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.
One Small Step
Stereolab Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We had nowhere to go but retreat underground
Our ground had been peppered with loads of mines
Growing our food was a risk at any time
The sudden brutality we had to confront
Forced us many years to a life into the ground
When I came out after having hidden for so long under
It was so dark underground we had seen no light for days
What was visible how there was the enemy
The fact that they were fighting against their better nature
Our voices had been buried to
For we had not to speak a word for days on end
But what we learned was so strong
They could never win, they're wrong
Scared of a ghost, the right to kill
They went nowhere, had no wisdom
Humiliation came back flying into their face
They lost themselves
The right to kill, scared of a ghost
Right to be blind, nothing but trust
The lyrics of Stereolab's song "One Small Step" appear to be talking about a past conflict between two parties where one party was forced to go into hiding underground due to continuous bombing from the opposing party. The aftermath of the conflict is described, and the singer mentions the lack of sensation of sight upon emerging from underground. The struggle of having to live without light for extended periods of time is highlighted, along with the necessity of remaining silent for days on end. The lyrics also suggest that the opposing party may have been fighting against their own nature, leading to their loss and subsequent humiliation. The song ends with the line "right to be blind, nothing but trust," which may indicate that the singer and their party have learned to trust blindly, having had to rely on their other senses to survive in the darkness.
Interestingly, the song's lyrics seem to be inspired by various sources. The line "the right to kill, scared of a ghost" is said to be a reference to The Octopus: A Story of California by Frank Norris. The line "right to be blind, nothing but trust" is a reference to philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre's reflections on the Holocaust. The song is also said to have been inspired by WWII and the Blitz in particular.
The song was released as a single in 1999 and later appeared on the album Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night. It received critical acclaim upon its release, with critics lauding its intricate instrumentation and thoughtful lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
From the sky would fall an incessant rain of bombs
We were in a war zone where bombs rained down from above without end
We had nowhere to go but retreat underground
The only option left was to flee and live below the surface
Our ground had been peppered with loads of mines
The soil was filled with explosive mines, making cultivation of food hazardous
Growing our food was a risk at any time
The process of farming had become extremely dangerous and unpredictable
The sudden brutality we had to confront
We were exposed to a harsh and violent reality, without any warning or preparation
Forced us many years to a life into the ground
The circumstances led us to live an isolated subterranean existence for several years
When I came out after having hidden for so long under
After a long period of being concealed, I finally emerged
I found I was missing all sensation of sight
Due to the lack of light, I was unable to see anything
It was so dark underground we had seen no light for days
The belowground locations were so dim that our eyes didn't perceive any real illumination for many days
What was visible how there was the enemy
The only thing that could be distinguished was the person or people we were fighting against
The fact that they were fighting against their better nature
Our opponents were acting against their natural impulses or innate sense of morality
Our voices had been buried to
We were forced to remain quiet and not speak for long periods of time
For we had not to speak a word for days on end
We had to keep silent for days and days without communicating verbally
But what we learned was so strong
Despite the hardships and struggles, the lessons we learned were very impactful
They could never win, they're wrong
Despite their efforts, our opponents were bound to lose and were mistaken in their approach
Scared of a ghost, the right to kill
They were afraid of an intangible concept or force, yet they still sought the ability to take lives
They went nowhere, had no wisdom
Our opponents were at a standstill and had no rational or thoughtful understanding of their actions
Humiliation came back flying into their face
They were embarrassed or shamed by the outcome of their actions or intentions
They lost themselves
They became disconnected from their true selves or values
The right to kill, scared of a ghost
They were obsessed with having the ability to end lives, yet they feared an elusive and vague entity
Right to be blind, nothing but trust
They willingly chose to be ignorant or unaware and put all their faith in something or someone else
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
Written by: LAETITIA SADIER, TIMOTHY JOHN GANE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind