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.
Transporté Sans Bouger
Stereolab Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Le reve virtuel
On se fait tres seul
Non pas la plus belle
Mais la pire
Des ?
Cinq sens experience
Innocence des experience
Plus besoin de connaitre son voisin
Le bouton de toute puissance
Non plus besoin d'etablir des liens
Je fais l'amour a distance
La vitesse qui resume a rien
Renie ce que see'est d'etre humain
La vitesse qui resume a rien
Renie ce que see'est d'etre humain
(And then again from the top...)
Non plus besoin d'etablir des liens
Pas besoin
Transporte sans bouger
Transported Without Moving
In this long shroud
The virtual dream
We feel lonely
Not the best
But the worst
Of ?
(Second voice,
With a very strange accent!)
Sickness of the perception
Five senses experience
Innocence of the experiences.
No need to know your neighbours
The all-powerful key
No need anymore to link up
I make love from a distance
The speed that amounts to nothing
Disown what it is to be human
The speed that amounts to nothing
Disown what it is to be human
(And then again from the top)
No need to link up anymore
No need to
Carried away without moving.
The lyrics of Stereolab's "Transporté Sans Bouger" address the dangers and downsides of modern technology, specifically the internet and social media. The singer describes these technologies as a "virtual dream," a shroud that isolates individuals even as they feel more connected. The song speaks to the illusion of closeness that social media can create, while simultaneously pulling us farther from human connection and empathy. This is exemplified in the lines "No need to know your neighbours / I make love from a distance," which highlights how these technologies allow us to remain isolated without feeling the true impact of that separation.
The second voice shifts the focus to the physical aspect of the isolation that the internet creates, describing it as a "sickness of perception" and an "innocence of experience." The lyrics refer to the five senses, which are the basic components of human perception and experience, implying that relying only on the virtual world leads to a skewed and incomplete understanding of reality. The repeated line, "The speed that amounts to nothing / Disown what it is to be human," makes a powerful statement about the inherent risks of relying too heavily on technology.
Overall, "Transporté Sans Bouger" serves as a poignant critique of our overreliance on technology and our growing detachment from genuine human connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Dans ce long linceul
In this long shroud
Le reve virtuel
The virtual dream
On se fait tres seul
We feel lonely
Non pas la plus belle
Not the best
Mais la pire
But the worst
Des ?
Of ? (lyrics are incomplete)
Maladie des sens
Sickness of the perception
Cinq sens experience
Five senses experience
Innocence des experience
Innocence of the experiences
Plus besoin de connaitre son voisin
No need to know your neighbours
Le bouton de toute puissance
The all-powerful key
Non plus besoin d'etablir des liens
No need anymore to link up
Je fais l'amour a distance
I make love from a distance
La vitesse qui resume a rien
The speed that amounts to nothing
Renie ce que see'est d'etre humain
Disown what it is to be human
La vitesse qui resume a rien
The speed that amounts to nothing
Renie ce que see'est d'etre humain
Disown what it is to be human
Transporte sans bouger
Carried away without moving.
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LAETITIA SADIER, TIMOTHY JOHN GANE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind