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Led by Tim Gane and , the group celebrated strands of pop music — bossa nova, lounge-pop, movie soundtracks — that were traditionally banished from rock’s lineage. On early singles and albums such as 1993’s Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements, Stereolab combined ’60s pop melodies with an art rock aesthetic borrowed from Krautrock bands like and ; by the time of 1996’s Emperor Tomato Ketchup, their sound incorporated jazz, hip-hop, and dance music. Their work with and on 1997’s Dots and Loops and 2001’s Sound-Dust reflected an increasingly intricate, experimental approach, but following the 2002 death of member Mary Hansen, they eventually returned to a poppier style on albums like 2008’s Chemical Chords. Stereolab’s unmistakable sound had a lasting impact: Contemporaries like and aped their style in the ’90s, while hip-hop artists such as and sampled the band’s music or collaborated with its members in the 2000s and 2010s. Late in that decade and into the 2020s, Stereolab’s revival as a touring band and a steady stream of reissues underscored their reputation as innovators.