Editing Stereolab (section)

==Legacy==
[[File:Stereolab_live.jpg|thumb|left|Stereolab were credited for reviving the use of vintage analogue instruments.]]
Stereolab have been called one of the most "influential" and "fiercely independent and original groups of the Nineties" by writers Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Pierre Perrone respectively.<ref name="Erlewine (AMG: Stereolab)"/><ref name="perrone"/> Mark Jenkins called them one of "the decade's most innovative British bands."<ref name="Jenkins (1998)">{{cite news | last=Jenkins, Mark | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-676214.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103034707/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-676214.html | archive-date=3 November 2012 | newspaper=The Washington Post  | title=Snowpony | date=18 September 1998}}</ref> Simon Reynolds commented in ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' that the group's earlier records form "an endlessly seductive body of work that sounds always the same, always different."<ref name="Reynolds (1996)"/> In a review for the 1992 single "John Cage Bubblegum", Jason Ankeny said that "No other artist of its generation fused the high-minded daring of the avant-garde and the lowbrow infectiousness of pop with as much invention, skill, and appeal."<ref>{{cite web |last=Akeny |first=Jason |title=John Cage Bubblegum/Eloge d'Eros - Stereolab |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/john-cage-bubblegum-eloge-deros-mw0001015021 |website=AllMusic |access-date=26 September 2018 |archive-date=12 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114135/https://www.allmusic.com/album/john-cage-bubblegum-eloge-deros-mw0001015021 |url-status=live }}</ref> In ''The Wire'', Peter Shapiro compared the band to [[Britpop]] bands [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]] and [[Blur (band)|Blur]], and defended their music against the charge that it is "nothing but the sum total of its arcane reference points."<ref name="Shapiro (1996)" />

Stereolab were one of the first groups to be described as [[post-rock]]—in a 1996 article, journalist Angela Lewis applied the "new term" to Stereolab and three other bands who have connections to the group.<ref name="lewis">{{cite news|last=Lewis, Angela |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4793572.html |work=The Independent |title=Angela Lewis on pop |date=19 April 1996 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103035054/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4793572.html |archive-date=3 November 2012 }}</ref> Stylistically, music journalist [[J. D. Considine]] credits the band for anticipating and driving the late 1990s revival of vintage analogue instruments among indie rock bands.<ref>{{cite news|last=Considine, J. D. |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_19971212/ai_n10384575 |newspaper=The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel  |title=Music so retro it's cutting edge |date=12 December 1997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016153034/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_19971212/ai_n10384575 |archive-date=16 October 2007 }}</ref> Stephen Christian, a creative director of [[Warp Records]], said that the group "exists in the gap between the experimentation of the underground and the appeal of the wider world of pop music".<ref name="McLean (2019)" />

The group have also received negative press. [[Barney Hoskyns]] questioned the longevity of their music in a 1996 ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' review, saying that their records "sound more like arid experiments than music born of emotional need."<ref>{{cite news | last=Hoskyns, Barry | url=http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article.html?ArticleID=6573 | work=Mojo | publisher=Emap Consumer Media Limited | title=The High Llamas: Hawaii; Stereolab: Emperor Tomato Ketchup | date=May 1996 | access-date=27 May 2007 | archive-date=12 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114249/https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-high-llamas-hawaii-stereolab-emperor-tomato-ketchup-/ | url-status=live }}</ref> In ''[[The Guardian|Guardian]],'' Dave Simpson stated: "With their borrowings from early, obscure Kraftwerk and hip obtuse sources, [Stereolab] sound like a band of rock critics rather than musicians."<ref>{{cite news | last=Simpson, Dave | url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,,704969,00.html | work=[[The Guardian]] | title=Stereolab (Manchester University) | date=10 December 2001 | access-date=11 June 2007 | archive-date=16 October 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016081022/http://arts.guardian.co.uk/reviews/story/0,,704969,00.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Lætitia Sadier's vocals were cited by author Stuart Shea as often being "indecipherable".<ref name="Shea (2002)" />

A variety of artists, musical and otherwise, have collaborated with Stereolab. In 1995 the group teamed up with sculptor Charles Long for an interactive art show in New York City, for which Long provided the exhibits and Stereolab the music.<ref name="Reynolds (1995)"/> They have released tracks by and toured with post-rock band [[Tortoise (band)|Tortoise]], while [[John McEntire]] of Tortoise has in turn worked on several Stereolab albums.<ref>{{cite news | last=Jenkins, Mark | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-256365.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103035004/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-256365.html | archive-date=3 November 2012 | newspaper=The Washington Post  | title=The Sea And Cake: One Bed&nbsp;... | date=25 April 2003}}</ref> In the 1990s, the group collaborated with the industrial band [[Nurse with Wound|Nurse With Wound]] and released two albums together, ''[[Crumb Duck]]'' (1993) and ''[[Simple Headphone Mind]]'' (1998),<ref name="Dale (2016)">{{cite news|url=https://www.factmag.com/2016/02/17/stereolab-guide-best-albums-songs/|title=The complete guide to Stereolab|last=Dale|first=John|date=17 February 2016|work=[[Fact (UK magazine)|FACT Magazine]]|access-date=11 December 2018|archive-date=12 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114256/https://www.factmag.com/2016/02/17/stereolab-guide-best-albums-songs/|url-status=live}}</ref> and Stereolab also released "Calimero" (1998) with French avant-garde singer and poet [[Brigitte Fontaine]].<ref name="Dale (2016)" /> The band worked with [[Herbie Mann]] on the song "One Note Samba/Surfboard" for the 1998 AIDS-Benefit album, ''[[Red Hot + Rio]]'', produced by the [[Red Hot Organization]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/red-hot-rio-mw0000081170|title=Red Hot + Rio – Various Artists – Songs, Reviews, Credits|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=25 December 2017|archive-date=12 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114154/https://www.allmusic.com/album/red-hot-rio-mw0000081170|url-status=live}}</ref>

Stereolab alumni have also founded bands of their own. Guitarist Tim Gane founded the side project Cavern of Anti-Matter and also formed Turn on alongside band member [[Sean O'Hagan]], who formed his own band [[the High Llamas]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Sherburne |first=Philip |title=Cavern of Anti-Matter: Void Beats / Invocation Trex |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21470-void-beats-invocation-trex/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=11 December 2018 |language=en |archive-date=12 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114148/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/21470-void-beats-invocation-trex/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |title=Turn On {{!}} Biography & History |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/turn-on-mn0000206966/biography |website=AllMusic |access-date=11 December 2018 |archive-date=12 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114235/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/turn-on-mn0000206966/biography |url-status=live }}</ref> Katharine Gifford formed [[Snowpony]] with former [[My Bloody Valentine (band)|My Bloody Valentine]] bassist [[Debbie Googe]].<ref name="Jenkins (1998)"/><ref>{{cite web | last=Unterberger, Richie | url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p169439|pure_url=yes}} | website=AllMusic | title=Biography (The High Llamas) | access-date=26 May 2007}}</ref> Sadier has released three albums with her four-piece side-project [[Monade]], whose sound Mark Jenkins called a "little more Parisian" than Stereolab's.<ref>{{cite news | last=Jenkins, Mark | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-42690.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103035031/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-42690.html | archive-date=3 November 2012 | newspaper=The Washington Post  | title=Monade: A Few Steps More&nbsp;... | date=20 May 2005}}</ref> Backing vocalist [[Mary Hansen]] formed a band named Schema with members of [[Hovercraft (band)|Hovercraft]] and released their eponymous EP in 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/schema-mw0000099801|title=Schema - Schema|first=François|last=Couture|website=AllMusic|access-date=15 January 2018|archive-date=12 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114151/https://www.allmusic.com/album/schema-mw0000099801|url-status=live}}</ref> Former keyboardist, Morgan Lhote, formed a band named Hologram Teen.<ref>Lyon, Judy. "[https://torchedmagazine.com/2017/11/11/stereolabs-morgane-lhote-on-becoming-hologram-teen Stereolab’s Morgane Lhote On Becoming Hologram Teen]". torchedmagazine, 11 November 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2025</ref><ref>"[https://www.kcrw.com/music/shows/todays-top-tune/hologram-teen-connection-transpacifique Today's Top Tune Hologram Teen: ‘Connection transpacifique’]". [[KCRW]], 7 March 2025. Retrieved 23 March 2025</ref>

As of August 1999, US album sales stood at 300,000 copies sold.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nggEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA100|title=''Elektra Plugs Stereolab's Voltage''|magazine=Billboard|first=Lisa|last=Gidley|date=28 August 1999|via=Google Books|access-date=30 June 2018|archive-date=12 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114242/https://books.google.com/books?id=nggEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA100|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite receiving critical acclaim and a sizeable fanbase, commercial success eluded the group.<ref name="Eliscu (2004)"/><ref name="Stevens (2003)">{{cite web | last=Stevens, Andrew | url=http://www.3ammagazine.com/musicarchives/2003/jan/messrs_modular.html | publisher=3:AM Magazine | title=Stereolab—Radio 1 Sessions | year=2003 | access-date=26 May 2007 | archive-date=3 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174159/http://www.3ammagazine.com/musicarchives/2003/jan/messrs_modular.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Early in their career, their 1993 EP ''[[Jenny Ondioline]]'' entered the [[UK Singles Chart]], but financial issues prevented the band from printing enough records to satisfy demand.<ref name="Stevens (2003)"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.stereolab.co.uk/discography/?no=10 | website=Stereolab Official Site | publisher=Stereolab | title=Discography (Jenny Ondioline) | access-date=26 May 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927230939/http://www.stereolab.co.uk/discography/?no=10 | archive-date=27 September 2007 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> According to Sadier, however, the band "[avoided] going overground" like [[PJ Harvey]], [[Pulp (band)|Pulp]] and [[the Cranberries]], all of whom quickly rose from obscurity to fame, adding: "This kind of notoriety is not a particularly good thing, [and] you don't enjoy it anymore."<ref name="McLean (2019)">{{cite web |last=McLean |first=Craig |title=Stereolab, Britain's Clever Post-Rock Innovators, Want to Capture Ears Again |date=10 May 2019 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/10/arts/music/stereolab-reunion.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=13 May 2019 |archive-date=12 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114302/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/10/arts/music/stereolab-reunion.html |url-status=live }}</ref> When [[Elektra Records]] was closed down by [[Warner Bros. Records]] in 2004, Stereolab was dropped along with many other artists, reportedly because of poor sales.<ref name="Eliscu (2004)"/> Tim Gane said in retrospect that the group "signed to Elektra because we thought we would be on there for an album or two and then we'd get ejected. We were surprised when we got to our first album!"<ref name="McGonical" /> Since then, Stereolab's self-owned label [[Duophonic Records|Duophonic]] has inked a worldwide distribution deal with independent label [[Too Pure]].<ref name="beggars.com"/> Through Duophonic, the band both licenses their music and releases it directly (depending on geographic market). Gane said, "...&nbsp;we license our recordings and just give them to people, then we don't have to ask for permission if we want to use it. We just want to be in control of our own music."<ref name="H2O (Chunklet: Tim Gane)"/>