With their hypnotic rhythms and mesmerizingvocals, Stereolab became one of indie's most distinctive and influential bandswhen they emerged in the early '90s. Led by Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier, thegroup celebrated strands of pop music -- bossa nova, lounge-pop, moviesoundtracks -- that were traditionally banished from rock's lineage. On earlysingles and albums such as 1993's Transient Random-Noise Bursts withAnnouncements, Stereolab combined '60s pop melodies with an art rock aestheticborrowed from Krautrock bands like Faust and Neu!; by the time of 1996'sEmperor Tomato Ketchup, their sound incorporated jazz, hip-hop, and dancemusic. Their work with John McEntire and Jim O'Rourke on 1997's Dots and Loopsand 2001's Sound-Dust reflected an increasingly intricate, experimentalapproach, but following the 2002 death of member Mary Hansen, they eventuallyreturned to a poppier style on albums like 2008's Chemical Chords. Stereolab'sunmistakable sound had a lasting impact: Contemporaries like Pavement and Bluraped their style in the '90s, while hip-hop artists such as J Dilla and Tylerthe Creator sampled the band's music or collaborated with its members in the2000s and 2010s. Late in that decade and into the 2020s, Stereolab's revival asa touring band and a steady stream of reissues underscored their reputation asinnovators.