123-529: Stereolab are an Anglo -French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier , the group's sound features influences from krautrock and 1960s French pop music , often incorporating a repetitive motorik beat with the use of vintage electronic keyboards and female vocals sung in English and French. Their lyrics have political and philosophical themes influenced by
246-510: A "little more Parisian" than Stereolab's. Backing vocalist Mary Hansen formed a band named Schema with members of Hovercraft and released their eponymous EP in 2000. As of August 1999, US album sales stood at 300,000 copies sold. Despite receiving critical acclaim and a sizeable fanbase, commercial success eluded the group. Early in their career, their 1993 EP Jenny Ondioline entered the UK Singles Chart , but financial issues prevented
369-404: A 1999 Salon interview. Critics have seen Marxist allusions in the band's lyrics, and have gone so far as to call the band members themselves Marxist. Music journalist Simon Reynolds commented that Sadier's lyrics tend to lean towards Marxist social commentary rather than "affairs of the heart". The 1994 single " Ping Pong " has been put forward as evidence in regard to these alleged views. In
492-483: A 1999 article of Washington Post , Mark Jenkins asked Gane about the album's apparent lack of guitars; Gane responded, "There's a lot less upfront, distorted guitar ... But it's still quite guitar-based music. Every single track has a guitar on it." Stereolab's seventh album, Sound-Dust (August 2001), rose to number 178 on the Billboard 200. The album also featured producers McEntire and O'Rourke. Sound-Dust
615-663: A Roman garrison at Aballava , now Burgh-by-Sands , in Cumbria: a 4th-century inscription says that the Roman military unit "Numerus Maurorum Aurelianorum" ("unit of Aurelian Moors") from Mauretania (Morocco) was stationed there. Although the Roman Empire incorporated peoples from far and wide, genetic studies suggest the Romans did not significantly mix into the British population. The exact nature of
738-593: A band of rock critics rather than musicians." Lætitia Sadier's vocals were cited by author Stuart Shea as often being "indecipherable". 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. They have released tracks by and toured with post-rock band Tortoise , while John McEntire of Tortoise has in turn worked on several Stereolab albums. In
861-538: 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". The group have also received negative press. Barney Hoskyns questioned the longevity of their music in a 1996 Mojo review, saying that their records "sound more like arid experiments than music born of emotional need." In Guardian , Dave Simpson stated: "With their borrowings from early, obscure Kraftwerk and hip obtuse sources, [Stereolab] sound like
984-501: A distribution deal with Too Pure and later Warp Records . After a ten-year hiatus, the band reunited for live performances in 2019. In 1985, Tim Gane formed McCarthy , a band from Essex , England, known for their left-wing politics. Gane met Lætitia Sadier, born in France, at a 1988 McCarthy concert in Paris and the two quickly fell in love. The musically-inclined Sadier was disillusioned with
1107-627: A geographic area brings protests, especially from the Scotch . However, although Taylor believed this blurring effect was dying out, in his book The Isles: A History (1999), Norman Davies lists numerous examples in history books of "British" still being used to mean "English" and vice versa. In December 2010, Matthew Parris in The Spectator , analysing the use of "English" over "British", argued that English identity, rather than growing, had existed all along but has recently been unmasked from behind
1230-647: A greater extent than their white counterparts; however, groups such as the Campaign for an English Parliament (CEP) suggest the emergence of a broader civic and multi-ethnic English nationhood. Scholars and journalists have noted a rise in English self-consciousness, with increased use of the English flag , particularly at football matches where the Union flag was previously more commonly flown by fans. This perceived rise in English self-consciousness has generally been attributed to
1353-450: A large statistical spread in all cases. However, the authors noted that the similarity observed between the various sample groups was likely to be due to more recent internal migration. Another 2016 study conducted using evidence from burials found in northern England, found that a significant genetic difference was present in bodies from the Iron Age and the Roman period on the one hand, and
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#17331062491361476-583: A major-label American record deal with Elektra Records . Their first album under Elektra, Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements (August 1993), was an underground success in both the US and the UK. Mark Jenkins commented in Washington Post that with the album, Stereolab "continues the glorious drones of [their] indie work, giving celestial sweep to [their] garage-rock organ pumping and rhythm-guitar strumming". In
1599-457: A majority of respondents thought that being English was not dependent on race. 77% of white respondents in England agreed that "Being English is open to people of different ethnic backgrounds who identify as English", whereas 14% were of the view that "Only people who are white count as truly English". Amongst ethnic minority respondents, the equivalent figures were 68% and 19%. Research has found that
1722-526: A member of that band, Hansen recorded six studio albums from Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements (August 1993) to Sound-Dust (August 2001). Outside of her work with Stereolab, Hansen sang on records by Brokeback , The High Llamas , Moonshake , and Mouse on Mars . She was a record producer, keyboard player and vocalist for the London underground group Chicano. In late 1999, Hansen combined with Seattle -formed space rock group Hovercraft to form Schema. An eponymous maxi-EP/mini-album
1845-471: A music that will make sense to a lot of people whether they know about Steve Reich or not." The duo were up-front about their desire to grow their sound: for Gane, "otherwise it just sounds like what other people are doing", and for Sadier, "you trust that there is more and that it can be done more interesting." Their records have been heavily influenced by the " motorik " technique of 1970s krautrock groups such as Neu! and Faust . Tim Gane has supported
1968-597: A native British "North Atlantic" population and a Danish-like population. While much of the latter signature was attributed to the earlier settlement of the Anglo-Saxons, it was calculated that up to 6% of it could have come from Danish Vikings, with a further 4% contribution from a Norwegian-like source representing the Norwegian Vikings. The study also found an average 18% admixture from a source further south in Europe, which
2091-402: A parliament being established. Krishan Kumar notes that support for measures to ensure that only English MPs can vote on legislation that applies only to England is generally higher than that for the establishment of an English parliament, although support for both varies depending on the timing of the opinion poll and the wording of the question. Electoral support for English nationalist parties
2214-555: A portmanteau of inventor Georges Jenny and his instrument the Ondioline . 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; as well as one of "the decade's most innovative British bands." by Mark Jenkins. Simon Reynolds commented in Rolling Stone that
2337-464: A record label called Duophonic Super 45s which, along with later offshoot Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks, would become commonly known as "Duophonic". 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
2460-463: A rise in English self-awareness. This is linked to the expressions of national self-awareness of the other British nations of Wales, Scotland and, to some extent, Northern Ireland which take their most solid form in the new devolved political arrangements within the United Kingdom ;– and the waning of a shared British national identity with the growing distance between the end of
2583-627: A separate ethnic identity, others have assimilated and intermarried with the English. Since Oliver Cromwell 's resettlement of the Jews in 1656, there have been waves of Jewish immigration from Russia in the 19th century and from Germany in the 20th. After the French king Louis XIV declared Protestantism illegal in 1685 in the Edict of Fontainebleau , an estimated 50,000 Protestant Huguenots fled to England. Due to sustained and sometimes mass emigration of
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#17331062491362706-651: A separate people from the English. This separation was enshrined when Alfred the Great signed the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum to establish the Danelaw, a division of England between English and Danish rule, with the Danes occupying northern and eastern England. However, Alfred's successors subsequently won military victories against the Danes, incorporating much of the Danelaw into the nascent kingdom of England. Danish invasions continued into
2829-496: A side-project, in late 1999 she formed the space rock group Schema with members of Seattle -based band Hovercraft , and they issued their debut album, Schema , on 19 September 2000. On 9 December 2002, Hansen was struck and killed by a truck while bicycling in London. Mary Therese Hansen was born on 1 November 1966 in Maryborough , Queensland , Australia. Her father, Brendan Percival Hansen , OAM (1922 – 1999),
2952-484: A studio north of Bordeaux , France. ABC Music: The Radio 1 Sessions ; a compilation of BBC Radio 1 sessions was released in October. In the same year, Gane and Sadier's romantic relationship ended. Losing Mary is still incredibly painful ... But it's also an opportunity to transform and move on. It's a new version. We've always had new versions, people coming in and out. That's life. On 9 December 2002, Hansen
3075-604: A style of vocal counterpoint that distinguished Stereolab's sound. Sean O'Hagan of the High Llamas joined as a quick replacement for their touring keyboardist, but was invited for their next record and "was allowed to make suggestions". Stereolab introduced easy-listening elements into their sound with the EP Space Age Bachelor Pad Music , released in March 1993. The work raised the band's profile and landed them
3198-422: A third percussion instrument more than a lead vocalist", 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." Regarding being onstage, Gane has said that "I don't like to be the center of attention ... I just get into the music and am not really aware of
3321-542: A veneer of Britishness. English people, like most Europeans, largely descend from three distinct lineages: Mesolithic hunter-gatherers , descended from a Cro-Magnon population that arrived in Europe about 45,000 years ago; Neolithic farmers who migrated from Anatolia during the Neolithic Revolution 9,000 years ago; and Yamnaya Steppe pastoralists who expanded into Europe from the Pontic–Caspian steppe in
3444-464: Is also low, even though there is public support for many of the policies they espouse. The English Democrats gained just 64,826 votes in the 2010 UK general election , accounting for 0.3 per cent of all votes cast in England. Kumar argued in 2010 that "despite devolution and occasional bursts of English nationalism – more an expression of exasperation with the Scots or Northern Irish – the English remain on
3567-561: Is noticeable on live performances of Stereolab's older tracks, and that their newer songs could have benefited from Hansen's backing vocals. In interviews, Gane and Sadier have discussed their musical philosophy. Gane said that "to be unique was more important than to be good." 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
3690-612: Is usually termed "elite dominance". The second process is explained through incentives, such as the Wergild outlined in the law code of Ine of Wessex which produced an incentive to become Anglo-Saxon or at least English speaking. Historian Malcolm Todd writes, "It is much more likely that a large proportion of the British population remained in place and was progressively dominated by a Germanic aristocracy, in some cases marrying into it and leaving Celtic names in the, admittedly very dubious, early lists of Anglo-Saxon dynasties. But how we identify
3813-590: The Anglo-Saxons , a group of closely related Germanic tribes that began migrating to eastern and southern Britain, from southern Denmark and northern Germany, in the 5th century AD, after the Romans had withdrawn from Britain . The Anglo-Saxons gave their name to England ("Engla land", meaning "Land of the Angles") and to the English. The Anglo-Saxons arrived in a land that was already populated by people commonly referred to as
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3936-544: The British Empire and the present. Many recent immigrants to England have assumed a solely British identity, while others have developed dual or mixed identities. Use of the word "English" to describe Britons from ethnic minorities in England is complicated by most non-white people in England identifying as British rather than English. In their 2004 Annual Population Survey , the Office for National Statistics compared
4059-584: The English language , a West Germanic language, and share a common ancestry, history, and culture. The English identity began with the Anglo-Saxons , when they were known as the Angelcynn , meaning race or tribe of the Angles . Their ethnonym is derived from the Angles, one of the Germanic peoples who invaded Britain around the 5th century AD. The English largely descend from two main historical population groups:
4182-581: The Irish , current estimates indicate that around 6 million people in the UK have at least one grandparent born in the Republic of Ireland. There has been a small black presence in England since the 16th century due to the slave trade , and a small Indian presence since at least the 17th century because of the East India Company and British Raj . Black and Asian populations have only grown throughout
4305-519: The Red Hot Organization . 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 . Katharine Gifford formed Snowpony with former My Bloody Valentine bassist Debbie Googe . Sadier has released three albums with her four-piece side-project Monade , whose sound Mark Jenkins called
4428-462: The Surrealist and Situationist art movements. While performing, they play in a more feedback-driven and guitar-oriented style. From the mid-1990s, the band began to draw from funk , jazz and Brazilian music . 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
4551-606: The Treaty of Union . The Parliament of Scotland had previously passed its own Act of Union, so the Kingdom of Great Britain was born on 1 May 1707. In 1801, another Act of Union formed a union between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland , creating the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . In 1922, about two-thirds of the Irish population (those who lived in 26 of
4674-706: The devolution in the late 1990s of some powers to the Scottish Parliament and National Assembly for Wales . In policy areas for which the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have responsibility, the UK Parliament votes on laws that consequently only apply to England. Because the Westminster Parliament is composed of MPs from throughout the United Kingdom, this has given rise to
4797-464: The " Romano-British "—the descendants of the native Brittonic-speaking population that lived in the area of Britain under Roman rule during the 1st–5th centuries AD. The multi-ethnic nature of the Roman Empire meant that small numbers of other peoples may have also been present in England before the Anglo-Saxons arrived. There is archaeological evidence, for example, of an early North African presence in
4920-462: The " West Lothian question ", a reference to the situation in which MPs representing constituencies outside England can vote on matters affecting only England, but MPs cannot vote on the same matters in relation to the other parts of the UK. Consequently, groups such as the CEP have called for the creation of a devolved English Parliament , claiming that there is now a discriminatory democratic deficit against
5043-552: The 11th century, and there were both English and Danish kings in the period following the unification of England (for example, Æthelred II (978–1013 and 1014–1016) was English but Cnut (1016–1035) was Danish). Gradually, the Danes in England came to be seen as 'English'. They had a noticeable impact on the English language: many English words, such as anger , ball , egg , got , knife , take , and they , are of Old Norse origin , and place names that end in -thwaite and -by are Scandinavian in origin. The English population
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5166-416: The 1990s, the group collaborated with the industrial band Nurse With Wound and released two albums together, Crumb Duck (1993) and Simple Headphone Mind (1998), and Stereolab also released "Calimero" (1998) with French avant-garde singer and poet Brigitte Fontaine . The band worked with Herbie Mann on the song "One Note Samba/Surfboard" for the 1998 AIDS-Benefit album, Red Hot + Rio , produced by
5289-557: The 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night . Stereolab's style also incorporates easy-listening music of the 1950s and '60s . Joshua Klein in Washington Post said that, "Years before everyone else caught on, Stereolab [were] referencing the 1970s German bands Can and Neu!, the Mexican lounge music master Esquivel and the decidedly unhip Burt Bacharach." Regarding their later work such as Instant 0 in
5412-540: The 32 counties of Ireland), left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State . The remainder became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, although this name was not introduced until 1927, after some years in which the term "United Kingdom" had been little used. Throughout the history of the UK, the English have been dominant in population and in political weight. As a consequence, notions of 'Englishness' and 'Britishness' are often very similar. At
5535-656: The Amorphous Body Study Center in April 1995. The EP was their musical contribution to an interactive art exhibit put on in collaboration with New York City artist Charles Long. Their second compilation of rarities, titled Refried Ectoplasm (Switched On, Vol. 2) , was released in July 1995. The band's fourth album, Emperor Tomato Ketchup (March 1996), was a critical success and was played heavily on college radio . A record that "captivated alternative rock", it represented
5658-522: The Anglo-Saxon period on the other. Samples from modern-day Wales were found to be similar to those from the Iron Age and Roman burials, while samples from much of modern England, East Anglia in particular, were closer to the Anglo-Saxon-era burial. This was found to demonstrate a "profound impact" from the Anglo-Saxon migrations on the modern English gene pool, though no specific percentages were given in
5781-641: The EP Super-Electric in September 1991, and a single, titled "Stunning Debut Album" (which was neither debut nor album), followed in November 1991. The early material was rock and guitar-oriented; of Super-Electric Jason Ankeny wrote in AllMusic that "Droning guitars, skeletal rhythms, and pop hooks—not vintage synths and pointillist melodies—were their calling cards ..." Under the independent label Too Pure ,
5904-466: The English language became more important even in the court, and the Normans were gradually assimilated, until, by the 14th century, both rulers and subjects regarded themselves as English and spoke the English language. Despite the assimilation of the Normans, the distinction between 'English' and 'French' people survived in some official documents long after it had fallen out of common use, in particular in
6027-578: The English. The establishment of an English parliament has also been backed by a number of Scottish and Welsh nationalists. Writer Paul Johnson has suggested that like most dominant groups, the English have only demonstrated interest in their ethnic self-definition when they were feeling oppressed. John Curtice argues that "In the early years of devolution...there was little sign" of an English backlash against devolution for Scotland and Wales, but that more recently survey data shows tentative signs of "a form of English nationalism...beginning to emerge among
6150-804: The Iberian Bell Beakers, but appeared to be an offshoot of the Corded Ware single grave people, as developed in Western Europe. It is currently unknown whether these Beaker peoples went on to develop Celtic languages in the British Isles , or whether later Celtic migrations introduced Celtic languages to Britain. The close genetic affinity of these Beaker people to Continental North Europeans means that British and Irish populations cluster genetically very closely with other Northwest European populations, regardless of how much Anglo-Saxon and Viking ancestry
6273-425: The Milky Night , was released in September 1999. It was co-produced by McEntire and American producer Jim O'Rourke , and was recorded with their new bassist, Simon Johns. The album received middling reviews from critics and peaked at number 154 on the Billboard 200. An unsigned NME review said that "this record has far more in common with bad jazz and progressive rock than any experimental art-rock tradition." In
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#17331062491366396-608: The UK generally, as immigration from the British Empire and the subsequent Commonwealth of Nations was encouraged due to labour shortages during post World War II rebuilding. However, these groups are often still considered to be ethnic minorities and research has shown that black and Asian people in the UK are more likely to identify as British rather than with one of the state's four constituent nations, including England. A nationally representative survey published in June 2021 found that
6519-511: The UK, it is also "problematic for the English [...] when it comes to conceiving of their national identity. It tells of the difficulty that most English people have of distinguishing themselves, in a collective way, from the other inhabitants of the British Isles". In 1965, the historian A. J. P. Taylor wrote, When the Oxford History of England was launched a generation ago, "England"
6642-526: The UK, the album was released on Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks, which is responsible for domestic releases of Stereolab's major albums. In January 1994, Stereolab achieved their first chart entry when the 1993 EP Jenny Ondioline , entered at number 75 on the UK Singles Chart . (Over the next three years, four more releases by the band would appear on this chart, ending with the EP Miss Modular in 1997.) Their third album, Mars Audiac Quintet ,
6765-415: The UK. In his study of English identity, Krishan Kumar describes a common slip of the tongue in which people say "English, I mean British". He notes that this slip is normally made only by the English themselves and by foreigners: "Non-English members of the United Kingdom rarely say 'British' when they mean 'English ' ". Kumar suggests that although this blurring is a sign of England's dominant position with
6888-539: The United Kingdom . The majority of people living in England are British citizens. In the Acts of Union 1707 , the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland merged to become the Kingdom of Great Britain . Over the years, English customs and identity have become fairly closely aligned with British customs and identity in general. The demonyms for men and women from England are Englishman and Englishwoman. England itself has no devolved government. The 1990s witnessed
7011-527: The United Kingdom. Wales was annexed by England by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 , which incorporated Wales into the English state. A new British identity was subsequently developed when James VI of Scotland became James I of England as well, and expressed the desire to be known as the monarch of Britain. In 1707, England formed a union with Scotland by passing an Act of Union in March 1707 that ratified
7134-559: The United States and Canada. In February 2009, they toured Australia as part of the St Jerome's Laneway Festival . In April 2009, Stereolab manager Martin Pike announced a pause in their activities for the time being. He said that it was an opportune time for the members to move on to other projects. Not Music , a collection of unreleased material recorded at the same time as Chemical Chords ,
7257-527: The United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. In the 2020 United States census , English Americans were the largest group in the United States with 46.5 million Americans self-identifying as having some English origins (many combined with another heritage) representing (19.8%) of the White American population. This includes 25.5 million (12.5%) who were "English alone" - one origin. However, demographers regard this as an undercount, as
7380-517: The Universe (2003) and Margerine Eclipse (2004), critics have compared the releases to the band's earlier guitar-driven style. 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. In another review Jenkins said that
7503-442: The West Germanic tribes, including the Angles, Saxons , and Jutes who settled in Southern Britain following the withdrawal of the Romans , and the partially Romanised Celtic Britons who already lived there. Collectively known as the Anglo-Saxons , they founded what was to become the Kingdom of England by the 10th century, in response to the invasion and extensive settlement of Danes and other Norsemen that began in
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#17331062491367626-417: The arrival of the Anglo-Saxons and their relationship with the Romano-British is a matter of debate. The traditional view is that a mass invasion by various Anglo-Saxon tribes largely displaced the indigenous British population in southern and eastern Britain (modern-day England with the exception of Cornwall ). This is supported by the writings of Gildas , who gives the only contemporary historical account of
7749-606: The band both licenses their music and releases it directly (depending on geographic market). Gane said, "... 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." Current members Former members Timeline Studio albums Compilation albums Stereolab released many non-LP tracks that they later anthologised as compilation albums. English people Modern ethnicities The English people are an ethnic group and nation native to England , who speak
7872-406: The band from printing enough records to satisfy demand. According to Sadier, however, the band "[avoided] going overground" like PJ Harvey , 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." When Elektra Records was closed down by Warner Bros. Records in 2004, Stereolab
7995-417: The band's live songs "frequently veer[ed] into more cacophonous , guitar-dominated territory", in contrast to their albums such as Cobra and Phases Group… 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 . Jim Harrington of The Oakland Tribune argued that "Sadier often sounded like
8118-429: The brisker sound of the band's post-Hansen work. By June 2007, Stereolab's line-up comprised Tim Gane, Lætitia Sadier, Andy Ramsay, Simon Johns, Dominic Jeffrey, Joseph Watson, and Joseph Walters. In 2008, the band issued their next album under the label 4AD titled, Chemical Chords , which "[downplays] their arsenal of analog synths in favor of live instrumentation". The release was followed by an autumn tour in Europe,
8241-416: The cases of eastern regions such as East Anglia and Lincolnshire, while in parts of Northumbria, much of the native population likely remained in place as the incomers took over as elites. In a study of place names in northeastern England and southern Scotland, Bethany Fox found that the migrants settled in large numbers in river valleys, such as those of the Tyne and the Tweed, with the Britons moving to
8364-470: The charge that it is "nothing but the sum total of its arcane reference points." They were one of the first groups to be termed 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. 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. Stephen Christian,
8487-620: The comparison: "Neu! did minimalism and drones , but in a very pop way." Dave Heaton of PopMatters said that their music also had "echoes of bubblegum , of exotica , of Beach Boys and bossa nova ", with their earlier work "bearing strong Velvet Underground overtones". Funk , jazz , and Brazilian music were additional inspirations for the band. Stephan Davet of French newspaper Le Monde said that Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996) had musical influences such as Burt Bacharach , and Françoise Hardy . The sounds influenced by minimalist composers Philip Glass and Steve Reich can be found on
8610-472: The complex nature of national identities, with many people considering themselves both English and British. A 2017 survey by YouGov found that 38% of English voters considered themselves both English and British, alongside 19% who felt English but not British. Recent surveys of public opinion on the establishment of an English parliament have given widely varying conclusions. In the first five years of devolution for Scotland and Wales, support in England for
8733-420: The context of Indo-European migrations 5,000 years ago. Recent genetic studies have suggested that Britain's Neolithic population was largely replaced by a population from North Continental Europe characterised by the Bell Beaker culture around 2400 BC, associated with the Yamnaya people from the Pontic-Caspian Steppe . This population lacked genetic affinity to some other Bell Beaker populations, such as
8856-602: The death of King Stephen in 1154, when the succession passed to Henry II , House of Plantagenet (based in France), and England became part of the Angevin Empire until its collapse in 1214. Anglo-Norman and Latin continued to be the two languages used officially by the Plantagenet kings until Edward I came to the throne, when Middle English became used in official documents, but alongside Anglo-Norman and Latin. Over time
8979-480: The effects of Hansen's absence. The EP Instant 0 in the Universe (October 2003) was recorded in France, and was Stereolab's first release following Hansen's death. Music journalist Jim DeRogatis said that the EP marked a return to their earlier, harder sound—"free from the pseudo-funk moves and avant-garde tinkering that had been inspired by Chicago producer Jim O'Rourke". Stereolab's eighth album, Margerine Eclipse ,
9102-473: The end', meaning of our lives. I'm not religious, but I feel Mary's energy is still around somewhere. It didn't just disappear." The Observer ' s Molloy Woodcraft gave the album four out of five stars, and commented that Sadier's vocal performance as "life- and love-affirming", and the record as a whole as "Complex and catchy, bold and beatific." Kelefa Sanneh commented in Rolling Stone that Margerine Eclipse
9225-595: The establishment of an English parliament was low at between 16 and 19%, according to successive British Social Attitudes Surveys . A report, also based on the British Social Attitudes Survey, published in December 2010 suggests that only 29% of people in England support the establishment of an English parliament, though this figure had risen from 17% in 2007. One 2007 poll carried out for BBC Newsnight , however, found that 61 per cent would support such
9348-416: The ethnic identities of British people with their perceived national identity . They found that while 58% of white people in England described their nationality as "English", non-white people were more likely to describe themselves as "British". It is unclear how many British people consider themselves English. The words "English" and "British" are often incorrectly used interchangeably, especially outside
9471-449: The general public". Michael Kenny, Richard English and Richard Hayton, meanwhile, argue that the resurgence in English nationalism predates devolution, being observable in the early 1990s, but that this resurgence does not necessarily have negative implications for the perception of the UK as a political union. Others question whether devolution has led to a rise in English national identity at all, arguing that survey data fails to portray
9594-593: The group "[uses] lyrics to convey ideas while using them for the pleasurable way the words sound." Lætitia Sadier, who writes the group's lyrics, was influenced by both the Situationist philosophy Society of the Spectacle by Marxist theorist Guy Debord , and her anger towards the Iraq War . The Surrealist , as well as other Situationist cultural and political movements were also influences, as stated by Sadier and Gane in
9717-425: The group's "high-water mark" said music journalists Tom Moon and Joshua Klein, respectively. The album incorporated their early krautrock sound with funk, hip-hop influences and experimental instrumental arrangements. John McEntire of Tortoise also assisted with production and played on the album. Katharine Gifford was replaced by Morgane Lhote before recording, and bassist Duncan Brown by Richard Harrison after. Lhote
9840-479: The group's earlier records form "an endlessly seductive body of work that sounds always the same, always different." 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." In The Wire , Peter Shapiro compared the band to Britpop bands Oasis and Blur , and defended their music against
9963-590: The group's first full-length album, Peng! , was released in May 1992. A compilation titled Switched On was released in October 1992 and would be part of a series of compilations that anthologise the band's more obscure material. Around this time, the line-up consisted of Gane and Sadier plus vocalist and guitarist Mary Hansen , drummer Andy Ramsay, bassist Duncan Brown, and keyboardist Katharine Gifford. Hansen, born in Australia, had been in touch with Gane since his McCarthy days. After joining, she and Sadier developed
10086-565: 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 has achieved moderate commercial success. The band were released from their recording contract with Elektra Records , and their self-owned label Duophonic signed
10209-453: The harder Velvet Underground-like riffs of previous releases into "softer sounds and noisy playfulness". Contributors to the album included John McEntire and Jan St. Werner of German electropop duo Mouse on Mars . Stereolab toured for seven months and took a break when Gane and Sadier had a child. The group's third compilation of rarities, Aluminum Tunes , was issued in October 1998. Their sixth album, Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in
10332-515: The index of inconsistency is high, and many, if not most, people from English stock have a tendency (since the introduction of a new 'American' category and ignoring the ancestry question in the 2000 census) to identify as simply Americans or if of mixed European ancestry, identify with a more recent and differentiated ethnic group. Prior to this, in the 2000 census , 24,509,692 Americans described their ancestry as wholly or partly English. In addition, 1,035,133 recorded British ancestry. This
10455-422: The instruments for their versatility: "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." The 1994 album Mars Audiac Quintet prominently features Moog synthesizers . Lætitia Sadier's English and French vocals have been a part of Stereolab's music since the beginning, and she would occasionally sing wordlessly along with
10578-546: The label, and was sold through mail order and through the Rough Trade Shop 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". Stereolab released
10701-472: The late 9th century. This was followed by the Norman Conquest and limited settlement of Normans in England in the late 11th century and a sizeable number of French Protestants who emigrated between the 16th and 18th centuries. Some definitions of English people include, while others exclude, people descended from later migration into England. England is the largest and most populous country of
10824-400: The legal process Presentment of Englishry (a rule by which a hundred had to prove an unidentified murdered body found on their soil to be that of an Englishman, rather than a Norman, if they wanted to avoid a fine). This law was abolished in 1340. Since the 18th century, England has been one part of a wider political entity covering all or part of the British Isles, which today is called
10947-477: The less fertile hill country and becoming acculturated over a longer period. Fox describes the process by which English came to dominate this region as "a synthesis of mass-migration and elite-takeover models." From about 800 AD, waves of Danish Viking assaults on the coastlines of the British Isles were gradually followed by a succession of Danish settlers in England. At first, the Vikings were very much considered
11070-542: The line into "sloganeering". Sadier also said that she had read very little Marx. In contrast, Cornelius Castoriadis , a radical political philosopher but strong critic of Marxism , has been cited as a marking influence in Sadier's thinking. The name of her side project, Monade , and its debut album title, Socialisme ou Barbarie , are also references to the work of Castoriadis. Stereolab's album and song titles occasionally reference avant-garde groups and artists. Gane said that
11193-940: The lineup for 2019's Primavera Sound festival, taking part on the weekend of 30 May in Barcelona, Spain, and the following weekend in Porto, Portugal. It was the group's first live performance since 2009. Stereolab's music combines a droning rock sound with lounge instrumentals, overlaid with sing-song female vocals and pop melodies, and has also made use of unorthodox time signatures. It has been generally described as avant-pop , indie pop , art pop , indie electronic , indie rock , post-rock , experimental rock , and experimental pop . Sadier remarked in 2015 that "[the band's] records were written and recorded very quickly… we would write 35 tracks, sometimes more". The band have played on vintage electronic keyboards and synthesizers from brands such as Farfisa and Vox and Moog . Gane has praised
11316-536: The music. In reference to her laid-back delivery, Peter Shapiro wrote facetiously in Wire that Sadier "display[ed] all the emotional histrionics of Nico ", while some critics have commented that her vocals were unintelligible. 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". After Hansen's death in 2002, critic Jim Harrington commented that her absence
11439-553: The new French-speaking Norman elite almost universally replaced the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy and church leaders. After the conquest, "English" normally included all natives of England, whether they were of Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian or Celtic ancestry, to distinguish them from the Norman invaders, who were regarded as "Norman" even if born in England, for a generation or two after the Conquest. The Norman dynasty ruled England for 87 years until
11562-449: The people there. That's my way of getting through it." 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.” "Basically, I want to change the world. I want to make people think about how they live every day, shake them a bit." Stereolab's music is politically and philosophically charged. Dave Heaton of PopMatters said that
11685-413: The period, and describes the slaughter and starvation of native Britons by invading tribes ( aduentus Saxonum ). Furthermore, the English language contains no more than a handful of words borrowed from Brittonic sources. This view was later re-evaluated by some archaeologists and historians, with a more small-scale migration being posited, possibly based around an elite of male warriors that took over
11808-714: The population of Northern Ireland and 20% of the Welsh population were born in England. Similarly, the census of the Republic of Ireland does not collect information on ethnicity, but it does record that there are over 200,000 people living in Ireland who were born in England and Wales . English ethnic descent and emigrant communities are found primarily in the Western world , and settled in significant numbers in some areas. Substantial populations descended from English colonists and immigrants exist in
11931-459: The proportion of people who consider being white to be a necessary component of Englishness has declined over time. The 1990s witnessed a resurgence of English national identity. Survey data shows a rise in the number of people in England describing their national identity as English and a fall in the number describing themselves as British. Today, black and minority ethnic people of England still generally identify as British rather than English to
12054-528: The rock scene in France and soon moved to London to be with Gane and pursue her career. In 1990, after three albums, McCarthy broke up and Gane immediately formed Stereolab with Sadier (who had also contributed vocals to McCarthy's final album), ex- Chills bassist Martin Kean 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
12177-500: The rule of the country and gradually acculturated the people living there. Within this theory, two processes leading to Anglo-Saxonisation have been proposed. One is similar to culture changes observed in Russia, North Africa and parts of the Islamic world, where a politically and socially powerful minority culture becomes, over a rather short period, adopted by a settled majority. This process
12300-485: The same time, after the Union of 1707, the English, along with the other peoples of the British Isles, have been encouraged to think of themselves as British rather than to identify themselves with the constituent nations. England has been the destination of varied numbers of migrants at different periods from the 17th century onwards. While some members of these groups seek to practise a form of pluralism, attempting to maintain
12423-520: The song, Sadier sings "about capitalism 's cruel cycles of slump and recovery" with lyrics that constitute "a plainspoken explanation of one of the central tenets of Marxian economic analysis" (said critics Reynolds and Stewart Mason, respectively). Band members have resisted attempts to link the group and its music to Marxism. In a 1999 interview, Gane stated that "none of us are Marxists ... I've never even read Marx ." Gane said that although Sadier's lyrics touch on political topics, they do not cross
12546-567: The study. A third study combined the ancient data from both of the preceding studies and compared it to a large number of modern samples from across Britain and Ireland. This study found that modern southern, central and eastern English populations were of "a predominantly Anglo-Saxon-like ancestry" while those from northern and southwestern England had a greater degree of indigenous origin. A major 2020 study, which used DNA from Viking-era burials in various regions across Europe, found that modern English samples showed nearly equal contributions from
12669-598: The surviving Britons in areas of predominantly Anglo-Saxon settlement, either archaeologically or linguistically, is still one of the deepest problems of early English history." An emerging view is that the degree of population replacement by the Anglo-Saxons, and thus the degree of survival of the Romano-Britons, varied across England, and that as such the overall settlement of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons cannot be described by any one process in particular. Large-scale migration and population shift seems to be most applicable in
12792-415: The title of their 1999 album Cobra and Phases Group… contains the names of two Surrealist organisations, " CoBrA " and "Phases Group", The title of the song "Brakhage" from Dots and Loops (1997), is a nod to experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage . Other examples are the 1992 compilation Switched On , named after Wendy Carlos ' 1968 album Switched-On Bach , and the 1993 song " Jenny Ondioline ",
12915-433: The whole satisfied with current constitutional arrangements". From the earliest times, English people have left England to settle in other parts of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is impossible to identify their numbers, as British censuses have historically not invited respondents to identify themselves as English. However, the census does record place of birth, revealing that 8.1% of Scotland's population, 3.7% of
13038-496: Was "full of familiar noises and aimless melodies". Margerine Eclipse was Stereolab's last record to be released on American label Elektra Records, which shut down that same year. Future material would be released on Too Pure, the same label which had released some of the band's earliest material. The group released six limited-edition singles in 2005 and 2006, which were anthologised in the 2006 compilation Fab Four Suture , and contained material which Mark Jenkins thought continued
13161-561: Was a numerical decrease from the census in 1990 where 32,651,788 people or 13.1% of the population self-identified with English ancestry. Mary Hansen Mary Therese Hansen (1 November 1966 – 9 December 2002) was an Australian-born guitarist and singer. She joined the London-based avant-pop band Stereolab in 1992. As a member, Hansen recorded six studio albums from Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements (August 1993) to Sound-Dust (August 2001). As
13284-523: Was a trade unionist and Australian Labor Party parliamentarian; and her mother, Moira Ann Hansen (née O'Sullivan), was a light opera singer and is contributor to the Maryborough arts community. Hansen and her family were of Irish Catholic and Danish descent. Her parents were married at St Mary's Catholic Church, Maryborough in 1960. She was one of eight children, with her brothers (John, Tim and Gerry) and four sisters (Jenny, Maureen, Susie and Kate). Hansen
13407-423: Was dropped along with many other artists, reportedly because of poor sales. 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!" Since then, Stereolab's self-owned label Duophonic has inked a worldwide distribution deal with independent label Too Pure . Through Duophonic,
13530-590: Was for the most part a politically unified entity, and remained permanently so after 954. The nation of England was formed in 12 July 927 by Æthelstan of Wessex after the Treaty of Eamont Bridge , as Wessex grew from a relatively small kingdom in the South West to become the founder of the Kingdom of the English, incorporating all Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and the Danelaw. The Norman conquest of England during 1066 brought Anglo-Saxon and Danish rule of England to an end, as
13653-433: Was interpreted as reflecting the legacy of French migration under the Normans. A landmark 2022 study titled "The Anglo-Saxon migration and the formation of the early English gene pool", found the English to be of plurality Anglo-Saxon-like ancestry, with heavy native Celtic Briton , and newly confirmed medieval French admixture. Significant regional variation was also observed. The first people to be called "English" were
13776-738: Was introduced during the 1st millennium. The influence of later invasions and migrations on the English population has been debated, as studies that sampled only modern DNA have produced uncertain results and have thus been subject to a large variety of interpretations. More recently, however, ancient DNA has been used to provide a clearer picture of the genetic effects of these movements of people. One 2016 study, using Iron Age and Anglo-Saxon era DNA found at grave sites in Cambridgeshire, calculated that ten modern day eastern English samples had 38% Anglo-Saxon ancestry on average, while ten Welsh and Scottish samples each had 30% Anglo-Saxon ancestry, with
13899-460: Was killed when hit by a truck while riding her bicycle in London. She was 36. Writer Pierre Perrone said that her "playful nature and mischievous sense of humour came through in the way she approached the backing vocals she contributed to Stereolab and the distinctive harmonies she created with Sadier." For the next few months, Stereolab lay dormant as the members grieved. They eventually decided to continue. Future album and concert reviews would mention
14022-508: Was more warmly received than Cobra and Phases Group… . Critic Joshua Klein said that "the emphasis this time sounds less on unfocused experimentation and more on melody ... a breezy and welcome return to form for the British band." Erlewine of Allmusic stated that the album "[finds the group] deliberately recharging their creative juices" but he argued that Sound-Dust was "anchored in overly familiar territory." In 2002, as they were planning their next album, Stereolab started building
14145-405: Was not politically unified until the 10th century. Before then, there were a number of petty kingdoms which gradually coalesced into a heptarchy of seven states, the most powerful of which were Mercia and Wessex . The English nation state began to form when the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms united against Danish Viking invasions, which began around 800 AD. Over the following century and a half England
14268-516: Was released in 2010. In 2013, Gane and Sadier, who both focused on Cavern of Anti-Matter and solo work respectively, performed at the All Tomorrow's Parties festival held at Pontins in Camber Sands . In February 2019, the group announced a tour of Europe and the United States to coincide with expanded, remastered reissues of several of the albums released under Warp Records . Stereolab were part of
14391-509: Was released in August 1994. The album contains the single " Ping Pong ", which gained press coverage for its explicitly Marxist lyrics. The band focused more on pop and less on rock, resulting in what AllMusic described as "what may be the group's most accessible, tightly-written album". It was the last album to feature O'Hagan as a full-time member. He would continue to make guest appearances on later releases. The group issued an EP titled Music for
14514-422: Was released on 19 September 2000 on avant-garde Kill Rock Stars imprint, 5 Rue Christine . AllMusic 's François Couture described their style as "space rock, psychedelic rock, ambient pop, and artsy avant-rock" with the feature track being "Echolalia... Curvilinear" with its "ethereal female vocals, lots of guitar noise, and a driving rhythm section". On 9 December 2002, a truck hit and killed Hansen while she
14637-465: Was released on 27 January 2004 with generally positive reviews, and peaked at number 174 on the US Billboard 200. The track "Feel and Triple" was written in tribute to Hansen; Sadier said, "I was reflecting on my years with her ... reflecting on how we sometimes found it hard to express the love we had for one another." Sadier continued, "Our dedication to her on the album says, 'We will love you till
14760-722: Was required to both learn the keyboards and 30 of the group's songs before joining. Released in September 1997, Dots and Loops was their first album to enter the Billboard 200 charts , peaking at number 111. The album leaned towards jazz with bossa nova and 60's pop influences. Barney Hoskyns wrote in Rolling Stone that with it the group moved "ever further away from the one-chord Velvets drone-mesh of its early days" toward easy-listening and Europop . A review in German newspaper Die Zeit stated that in Dots and Loops , Stereolab transformed
14883-552: Was riding her bicycle in London . Just before her death, she had bought a block of land in Maryborough, as she frequently spent time there with her family. Stereolab's subsequent release, Margerine Eclipse (2004) was dedicated to Hansen, with its track 'Feel and Triple' being a tribute to her. In 2004, Hybird , an EP of some of Hansen's music, was released posthumously. It also featured her artwork, contained three tracks which had been released in limited editions before her death, and
15006-407: Was still an all-embracing word. It meant indiscriminately England and Wales; Great Britain; the United Kingdom; and even the British Empire. Foreigners used it as the name of a Great Power and indeed continue to do so. Bonar Law , by origin a Scotch Canadian , was not ashamed to describe himself as "Prime Minister of England" [...] Now terms have become more rigorous. The use of "England" except for
15129-678: Was trained by her mother and entered eisteddfodau . She left secondary school at age 17 and worked in a bank. By 1988, Hansen had moved to London and worked in various jobs. She soon became a backing singer with the Essex -based indie band the Wolfhounds . She met guitarist Tim Gane when the Wolfhounds performed alongside his indie pop band, McCarthy . Gane formed Stereolab , in 1990 with Lætitia Sadier (ex-McCarthy). Hansen joined Stereolab as second vocalist and guitarist in 1992. She also contributed percussion, keyboards, and occasional lead vocals. As
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