立体声实验室

Stereolab are a British-French band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's sound incorporates vintage electronic keyboards and repetitive motorik beats with female vocals sung in English and French, drawing influence from styles such as krautrock, lounge music, jazz, and 1960s French pop. Their lyrics have left-wing political and philosophical themes influenced by the Surrealist and Situationist movements.

Stereolab were formed by Gane (guitar and keyboards) and Sadier (vocals, keyboards and guitar) after the break-up of McCarthy. The two were romantically involved for fourteen years and are the group's only consistent members. Other longtime members included 1992 addition Mary Hansen (backing vocals, keyboards and guitar), who died in 2002, and 1993 addition Andy Ramsay (drums). The High Llamas' leader Sean O'Hagan (guitar and keyboards) was a member from 1993 to 1994 and continued appearing on later records for occasional guest appearances.

Throughout their career, Stereolab have achieved moderate commercial success. The band were released from their recording contract with Elektra Records, and their self-owned label Duophonic signed a distribution deal with Too Pure and later Warp Records. After a ten-year hiatus, the band reunited for live performances in 2019, and eventually released the studio album Instant Holograms on Metal Film in 2025.

History

1990–1993: Formation

In 1985, Tim Gane co-founded McCarthy, an indie pop band known for their left-wing politics, in Barking, London. Gane met Lætitia Sadier, born in France, at a 1988 McCarthy concert in Paris, and the two quickly fell in love. Sadier was disillusioned with the rock scene in France, and soon moved to London to be with Gane and to pursue a music career; she appeared on McCarthy's final album Banking, Violence and the Inner Life Today in 1990. Following McCarthy's split later that year, Gane and Sadier formed Stereolab with ex-Chills bassist Martin Kean, drummer Joe Dilworth of Th' Faith Healers and Gina Morris on backing vocals. Stereolab's name was taken from a division of Vanguard Records demonstrating hi-fi effects.

Gane and Sadier, along with future band manager Martin Pike, set up a record label called Duophonic Super 45s which, along with later offshoot Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks, would become commonly known as "Duophonic Records". Gane said that their "original plan" was to distribute multiple 7 and 10-inch records "–to just do one a month and keep doing them in small editions". The 10-inch vinyl EP Super 45, released in May 1991, was the first release for both Stereolab and the label, and was sold through mail order and Rough Trade in London. Super 45's band-designed album art and packaging was the first of many customised and limited-edition Duophonic records. In a 1996 interview in The Wire, Gane calls the "do-it-yourself" aesthetic behind Duophonic "empowering", and said that by releasing one's own music "you learn; it creates more music, more ideas".