Stereolab

Electronic rock band Stereolab are considered among the most innovative and influential alternative bands of the 1990s. Their keyboard-heavy, ethereal lounge music, much of it sung in French, digresses strongly from a conventional indie rock sound, making them one of the first bands to be labeled "post-rock." Their latest album, Chemical Chords, will be released in August of 2008.

Fast Facts:

1. Formed in London, England
2. Heavily influenced by krautrock
3. Members: Tim Gane, Laetitia Sadier, Andrew Ramsay, Simon Johns, Dominic Jeffery, Joseph Watson, Joseph Walters
4. Distribute through their own label, Duophonic Records
5. Gane and Sadier have a child together
6. Sadier also records with the band Monade
7. Sadier appears on the Blur song "To the End"

Albums

1. Peng! (1992)
2. Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements (1993)
3. Mars Audiac Quintet (1994)
4. Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996)
5. Dots and Loops (1997)
6. Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night (1999)
7. Sound-Dust (2001)
8. Margerine Eclipse (2004)
9. Chemical Chords (2008)

Mary Hansen

Vocalist and keyboardist Mary Hansen joined Stereolab in 1992, having met Tim Gane while singing backup for the band The Wolfhounds. In addition to performing as a backup singer, she contributed guitar, percussion and keyboards to the band (and sang lead on some songs).

She was killed while riding her bicycle through London on December 9, 2002, after being hit by a truck. She was 36 years old. The band ceased releasing music or touring for two years after the accident, and considered breaking up at some points, but eventually resurfaced with 2004's Margerine Eclipse, dedicated to Hansen's memory.

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