Stainless Style
Encyclopedia
Stainless Style is the debut album from Neon Neon
—a project from Super Furry Animals
front man Gruff Rhys
and electronic artist Boom Bip
—which was released in March 2008 via Lex Records
. The album was streamed in its entirety on the band's Myspace
page for one week before its physical release.
Stainless Style is a loose concept album based on the tumultuous life of DeLorean Motor Company founder John DeLorean, and features a number of high-profile guest appearances from Fab Moretti
of The Strokes
, Har Mar Superstar
, Yo Majesty
, Spank Rock
, Cate Le Bon
and Fatlip
. The album was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Music Prize.
In order to recreate this mid-'80s synthpop
sound, the band relied on keyboards such as the Casio SK-5
, Korg
MiniKorg 700 and Roland SH-101
, as well as Casio
drum pads and sticks and a 1964 Silvertone
Jupiter guitar. Concerning the album's production Hollon said
based on the tumultuous life of playboy car designer John DeLorean. In an interview with Marc Hogan, Rhys described it as
The album's title is a pun on stainless steel
, deriving from the fact that the most famous car produced by the DeLorean Motor Company—the DeLorean DMC-12—was distinctive by the fact that its body was made from stainless steel. DeLorean also began selling "D=MC2" stainless steel watches for $3,495 each on the internet in 2000. The song "Raquel" is based upon tales of an affair DeLorean allegedly had with actress Raquel Welch
in the mid-'70s, and mentions many true-life biographical details about Welch, such as her Bolivian father and Irish mother, her birth in "north Chicago", and education and upbringing in California. The song is sung from DeLorean's perspective, as he delivers lines to Welch such as "I saw you as a movie star, but now you're riding in my car." According to Rhys, "I Lust U" recounts "a dark period in DeLorean's life when he was having lots of affairs", while "Michael Douglas" describes the time when DeLorean "redesigned his own chin while sitting at pool parties in LA with Michael Douglas
."
Neon Neon
Neon Neon is a collaborative project from producer Boom Bip and Gruff Rhys, the frontman for the Welsh rock band Super Furry Animals. They began work on the project in October 2006 originally under the moniker Delorean...
—a project from Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band that lean towards psychedelic rock and electronic experimentation. Since their formation in Cardiff, Wales in 1993, the band has consisted of Gruff Rhys , Huw Bunford , Guto Pryce , Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band...
front man Gruff Rhys
Gruff Rhys
Gruffydd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is a Welsh musician, performing solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals who obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He also most recently formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with Boom Bip. Their album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008...
and electronic artist Boom Bip
Boom Bip
Bryan Charles Hollon, better known as Boom Bip, is an American producer and musician. His music is mostly instrumental, but over the course of his career he has collaborated with several vocalists. He is currently signed to Lex Records, which, until 2005, was a division of Warp Records in the...
—which was released in March 2008 via Lex Records
Lex Records
Lex Records is an independent record label founded by Tom Brown in 2001. The label was an imprint of Warp Records and run from their North London offices, until September 2005.Lex has a low volume of releases, rarely releasing more than three albums annually...
. The album was streamed in its entirety on the band's Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page for one week before its physical release.
Stainless Style is a loose concept album based on the tumultuous life of DeLorean Motor Company founder John DeLorean, and features a number of high-profile guest appearances from Fab Moretti
Fabrizio Moretti
Fabrizio Moretti is the drummer of the American indie rock band, The Strokes. Fabrizio’s side project with Rodrigo Amarante of Los Hermanos and Binki Shapiro, entitled Little Joy debuted on Rough Trade Records...
of The Strokes
The Strokes
The Strokes are an American indie rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. Consisting of Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr. , Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti ....
, Har Mar Superstar
Har Mar Superstar
Sean Matthew Tillmann , better known by his stage names of Har Mar Superstar and Sean Na Na, is an American singer.-Life and career:...
, Yo Majesty
Yo Majesty
Yo! Majesty is an American hip hop group consisting of rapper Shunda K and singer Jwl B, produced by UK-based electro group HardfeelingsUK.Yo! Majesty was mentioned as one of the 'Top 11 new bands of 2008' by NME magazine as well as one of the '25 Most Exciting Bands In America'.-Biography:Yo!...
, Spank Rock
Spank Rock
Spank Rock is an American hip-hop group consisting of rapper Naeem Juwan and producer Alex Epton . Their style is generally described as a mix of underground alternative rap and electro and rock.- Biography :...
, Cate Le Bon
Cate Le Bon
Cate Le Bon is a singer-songwriter from Penboyr, Wales and now based in Cardiff, Wales, who sings in both English and Welsh.She first gained public attention when she supported Gruff Rhys on his 2007 solo UK tour. She has since played Glastonbury, Latitude and the Green Man Festival...
and Fatlip
Fatlip
Fatlip is a Los Angeles-born hip hop musician. He started his career in the hip hop group The Pharcyde.-The Pharcyde:...
. The album was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Music Prize.
Background
According to Rhys, he and Boom Bip (real name Bryan Hollon) had been working together on various projects before they finally came up with Neon Neon. In an interview with Sam Richards, Rhys stated: Rhys and Boom Bip had also previously collaborated on "Do's & Don'ts" from the latter's 2005 album Blue Eyed in the Red Room.Production
Recording for the album began in London in August 2006, and it was gradually mixed and finished over the course of the following year in London and Los Angeles. According to the band, the primary goal was to make something entirely different from their previous work. "It had to be something completely outside of ourselves," said Hollon. Rhys adds that although the duo were trying to make something different, "we didn't realize we were going to make a mid-'80s synth-pop record. That was never part of the plan."In order to recreate this mid-'80s synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...
sound, the band relied on keyboards such as the Casio SK-5
Casio SK-5
The Casio SK-5 is a sampling keyboard introduced by Casio in 1987. Samples may be gathered from a built-in microphone or a line-level input from another source.The keyboard was rebranded as the Realistic Concertmate-650 for sale at Radio Shack stores....
, Korg
Korg
is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners...
MiniKorg 700 and Roland SH-101
Roland SH-101
Roland SH-101 is a synthesizer from the early 1980s, manufactured by Roland. It is a small, 32 key, monophonic analog synthesizer. It features one oscillator with 3 simultaneous waveforms, an 'octave-divided' square sub-oscillator, triangle and square/pwm waveform. It has a low-pass filter/VCF...
, as well as Casio
Casio
is a multinational electronic devices manufacturing company founded in 1946, with its headquarters in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Casio is best known for its electronic products, such as calculators, audio equipment, PDAs, cameras, musical instruments, and watches...
drum pads and sticks and a 1964 Silvertone
Silvertone (instruments)
Silvertone was the brand name used by Sears, Roebuck and Company for its line of sound equipment from 1915 to 1972. A hand-cranked phonograph was introduced under the Silvertone brand by Sears in 1915...
Jupiter guitar. Concerning the album's production Hollon said
Concept album
Stainless Style is a concept albumConcept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
based on the tumultuous life of playboy car designer John DeLorean. In an interview with Marc Hogan, Rhys described it as
The album's title is a pun on stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
, deriving from the fact that the most famous car produced by the DeLorean Motor Company—the DeLorean DMC-12—was distinctive by the fact that its body was made from stainless steel. DeLorean also began selling "D=MC2" stainless steel watches for $3,495 each on the internet in 2000. The song "Raquel" is based upon tales of an affair DeLorean allegedly had with actress Raquel Welch
Raquel Welch
Jo Raquel Tejada , better known as Raquel Welch, is an American actress, author and sex symbol. Welch came to attention as a "new-star" on the 20th Century-Fox lot in the mid-1960s. She posed iconically in a animal skin bikini for the British-release One Million Years B.C. , for which she may be...
in the mid-'70s, and mentions many true-life biographical details about Welch, such as her Bolivian father and Irish mother, her birth in "north Chicago", and education and upbringing in California. The song is sung from DeLorean's perspective, as he delivers lines to Welch such as "I saw you as a movie star, but now you're riding in my car." According to Rhys, "I Lust U" recounts "a dark period in DeLorean's life when he was having lots of affairs", while "Michael Douglas" describes the time when DeLorean "redesigned his own chin while sitting at pool parties in LA with Michael Douglas
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas is an American actor and producer, primarily in movies and television. He has won three Golden Globes and two Academy Awards; first as producer of 1975's Best Picture, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and as Best Actor in 1987 for his role in Wall Street. Douglas received the...
."
Track listing
- "Neon Theme" – 2:20
- "Dream Cars" (feat. Fab Moretti) – 3:24
- "I Told Her on Alderaan" – 3:41
- "Raquel" – 5:01
- "Trick for Treat" (feat. Spank RockSpank RockSpank Rock is an American hip-hop group consisting of rapper Naeem Juwan and producer Alex Epton . Their style is generally described as a mix of underground alternative rap and electro and rock.- Biography :...
& Sean TillmannHar Mar SuperstarSean Matthew Tillmann , better known by his stage names of Har Mar Superstar and Sean Na Na, is an American singer.-Life and career:...
) – 4:42 - "Steel Your Girl" (feat. Josh KlinghofferJosh KlinghofferJoshua Adam "Josh" Klinghoffer is an American multi-instrumentalist, who is best known as the current guitarist for the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Klinghoffer replaced his friend and frequent collaborator John Frusciante, who left the band in 2009.Klinghoffer also fronts Dot Hacker, and was...
) – 3:32 - "I Lust U" (feat. Cate Le BonCate Le BonCate Le Bon is a singer-songwriter from Penboyr, Wales and now based in Cardiff, Wales, who sings in both English and Welsh.She first gained public attention when she supported Gruff Rhys on his 2007 solo UK tour. She has since played Glastonbury, Latitude and the Green Man Festival...
) – 2:57 - "Sweat Shop" (feat. Yo MajestyYo MajestyYo! Majesty is an American hip hop group consisting of rapper Shunda K and singer Jwl B, produced by UK-based electro group HardfeelingsUK.Yo! Majesty was mentioned as one of the 'Top 11 new bands of 2008' by NME magazine as well as one of the '25 Most Exciting Bands In America'.-Biography:Yo!...
) – 3:57 - "Belfast" – 3:08
- "Michael Douglas" – 4:12
- "Luxury Pool" (feat. FatlipFatlipFatlip is a Los Angeles-born hip hop musician. He started his career in the hip hop group The Pharcyde.-The Pharcyde:...
) – 3:53 - "Stainless Style" 1:59