With their hypnotic rhythms and mesmerizing singsong vocals, Stereolab was one of the most influential and distinctive bands to emerge in the '90s. Led by Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier, the group celebrated forms of music that were on the fringe of rock and brought attention to strands of pop music -- bossa nova, lounge-pop, movie soundtracks -- that were traditionally banished from the rock lineage.

Stereolab's unmistakable sound had a lasting impact: During the '90s, indie contemporaries like Pavement and Blur aped their style, while hip-hop artists such as J Dilla and Tyler the Creator sampled the band's music or collaborated with its members in the 2000s and 2010s.

Stereolab was born when English guitarist Tim Gane met and fell in love with French singer/multi-instrumentalist Lætitia Sadier. He proceeded to make music and start a record label after the breakup of his previous band in 1990.

Adding guitarist/singer Mary Hansen in 1992, the band’s core trio became Stereolab’s constant artistic forces until Hansen’s tragic death in a cycling accident in 2002.

Stereolab’s music is self-described as “space-age bachelor pad music,” which is as good a label as any to describe the band’s radically eclectic sound. Aside from backgrounds in English and French music, Stereolab draws influence extensively from jazz, Brazillian bossa nova, German krautrock, minimalist composers such as Phillip Glass and Steve Reich, as well as the abrasive aesthetic of The Velvet Underground and the ear-pleasing melodies of Burt Bacharach.

Run through a barrage of analogue synthesizers as well as Sadier’s signature English and French vocals, these influences have come to define the Stereolab sound.

Despite the band’s seemingly daunting style and sprawling discography, the easiest entry point for most people into the world of Stereolab is the 1993 single “French Disco” – the closest thing the band ever had to a runaway hit.

Showcasing Sadier and Hansen’s interweaving trance-inducing harmonies against a charged, powerful, punk-like instrumental, “French Disco” is immediate and enthralling.

‘Emperor Tomato Ketchup’ and ‘Dots & Loops’

Stereolab’s two most acclaimed records were released practically back-to-back:

In 1996, “Emperor Tomato Ketchup” found the band focusing its diverse set of influences through a set of calming, hypnotic songs that incorporated strings, exotic percussion and samples for the first time in the band’s career.

“Dots & Loops” in 1997 featured more sophisticated arrangements, intricate textures and became the band’s first album to enter the Billboard 200 chart in America, reaching 111 (coincidentally the street number of Lowbrow Palace).

These records are now widely considered to be two of the best albums of the 1990s and are credited with planting the seeds for the genre now referred to as “post rock.”

-- French Disko

-- Emperor Tomato Ketchup

-- Dots and Loops

-- Crest

Please :vote: for a New Comm called c/Labour :worker: A union / labour organizing specific comm :iww:

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Buy coffee and learn more about the Zapatistas in Chiapas here :EZLN:

Resources for Palestine :palestine-heart:

Here are some resourses on Prison Abolition :brick-police:

Foundations of Leninism :USSR:

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Anarchism and Other Essays :ancom:

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Yesterday’s megathread :sad-boi:

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Today at 8am and 8pm we will be watching Gentlemen of Fortune 1971 :USSR: a Soviet Crime Comedy film about kindergarten teacher (Troshkin) who looks exactly like hardened criminal Beliy and gets recruited by police to infiltrate his old gang in prison (while Beliy himself is doing time in another prison) to find previously stolen helmet of Alexander the Great. Only on the Hexbear cytube :hexbear-retro:

early mega cuz im going outside to buy bread :breadpill:

One winner yesterday and that was comrade @context so :rat-salute:. Earlier mega so maybe more will come in but at least the second part will be similiar.

:sicko-hexbear: The return of the hex:sicko-hexbear:

Enter integers from 1 through 19 in the spots of the hexagon so that each row of three (on the rim, and out ward from the center adds to 23 now. Here's the hex

Now that an example is shown maybe more can try it out. Anyway have fun :soviet-heart: and remember to dm @Wmill the answer.