Stereolab

Experimental pop band Stereolab will reform in 2019 to play their first live shows in a decade. The band, founded by guitarist and songwriter Tim Gane and lyricist Lætitia Sadier, were one of the first acts to be branded “post-rock”, in a 1996 article by journalist Angela Lewis. 

The band’s unique fusion of motorik beats, vintage synth drones and bubblegum pop vocals garnered them critical acclaim in the ’90s, but they eluded commercial success for the duration of their near-twenty year career. Their highest-charting album release was 1994’s ‘Mars Audiac Quintet’, which reached number 16 in the UK album charts. It featured the politically charged and explicitly Marxist single ‘Ping Pong’, which was championed by John Peel. Follow-up album ‘Emperor Tomato Ketchup’, the first of four albums produced with Tortoise’s John McEntire, is often considered their signature release. 

Before their reformation, the band had drawn comparisons with the likes of Sonic Youth and the Velvet Underground for their experimental feedback-driven live performances, dubbing them one of the most original groups of the ’90s. 1993’s ‘Transient Random Noise-Bursts With Announcements’ and 1994’s ‘Mars Audiac Quintet’ were re-released via Warp Records and Duophonic UHF Disks in May 2019; five further albums are set to follow. 

A world tour begins on May 28th, with performances at Shepherd’s Bush Empire taking place on June 12 and 13.