
So that humanity can make collective decisions
The joy to love
The happiness that comes from love
To know to learn
The fulfillment of gaining knowledge and learning
Are the essence
These things are the core, the heart of life
Of existence
The reason why we are here
And so couldn't they
These things, being so essential, should also be able to
Govern it too?
Act as governing principles for society
To open up
To be receptive and open
Contributed by Alyssa H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.