Editing Stereolab (section)

==Musical style==
{{Listen
| filename     = Stereolab_-_Jenny_Ondioline.ogg
| title        = "Jenny Ondioline"
| description  = Sample of "Jenny Ondioline", from ''[[Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements]]'' (1993). This song is considered an example of their musical style<ref name="jimsullivan"/> and "the most ambitious—and definitive—moment of Stereolab's early years".<ref name="pharestransient">{{cite web | last=Phares, Heather | url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r188417|pure_url=yes}} | website=AllMusic | title=Review (Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements) | access-date=31 May 2007}}</ref>
| filename2    = Stereolab_-_Motoroller_Scalatron.ogg
| title2       = "Motoroller Scalatron"
| description2 = Sample of "Motoroller Scalatron", from ''[[Emperor Tomato Ketchup (album)|Emperor Tomato Ketchup]]'' (1996). This clip illustrates the vocal interplay between Lætitia Sadier and Mary Hansen.
}}
Stereolab's music has been generally termed as [[avant-pop]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Couture|first=François|title=Sucre 3|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sucre-3-mw0000774524|website=[[AllMusic]]|year=2001|access-date=21 April 2020|archive-date=12 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114124/https://www.allmusic.com/album/sucre-3-mw0000774524|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="maloney2016">{{cite news|last=Maloney|first=Sean L.|title=Album review: Your Friend, 'Gumption'|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2016/01/27/album-review-your-friend-gumption/mVPjAOYJ9KWmE1ZeKkBoNP/story.html|work=[[Boston Globe]]|date=28 January 2016|access-date=28 November 2016|archive-date=18 December 2016|archive-url=https://archive.today/20161218154555/https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2016/01/27/album-review-your-friend-gumption/mVPjAOYJ9KWmE1ZeKkBoNP/story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[indie pop]],<ref name="Erlewine (AMG: Stereolab)"/><ref name="billboard-obituary">{{cite magazine | title=Obituaries | magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] | date=21 December 2002 | volume=114 | issue=51 | page=54}}</ref> [[art pop]],<ref>{{cite web | url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/stereolab_reveal_vinyl_reissues_of_emperor_tomato_ketchup_dots_loops | title=Stereolab Reveal Vinyl Reissues of 'Emperor Tomato Ketchup' and 'Dots and Loops' | website=[[Exclaim!]] | date=18 September 2012 | access-date=28 February 2016 | last=Adams, Gregory | archive-date=7 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307225954/http://exclaim.ca/music/article/stereolab_reveal_vinyl_reissues_of_emperor_tomato_ketchup_dots_loops | url-status=live }}</ref> [[indie electronic]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/indie-electronic-ma0000012275|title=Indie Electronic – Significant Albums, Artists and Songs|website=AllMusic|access-date=21 April 2020|archive-date=1 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401185537/http://www.allmusic.com/style/indie-electronic-ma0000012275|url-status=live}}</ref> [[indie rock]],<ref name="AM"/> [[post-rock]],<ref name="McLean (2019)" /><ref name="AM">{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/style/post-rock-ma0000002790 | title=Post-Rock | website=[[AllMusic]] | access-date=28 February 2016 | archive-date=1 April 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401185538/http://www.allmusic.com/style/post-rock-ma0000002790 | url-status=live }}</ref> [[experimental rock]],<ref name="billboard-obituary"/> and [[experimental pop]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Cole|first=Matthew|title=Album Review: Stereolab – Not Music|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/stereolab-not-music|website=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|date=15 November 2010|access-date=12 July 2016|archive-date=12 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114228/https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/stereolab-not-music/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Rick Reger 1996">{{cite web |last=Reger |first=Rick |title=Stereolab's Catchy Artiness |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-12-03-9912030101-story.html |website=Chicago Tribune |date=3 December 1999 |access-date=13 February 2019 |archive-date=12 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114212/https://www.chicagotribune.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The band combines a droning [[Rock music|rock]] sound with [[lounge music|lounge]] instrumentals, overlaid with sing-song female vocals and [[Pop music|pop]] melodies, and have also made use of unorthodox time signatures.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sherburne |first=Phillip |title=Stereolab: Switched On / Refried Ectoplasm / Aluminum Tunes |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/stereolab-switched-on-refried-ectoplasm-aluminum-tunes/ |website=Pitchfork |date=6 October 2018 |access-date=11 February 2019 |language=en |archive-date=12 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114133/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/stereolab-switched-on-refried-ectoplasm-aluminum-tunes/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Sadier remarked in 2015 that "[the band's] records were written and recorded very quickly… we would write 35 tracks, sometimes more".<ref name="rbma">Lætitia Sadier Lecture (2015) ''[[Red Bull Music Academy]]''</ref>

Jim Sullivan of the [[The Boston Globe|''The Boston Globe'']] described their general style and instrumentation as being "often pegged as [[The Velvet Underground|Velvet Underground]]-influenced [[Retrofuturism|retro-futurists]]. [The group] utilize old [[Moog synthesizer|Moog synthesi[s]ers]] and [[Farfisa]] and [[Vox Continental]] organs, [and] two guitars, bass, and drums."<ref name="jimsullivan">{{Cite newspaper |last=Sullivan |first=Jim |date=5 November 1997 |title=Stereolab trades drone for spacier sound: [City Edition] |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/403904916/B952C5A3E09B42A5PQ/88 |website=[[The Boston Globe]] |via=ProQuest}}</ref> Gane described their use of vintage synthesisers: "We use the older effects because they're more direct, more extreme, and they're more like plasticine: you can shape them into loads of things."<ref>Taylor (2001), p.110</ref> The 1994 album ''[[Mars Audiac Quintet]]'' prominently features Moog synthesisers.<ref name="Shapiro (1996)"/><ref name="DeRogatis (1994)"/>

Lætitia Sadier's English, French and occasionally wordless vocals have been a part of Stereolab's music since the beginning,<ref name="Erlewine (AMG: Stereolab)" /><ref name="Klein (2001)" /> In reference to her laid-back delivery, [[Peter Shapiro (journalist)|Peter Shapiro]] wrote facetiously in ''[[The Wire (magazine)|Wire]]'' that Sadier "display[ed] all the emotional histrionics of [[Nico]]",<ref name="Shapiro (1996)" /> while some critics have commented that her vocals were unintelligible.<ref name="Klein (2001)"/><ref name="Shea (2002)">{{cite book|pages=55, 56|author=Shea, Stuart|year=2002|title=Rock & Roll's Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Lame Lyrics, Egregious Egos, and Other Oddities|publisher=Potomac Books|isbn=978-1-57488-477-7}}</ref> Sadier would often trade vocals with Mary Hansen back-and-forth in a sing-song manner that has been described as "eerie" and "hypnotic", as well as "sweet [and] slightly alien".<ref name="perrone"/><ref name="pharestransient"/> After Hansen's death in 2002, critic Jim Harrington commented that her absence is noticeable on live performances of Stereolab's older tracks, and that their newer songs could have benefited from Hansen's backing vocals.<ref name="Harrington (2004)">{{cite news|last=Harrington, Jim |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20040401/ai_n14573449 |work=Oakland Tribune  |title=Stereolab won't let Hansen be forgotten |date=1 April 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016153026/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4176/is_20040401/ai_n14573449 |archive-date=16 October 2007 }}</ref>

In interviews, Gane and Sadier have discussed their musical philosophy. Gane said that "to be unique was more important than to be good."<ref name="Stark (1999)">{{cite news|last=Stark, Jeff |url=http://www.salon.com/ent/music/int/1999/09/22/stereolab/index.html |work=Salon  |title=Surrealist manifesto |date=22 September 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070208061520/http://www.salon.com/ent/music/int/1999/09/22/stereolab/index.html |archive-date=8 February 2007 }}</ref> On the subject of being too obscure, he said in a 1996 interview that "maybe the area where we're on dodgy ground, is this idea that you need great knowledge [of] esoteric music to understand what we're doing." Sadier responded to Gane, saying that she "think[s] we have achieved a music that will make sense to a lot of people whether they know about [[Steve Reich]] or not."<ref name="Shapiro (1996)"/> The duo were up-front about their desire to grow their sound: for Gane, "otherwise it just sounds like what other people are doing",<ref name="Hoskyns (1999)">{{cite magazine|last=Hoskyns |first=Barney |title=Stereolab: Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night (Duophonic) |magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|date=September 1999}}</ref> and for Sadier, "you trust that there is more and that it can be done more interesting."<ref name="Fritch (2004)">{{cite news|last=Fritch, Matthew |url=http://www.magnetmagazine.com/interviews/stereolab.html |work=[[Magnet (magazine)|Magnet]] |title=Stereolab |date=November–December 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060327015748/http://www.magnetmagazine.com/interviews/stereolab.html |archive-date=27 March 2006 }}</ref>

===Influences===

Their records have been heavily influenced by the "[[motorik]]" technique of [[1970s in music|1970s]] [[krautrock]] groups such as [[Neu!]] and [[Faust (band)|Faust]].<ref name="Shapiro (1996)"/><ref name="Klein (2001)"/> Tim Gane has supported the comparison: "Neu! did [[Minimal music|minimalism]] and [[Drone (sound)|drones]], but in a very pop way."<ref name="Reynolds (1996)">{{cite magazine | last=Reynolds, Simon | url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-16967983 | magazine=Rolling Stone | title=Stereolab: Simple Minds | date=4 April 1996 | access-date=7 January 2019 | archive-date=12 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114214/https://www.gale.com/databases/questia | url-status=live }}</ref> Dave Heaton of ''[[PopMatters]]'' said that their music also had "echoes of [[Bubblegum music|bubblegum]], of [[exotica]], of [[Beach Boys]] and [[bossa nova]]", with their earlier work "bearing strong [[Velvet Underground]] overtones".<ref name="Dave Heaton 2006">{{cite web |last=Heaton |first=Dave |title=Stereolab: Serene Velocity: A Stereolab Anthology |url=https://www.popmatters.com/stereolab-serene-velocity-a-stereolab-anthology-2495702336.html |website=[[PopMatters]] |access-date=13 February 2019 |language=en |date=20 September 2006 |archive-date=12 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114210/https://www.popmatters.com/stereolab-serene-velocity-a-stereolab-anthology-2495702336.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Funk]], [[jazz]], and [[Brazilian music]] were additional inspirations for the band.<ref name="Jenkins (5 November 1999)"/><ref name="McNair (2004)"/> Stephan Davet of French newspaper ''[[Le Monde]]'' said that ''[[Emperor Tomato Ketchup (album)|Emperor Tomato Ketchup]]'' (1996) had musical influences such as [[Burt Bacharach]], and [[Françoise Hardy]].<ref>{{cite news | last=Davet, Stephane | url=http://www.lemonde.fr/web/recherche_breve/1,13-0,37-206716,0.html | archive-url=https://archive.today/20130107133307/http://www.lemonde.fr/web/recherche_breve/1,13-0,37-206716,0.html | archive-date=7 January 2013 |work=Le Monde  | title=Stereolab—Emperor Tomato Ketchup | date=6 April 1996 }}</ref> The sounds influenced by minimalist composers [[Philip Glass]] and Steve Reich can be found on the 1999 album ''[[Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night|Cobra and Phases Group&nbsp;Play Voltage in the Milky Night]].''<ref name="Klein (2001)" /><ref>{{cite news | last=Hodgkinson, Will | url=https://www.theguardian.com/Archive/Article/0,4273,4228473,00.html | work=[[The Guardian]] | title=Home entertainment—Stereolab | date=21 July 2001 | access-date=13 December 2016 | archive-date=12 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114209/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2001/jul/27/artsfeatures4 | url-status=live }}</ref> Stereolab's style also incorporates [[Easy listening|easy-listening]] music of the [[1950s in music|1950s]] and [[1960s in music|'60s]]. Joshua Klein in ''[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]]'' said that, "Years before everyone else caught on, Stereolab [were] referencing the 1970s German bands [[Can (band)|Can]] and Neu!, the Mexican lounge music master [[Juan García Esquivel|Esquivel]] and the decidedly unhip Burt Bacharach."<ref name="Klein (2001)" /> Regarding their later work such as ''[[Instant 0 in the Universe]]'' (2003) and ''[[Margerine Eclipse]]'' (2004), critics have compared the releases to the band's earlier guitar-driven style.<ref name="DeRogatis (2003)"/><ref name="Wagner (2004)"/>

===Live performances===
Stereolab toured regularly to support their album releases. In a 1996 ''Washington Post'' gig review, Mark Jenkins wrote that Stereolab started out favouring an "easy-listening [[syncopation]]", but eventually reverted to a "messier, more urgent sound" characteristic of their earlier performances.<ref>{{cite news | last=Jenkins, Mark | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-776792.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103034528/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-776792.html | archive-date=3 November 2012 | newspaper=The Washington Post  | title=Stereolab (Concert Review) | date=28 May 1996}}</ref> In another review Jenkins said that the band's live songs "frequently veer[ed] into more [[Cacophony|cacophonous]], guitar-dominated territory", in contrast to their albums such as ''Cobra and Phases Group…''<ref>{{cite news | last=Jenkins, Mark | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-626054.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103034909/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-626054.html | archive-date=3 November 2012 | newspaper=The Washington Post  | title=Stereolab's Velvet Fog | date=13 November 1999}}</ref> In the ''[[Minneapolis Star Tribune]]'', Jon Bream compared the band's live sound to feedback-driven rock bands like the Velvet Underground, [[Sonic Youth]] and [[My Bloody Valentine (band)|My Bloody Valentine]].<ref>{{cite news | last=Bream, Jon | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62629381.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103034435/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62629381.html | archive-date=3 November 2012 |work=Star Tribune  | title=French-British band Stereolab brings its diverse influences to First Avenue | date=9 May 1996}}</ref> Jim Harrington of ''[[The Oakland Tribune]]'' argued that Sadier's vocals sounded subdued, further stating in regard to her switching between singing in English and French that "a Stereolab show is one of the few concerts where it's hard to find even the biggest fans mouthing along with the lyrics."<ref name="Harrington (2004)" /> Regarding being onstage, Gane has said that "I don't like to be the center of attention&nbsp;...&nbsp;I just get into the music and am not really aware of the people there. That's my way of getting through it."<ref name="Jenkins (5 November 1999)"/> Remarking of the band's 2019 reunion tour, he added that "[Stereolab] never were really a festival band''…'' We're not like, 'Hey, how you all doing?' and all that stuff."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Harvilla|first=Rob|date=2019-07-25|title=The Anti-Nostalgia of the Stereolab Reunion|url=https://www.theringer.com/music/2019/7/25/20727074/stereolab-reunion-tour-pitchfork|access-date=2020-06-12|website=[[The Ringer (website)|The Ringer]]|language=en|archive-date=12 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114217/https://www.theringer.com/music/2019/7/25/20727074/stereolab-reunion-tour-pitchfork|url-status=live}}</ref>