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.
Nous vous demandons pardon
Stereolab Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
l'interieur par la lumiere de
la colere et de
l'amour
cité des restrictions pour
ceux qui ne sont pas tolérés,
des lumieres
pour d'autres
décolonisation
Il n'y a aucun monument
pour les algériens, pour-quoi,
toujours les
conquetes
et porquoi ne pas honorer
ceux a qui l'on a fait du mal
The lyrics of Stereolab's "Nous vous demandons pardon" allude to the complex history of colonization and decolonization in Paris, as well as the ongoing struggles for equity and justice for marginalized communities. The first stanza describes the persistent anger and love that fuels resistance movements and illuminates the city's contradictory landscape. The second stanza references the restrictions and discrimination faced by those who are not tolerated in the city, and contrasts this with the privileged access to light and space enjoyed by others. The third stanza calls attention to the absence of monuments honoring the Algerian people who suffered under French colonialism, and questions why conquerors are still celebrated while victims of violence and oppression are forgotten.
Overall, the song can be seen as a call to acknowledge and rectify the injustices of the past, and to work towards a more just and equitable future. It highlights the ongoing struggles faced by marginalized communities, as well as the importance of solidarity and resistance in the face of oppressive power structures.
Line by Line Meaning
toujours éclairé, de
Always illuminated, from within by the light of
l'interieur par la lumiere de
the interior by the light of
la colere et de
anger and
l'amour
love
cité des restrictions pour
city of restrictions for
ceux qui ne sont pas tolérés,
those who are not tolerated,
des lumieres
lights
pour d'autres
for others
Paris d'la colonisation, de la
Paris of colonization, of
décolonisation
decolonization
Il n'y a aucun monument
There is no monument
pour les algériens, pour-quoi,
for the Algerians, why,
toujours les
always the
conquetes
conquests
et porquoi ne pas honorer
and why not honor
ceux a qui l'on a fait du mal
those to whom one has done wrong
Contributed by Elena O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.