Name: Emperor Tomato Ketchup (Expanded Edition)
Brand: Stereolab

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

D-UHF-D11R

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Colour

black

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: Yes

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Vinyl comes in bespoke Gatefold sleeve housed inside a heavyweight clear PVC wallet 

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2019-09-13

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

PIAS

Tax rate GB

UPC / Barcode

5060384616070

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Total Cap

3 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / black

Artist

Stereolab

Genre GB

Indie Pop / Shoegaze

Label GB

Duophonic

Essential

Remastered from original tapes. Comes with a Bonus album of unreleased demos, outtakes and alternate mixes. 

Fold-out poster insert with lyrics and sleeve-notes from Laetitia Sadier and Tim Gane. 

Stereolab's fourth full-length, Emperor Tomato Ketchup marked the point where the band evolved from a purely underground phenomenon to an important pop group capable of selling albums while keeping their hipness and integrity intact.

At the time of its release, it was simultaneously their most experimental and most accessible release, with the deliberate raw textures of earlier works replaced by a more polished vibe. The album was also their greatest success to date both commercially and critically, and remains a consensus favourite even now. 

Continuing to mine the music of the '60s and early '70s, Stereolab employs Farfisas and Moogs, melodies from Bacharach and Hardy, soft-rock, bubblegum, dub and hip-hop sounds to augment their core influences of krautrock, punk, jazz and space rock. Odd time-signatures and deft layering techniques are more crucial to the arrangements, and the grooves on tracks like Metronomic Underground and Les Yper-Sound add a level of funk to the mix, while the album also includes clear and catchy pop songs like Cybele's Reverie and The Noise of Carpet.

Emperor Tomato Ketchup brings many elements to the table, but Stereolab puts them all together into a coherent vision. For a group that revealed in resurrecting continental obscurity, from Neu! to Krzysztof Komeda, Emperor Tomato Ketchup sounded wholly futuristic and alien.

Co-released by band’s own label Duophonic UHF Disks and Warp Records.