The new book will explore how the British indie-dance band “made music out of memories, and how we made memories of them”.
A new book has been announced titled “How We Used Saint-Etienne to Live,” which explores the history of a British indie dance group featuring all three members.
The book, written by journalist and music writer Ramzi Alvakil, who wrote the book “Smile if You Dare: Politics and Pointy Hats with the Boys from the pet Store” in 2016, was published on December 13, 2022 by Repeater Books.
It will include original interviews with Sarah Cracknell, Bob Stanley and Pete Wiggs, and will also show how the band “made music from memories, and how we created memories of them.”
— Do you remember how we used to live? the description of the book reads. “British indie favourites Saint Etienne do. But they also remember a lot of other things that never happened, so maybe they’re not the best people to ask.
“How We Used Saint-Etienne to Live” is the story of this mutual process, told in the wrong order, but at the right time. It’s about the methods we use to remember and what happens when these methods become obsolete. It’s a story that includes tape gluing, urban planning, Now compilations, and the peak of Saint Etienne’s singles in the UK charts of 1995, “He’s On The Phone”.
The book, containing original interviews, aims to show “the minds of Saint-Etienne at work as they create and manipulate history and nostalgia.”
“Expect to be shown receipts. Expect selective memories and unscrupulous revisionism. Expect concrete facts and flights of fancy. Don’t expect it to become immediately clear what is what.”
Saint Etienne’s latest release was the 2021 four-track EP “Her Winter Coat”, which included the Christmas single of the same name.
