Mary Hansen
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Mary Therese Hansen (1 November 1966 9 December 2002) was an Australian guitarist and singer. She joined the London-based avant-pop band
Stereolab Stereolab are an English people, Anglo-French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's sound incorporates repetitive motorik beats with the use of vintage electronic keybo ...
in 1992. As a member, Hansen recorded six studio albums from '' Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements'' (August 1993) to '' Sound-Dust'' (August 2001). As a side-project, in late 1999 she formed the
space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...
group Schema with members of
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
-based band Hovercraft, and they issued their debut album, ''Schema'', on 19 September 2000. On 9 December 2002, Hansen was struck and killed by a truck while bicycling in London.


Early life

Mary Therese Hansen was born on 1 November 1966 in Maryborough,
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, Australia. Her father, Brendan Percival Hansen, OAM (19221999), was a trade unionist and
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...
parliamentarian; and her mother, Moira Ann Hansen (née O'Sullivan), was a light opera singer and is contributor to the Maryborough arts community. Hansen and her family were of Irish Catholic and Danish descent. Her parents were married at St Mary's Catholic Church, Maryborough in 1960. She was one of eight children, with her brothers (John, Tim and Gerry) and four sisters (Jenny, Maureen, Susie and Kate). Hansen was trained by her mother and entered eisteddfodau. She left secondary school at age 17 and worked in a bank.


Career

By 1988, Hansen had moved to London and worked in various jobs. She soon became a backing singer with the
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
-based indie band the Wolfhounds. She met guitarist
Tim Gane Timothy John Gane (born 12 July 1964) is an English songwriter and guitarist who co-founded Stereolab with his then-partner Lætitia Sadier.Gregory, Andy (ed.) (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music, 2002'', Europa Publications Limite ...
when the Wolfhounds performed alongside his indie pop band, McCarthy. Gane formed
Stereolab Stereolab are an English people, Anglo-French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's sound incorporates repetitive motorik beats with the use of vintage electronic keybo ...
, in 1990 with
Lætitia Sadier Lætitia Sadier (born 6 May 1968), also known as Seaya Sadier, is a French musician best known as a founding member of the London-based avant-pop band Stereolab. She was born in the east of Paris and spent time in the US as a child. In 1996, whi ...
(ex-McCarthy). Hansen joined Stereolab as second vocalist and guitarist in 1992. She also contributed percussion, keyboards, and occasional lead vocals. As a member of that band, Hansen recorded six studio albums from '' Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements'' (August 1993) to '' Sound-Dust'' (August 2001). Outside of her work with Stereolab, Hansen sang on records by Brokeback, The High Llamas, Moonshake, and Mouse on Mars. She was a record producer, keyboard player and vocalist for the London underground group Chicano. In late 1999, Hansen combined with
Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
-formed
space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...
group Hovercraft to form Schema. An eponymous maxi-EP/mini-album was released on 19 September 2000 on avant-garde Kill Rock Stars imprint, 5 Rue Christine.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's François Couture described their style as "space rock, psychedelic rock, ambient pop, and artsy avant-rock" with the feature track being "Echolalia... Curvilinear" with its "ethereal female vocals, lots of guitar noise, and a driving rhythm section".


Death

On 9 December 2002, a truck driver hit and killed Hansen while she was riding her bicycle in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. Just before her death, she had bought a block of land in Maryborough, as she frequently spent time there with her family. Stereolab's subsequent release, '' Margerine Eclipse'' (2004) was dedicated to Hansen, with its track "Feel and Triple" being a tribute to her. In 2004, ''Hybird'', an EP of some of Hansen's music, was released posthumously. It also featured her artwork, contained three tracks which had been released in limited editions before her death, and a final track which was finished by Stereolab's Andy Ramsay.


References


External links


Times obituary

The Guardian obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hansen, Mary 1966 births 2002 deaths Australian people of Danish descent Australian people of Irish descent Australian rock singers Australian women rock singers Road incident deaths in London Cycling road incident deaths Stereolab members People from Maryborough, Queensland Australian women guitarists 20th-century Australian women singers 21st-century Australian women singers 20th-century guitarists 21st-century guitarists 20th-century women guitarists 21st-century women guitarists Australian expatriates in the United Kingdom