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| photo
courtesy of LUAT |
Stereolab first came into my life in 1993.
There was already a buzz about them among us
at Waterloo Records well before they played
an in-store there on their first American tour.
I interviewed several members of the band that
day for Pop Culture Press and met several others,
being casually introduced by group leader Tim
Gane, to newest members Mary Hansen and Andy
Ramsay. It amounted to a few words and a handshake,
but in that I've always had a lasting memory
of warmth and a gentle aloofness. I instantly
surmised that Mary was of the quiet, brainy
variety, thoughtful and intuitive of melodic
sense, but also completely able to rock on guitar
on the long, droning numbers they played at
Emo's that night. Having met them early on,
I've been a fan all of these years with the
vague notion that I knew them (however fleeting
that meeting was). Her work was in such synergy
with the rest of the band that it is hard to
say just what her contributions were, except
to say that Laetita Sadier's voice will never
sound as good as it does with Mary's voice with
it. Listening now to Mars Audiac Quintet
(their fourth album), it's amazing to hear the
magic those voices were capable of. Through
all of the bold experiments into lounge, bossa
beats, post rock and electronica they've done
in the years since, it's that vocal element
that has remained the same, and what I've always
found so instantly lovable about anything they've
done. I can't for the life of me imagine Stereolab
without that, but I hope they will carry on
somehow. Not a lot is known about Mary's life
that is made public, but her passing December
9th was the result of a bicycle traffic accident.
Look for more information on Stereolab's website,
and post your own thoughts at http://www.stereolab.co.uk.
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