For Le Guess Who? 2023, Stereolab have curated an eclectic program, highlighting their various interests and inspirations. We've asked artists from their curated program to choose their favorite Stereolab track, what the band means to them and/or what it means to be curated by them.
Listen to the playlist by artists from the Le Guess Who? 2023 Stereolab curation. Tune in below. The playlist is also available via Apple Music and Deezer.
James Holden: French Disko
So it was a long time ago and I can't say this for many records but I remember the first time I heard Stereolab. I must've been 14ish, listening to radio 1 late at night on my little bedside clock-radio, volume low so I wouldn't get rumbled by parents. I remember mostly being bored, a lot of what the radio played didn't connect, but that was all I had.
At that age I didn't get the sonic references (it just sounded fresher and cooler than the records either side of it) or what the song was about, but future me enjoyed those layers in the end too. I know it's basic and maybe even annoying to pick a band's breakout hit but it was such a huge formative moment that left a trail through what I do. Thanks for inviting me Stereolab!
- James Holden
MEMORIALS: French Disko
Stereolab have been high amongst both our favourites for forever. While discussing picking a favourite track on a recent long drive towards a gig, we went through endless options and reasons why; it’s incredibly hard to pick a favourite. However, we were curious if anyone else would pick this one as it’s so synonymous with them, but it’s undeniable, every time we hear it, it sounds as good as the last time, and then we want to play it again.
- MEMORIALS
Afrikan Sciences: Prisoner Of Mars
Discovering Stereolab’s music was the equivalent of taking what was once a picture frame with determined dimensions being transformed into an infinite canvas of sonic possibilities. I first got onboard for the ride with their fifth album, Dots and Loops, it was love at first listen. Actually it felt like missing pieces of a puzzle I had been working out since my childhood. It filled in and solidified many of the strange musical shapes that had already gathered in my mind. The sonic imagery beautifully complex yet simple. It made perfect sense to this follower/fan of Sun Ra, Zappa, Francis Lai, etc. And while I confess I cannot choose an absolute favorite tune (too many to pick from), I will share one of my favorites from my initial introduction to the band, which is Prisoner Of Mars.
So here we are, on the eve of LGW, a part of the curated line up, I find myself another unusual piece of this musical puzzle, adding on to this beautiful and abstract sonic tapestry. Joy filled!
- Afrikan Sciences
Price Attack: Orgiastic
Love the sense of urgency on this. Yet there’s something mystical, choral and calming in the vocal melody and harmony. The track packs a punch as it builds. Perfect lo-fi tune to drive to also as the chugging, repetitive guitars hold you by the horns…
- Price Attack
Rhys Chatham: John Cage Bubblegum
I like the Stereolab song, John Cage Bubblegum, so here is what I was inspired to write about it: In the soundscape of Stereolab, one discovers an effigy of musical hyperreality; they inhabit grooves that transcend the dichotomy between the insistent and the ethereal. When immersed in their resonance, one is confronted with the symbolic void of the distinction between them and other ensembles of the age. "This is a song about architecture," reveals Sadier, referring to Baby Lulu, yet what is architecture if not another system of signs, a simulacrum of concrete reality? The crowd, ensnared in their desires, calls out: “John Cage Bubblegum!” – an incantation, a plea for the familiar in an era of constant reproduction.
Stereolab, with tracks reminiscent of past auditory motifs like that of Neu! and Velvet Underground, engage in a perpetual dance of references and reflections, presenting a facade of the avant-garde to the masses hungry for the aura of the 'artistic.' Yet, is it not a perfect irony? Their music, even when drenched in the recognizable, becomes a testament to the blurred lines between the original and the copy.
Delving into the labyrinth of their inspirations, one finds nods to the arcane, the political, the situationist – a mirage of profound profundities. But even then, they do not escape the seductive allure of the pop construct. Their jazz undertones, their easy-listening funk, beckons, luring the listener into a realm where the strange becomes familiar and the familiar, ever beguiling. The ensemble, then, stands not just as a band, but as an emblem of the postmodern condition, where boundaries dissipate, and realities merge.
- Rhys Chatham
Shake Chain: Metronomic Underground
Shake Chain are honoured be curated by Stereolab for Le Guess Who? Festival. We have chosen Metronomic Underground as our track as the chant-like Dada-ist lyrics I feel should summon something. This song highlights the bands love for the nonsensical, word play and language swapping, continuously throwing musical curveballs in the most deadpan and super cool way, Shake Chain are taking notes.
- Shake Chain
The Cromagnon Band: Household Names
This is something I missed when it originally came out, but was brought to my attention on 6Music after its re-release in 2021.
I've been a Stereolab fan since hearing them on Mark Radcliffe and Marc Riley's radio show in the mid 90s, I think it was Ping Pong that caught my attention.
It is, of course, a great honour for them to invite us to play LGW and frankly, it's quite a shock as we haven't really began gigging properly or released what we regard as our first proper album yet, so there must be a real crate digger in the band for them to have heard us!
- The Cromagnon Band
Yama Warashi: The Flower Called Nowhere
When I discovered Stereolab, I was at an art university in Kyoto, In Japan. I remember lots of lovely shops and cafes playing their albums all the time. I am sure they still do.
It was always lovely to hear their music at any occasion. I had two albums that were always in heavy rotation. I didn't speak English and didn't understand the meaning of the lyrics back then.
Now I’m listening to Dots And Loops again, and the tune really resonates with me. The first verse 'All the small boats on the water, aren't go anywhere' pinched my heart. Last month, the canal boat I live on broke down. We (my boat and I) were trapped somewhere nearby the city. It was hard to be trapped and not be able to move.
I love London, but being in a big city sometimes makes me feel trapped. I thought this song resonated with the beauty and blues of being in a big city, these people going to meditation classes and trying to be mindful and feel enlightened for a short while, and back to the rat race. Which feels what I am doing too. I am currently out of London by canal boat, but will be back to London soon.
It’s why I felt strongly about this tune at this point of my life.
They wrote such amazing tunes, and it was difficult to decide on one. But currently being in and out of London, I resonate with this tune the most.
Thank you so much Stereolab, you made the new genre. It inspires us to be the same- be our unique selves in music and arts.
- Yama Warashi
