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.
Nomus et Phusis
Stereolab Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mon doux b??soit un battant de la v?it?br /> Ne laisse pas les gens apeur? t'en ?oigner
Mon doux b??engage-tioi dans l'activit?br /> Tu apprendras c'est ?re libre de se reposer.
C'est le projet d'autonomie,
tu peux lui redonner la vie.
Il te semblera de l'ennui,
Il faut qu'on se souvienne de lui.
translation
My sweet baby be a fighter for freedom
don't let evil people dictate your law
My sweet baby be a fighter for truth
don't let scared people stray you away
My sweet baby delve into activity
you will learn that it to rest is to be free
It is the project of autonomy
you can bring it back to life
It will seem to you like boring
we must still remember it
The lyrics from the Stereolab song 'Nomus et Phusis' convey an inspiring message of hope and individual empowerment. The song advocates for the pursuit of personal freedom, encouraging listeners to stand up for their beliefs and resist external influence from oppressive forces. The opening lines address a 'sweet baby' (or perhaps a younger version of oneself) and urge them to become a 'fighter for freedom', rejecting the control of malicious people who seek to impose their own law. The next verse similarly advocates for truth, encouraging the 'sweet baby' to not let their peers be frightened into straying from what they know to be right. Finally, the lyrics encourage engagement with the world and a healthy balance of work and rest, implying that true freedom can only be achieved through a commitment to personal agency.
Overall, the song's lyrics have a strong positive message that emphasizes the importance of individual agency and encourages listeners to stand up for what they believe in. The message calls for a recognition of the power dynamics at play in modern society and emphasizes the importance of taking an active role in shaping one's own destiny.
Line by Line Meaning
Mon doux b??soit un battant de la libert?
My sweet baby be a fighter for freedom
Ne laisse pas les gens m?hants la loi te dicter
don't let evil people dictate your law
Mon doux b??soit un battant de la v?it?
My sweet baby be a fighter for truth
Ne laisse pas les gens apeur? t'en ?oigner
don't let scared people stray you away
Mon doux b??engage-tioi dans l'activit?
My sweet baby delve into activity
Tu apprendras c'est ?re libre de se reposer.
you will learn that it to rest is to be free
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LAETITIA SADIER, TIMOTHY JOHN GANE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind