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.
The Free Design
Stereolab Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hundreds of years ago
Extract from the depth
Is but a setting sun paradise is scarce
In this light that won't shine
What is our earthly task
But a worthy design?
For scattered it may have been
They're ready to fight
In a priceless inkling
The request is here
Ready to resurrect
What else can we do but recover the project
Our earthly design
Can be so detached
What crushes our desire
Not to be trapped
When the higher spheres
Tell us to and not to
Everyone agrees
Demanding more veto
Our earthly design
Can we be so detached
What crushes our desire
Not to be trapped?
The song "The Free Design" by Stereolab speaks about reclaiming a lost project, an earthly task that was abandoned hundreds of years ago. The first stanza of the song talks about extracting from the depths something that had been left behind centuries ago, which is now only a "setting sun paradise" with scarce glory. In this light that won't shine, people struggle with what their earthly task is - what is their purpose? But the song suggests that they still have a "worthy design" to fulfill.
The second stanza talks about people being ready to fight for something priceless that they believe in, even if it is scattered and hard to see. They have a strong desire to resurrect this idea, and it seems that there is no other choice but to recover the project. The song builds on the idea that humans can be so detached from their earthly design, that they forget what their desires truly are. The higher spheres (possibly referencing higher powers or authorities) dictate what they should do, but with everyone demanding more veto, they feel trapped.
Overall, "The Free Design" is a plea to remember what our earthly tasks and designs are, and to not be so easily influenced by external forces that try to trap us.
Line by Line Meaning
Where it had been left
Referring to a forgotten project, possibly of great significance
Hundreds of years ago
The project has been neglected for centuries
Extract from the depth
There is still something of value to be salvaged from the project
Is but a setting sun paradise is scarce
Time is running out to recover the project's potential
In this light that won't shine
There are obstacles preventing progress
What is our earthly task
As humans, what are we supposed to accomplish?
But a worthy design?
Is this forgotten project the solution to our earthly task?
Some held it in sight
There are people aware of the project's existence
For scattered it may have been
The project has been lost or fragmented over time
They're ready to fight
Those who understand the project's importance are willing to defend it
In a priceless inkling
The project has immense value
The request is here
There is a call to action to recover the project
Ready to resurrect
Preparations are underway to revive the project
What else can we do but recover the project
The only logical course of action is to salvage what's left of the project
Our earthly design
Our purpose as humans
Can be so detached
We can become disconnected from our purpose
What crushes our desire
What prevents us from pursuing our purpose?
Not to be trapped
The desire to avoid stagnation and complacency
When the higher spheres
Referring to authority figures or societal expectations
Tell us to and not to
When we are told what to do
Everyone agrees
There is widespread conformity to authority
Demanding more veto
A call to resist authority in pursuit of our purpose
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LAETITIA SADIER, TIMOTHY JOHN GANE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
María Peperina
Where it had been left
Hundreds of years ago
Extract from the depth
Is but a setting sun paradise is scarce
In this light that won't shine
What is our earthly task
But a worthy design?
Some held it in sight
For scattered it may have been
They're ready to fight
In a priceless inkling
The request is here
Ready to resurrect
What else can we do but recover the project
Our earthly design
Can be so detached
What crushes our desire
Not to be trapped
When the higher spheres
Tell us to and not to
Everyone agrees
Demanding more veto
Our earthly design
Can we be so detached
What crushes our desire
Not to be trapped?
Mattteus
The Free Design is a group from the 60/70s that is well worth listening to.
Chris Castillo
NOW is the time for LOVE
Sidharth Warrier
Their song Bubbles is so beautiful .
TeeVee Games
Thanks. I'll let My Brother Woody know.
MD
The Free Designs is totally where they stole their entire act from
María Peperina
Where it had been left
Hundreds of years ago
Extract from the depth
Is but a setting sun paradise is scarce
In this light that won't shine
What is our earthly task
But a worthy design?
Some held it in sight
For scattered it may have been
They're ready to fight
In a priceless inkling
The request is here
Ready to resurrect
What else can we do but recover the project
Our earthly design
Can be so detached
What crushes our desire
Not to be trapped
When the higher spheres
Tell us to and not to
Everyone agrees
Demanding more veto
Our earthly design
Can we be so detached
What crushes our desire
Not to be trapped?
I.F. Horus
This is perhaps the most impressive music video I have ever seen, and the fact that the song kicks major ass doesn't hurt either.
elektrochava
groove, voice, lyrics and video top notch. Stereolab a league of their own
Eirini Triantafyllidi
Masterpiece that is magic and i will never forget cause it makes my soul dance
Sho3gaz3r_303
Amazing Band and Beautiful song.. ♥️