Thievery Corporation
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| Thievery Corporation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Origin |  Washington, D.C., United States |
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| Genre(s) | Lounge, Dub, Trip hop | |
| Years active | 1995–present | |
| Label(s) | Eighteenth Street Lounge Music | |
| Website | ThieveryCorporation.com | |
| Members | ||
| Rob Garza Eric Hilton |
||
Thievery Corporation is a Washington, D.C.–based production and DJ duo consisting of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton and their supporting artists. Their music can be characterized as downtempo electronica with influences of dub, acid jazz, Indian classical and Brazilian styles (such as bossa nova) fused together with a lounge aesthetic. Thievery Corporation is on the Eighteenth Street Lounge Music record label named after the swank DC lounge formerly owned by Eric Hilton, but several of their singles and EPs appear on the 4AD and !K7 labels.
Several tracks from their 1999 DJ-Kicks compilation were used by Dockers as part of their "Nice Pants" TV ad campaign.
In 2002, they released The Richest Man in Babylon on their ESL label. This fifteen track album is similar in sound and timbre to The Mirror Conspiracy and features performances by vocalists Emiliana Torrini, Pam Bricker, and Lou-Lou.
The language of the lyrics to the group's various songs range from English, Spanish, French, Farsi, to Portuguese. This reflects the group's global feel and collaborative structure.
In 2006, the group released Versions, a selection of remixes done by Thievery Corporation for other artists.
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[edit] Politics
Thievery Corporation's lyrics are highly influenced by current political events. Tracks such as "Amerimacka" and "Revolution Solution" from their album The Cosmic Game and Richest Man in Babylon from the album of the same title reveal the group's opposition to current political events and most notably initiatives taken by the current Bush administration.
In September 2005, the group participated in the Operation Ceasefire concert, with the objective of protesting the war in Iraq.
[edit] Trivia
- Their song Indra, the third track from The Mirror Conspiracy, was featured in the opening shots of The West Wing season five episode Gaza and in an MTV (India) promo for the programme Non Stop Hits, and the Vanilla Sky soundtrack.
- Their song "Une Simple Histoire (A Simple Story)" is played during a segment in Roam, a mountain biking/free riding documentary.
- The group also received support from Scrubs star Zach Braff, when Braff used their track "Lebanese Blonde" on the soundtrack of his film Garden State. This resulted in boosted sales for the group after the film's release.
- A few of Thievery Corporation's songs from Richest Man in Babylon and The Cosmic Game are featured as menu and in-game music on the 2005 EA Sports release Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06 video game.
- The song "All That We Perceive" from Richest Man in Babylon is also in 2005 EA Sports release Cricket 2005.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi (1997)
- The Mirror Conspiracy (2000)
- Richest Man in Babylon (2002)
- The Cosmic Game (2005)
- Versions (2006)
[edit] Singles and EPs
- 2001: A Spliff Odyssey (1996)
- Dub Plate, Vol. 1 (1996)
- The Foundation (1996)
- Lebanese Blonde (1998)
- DC 3000 (1999)
- It Takes a Thief (1999)
- Focus on Sight (2000)
- Bossa Per Due (2001)
- Revolution Solution
- Warning Shots
- The Heart's a Lonely Hunter
- Sol Tapado
- The Richest Man in Babylon
- The Lagos Communique
- Halfway Around the World
- Incident at Gate 7
- Encounter in Bahia
- ESL Dubplate
- Shaolin Satellite
- Chaplin Swankster
[edit] Compilations
- Dubbed Out in DC (1997)
- DJ-Kicks: Thievery Corporation (1999)
- Abductions and Reconstructions (1999)
- Departures (2000)
- "CloudWatch : A Soundtrack to a Freeform Gathering V2"(2000)
- Sounds from the Verve Hi-Fi (2001)
- The Outernational Sound (2004)
- Babylon Rewound (2004)
- Versions (2006)
- Changed To Lo-Fi (2006)
[edit] Featuring Artists
Thievery Corporation depends on various supporting artists to perform for them. The featuring artists they have invited include:
- David Byrne
- Emiliana Torrini
- Gigi Rezende
- Gunjan
- Loulou Djine
- Notch
- Norah Jones
- Patrick de Santos
- Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction
- Rootz
- Sista Pat
- Sister Nancy
- Sleepy Wonder
- Verny Varela
- Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips
- Zeebo
[edit] External links
- "Straight Men: The Understated Style of Thievery Corporation", story by Sarah TeslaCatergory:Trip hop groups
