Thievery Corporation

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Thievery Corporation

Background information
Origin Washington, D.C., United States
Genre(s) Lounge, Dub, Trip hop, Downtempo
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 recording artist and DJ duo consisting of Rob Garza, Eric Hilton, and their supporting artists. Their music style mixes elements of dub, acid jazz, Reggae, Indian classical and Brazilian (such as bossa nova) with a lounge aesthetic.

Contents

[edit] History

Thievery Corporation was formed in the summer of 1995 at DC’s Eighteenth Street Lounge. Rob Garza and Lounge co-owner Eric Hilton were drawn together over their mutual love of club life, as well as dub, bossa nova and jazz records. They decided to see what would come of mixing all these in a recording studio, and from this, the duo started their Eighteenth Street Lounge Music record label.

The duo drew attention with their first two 12" offerings, "Shaolin Satellite" and "2001: a Spliff Odyssey" and with their 1997 debut LP, Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi. Though the terminology to describe their style of music has varied over the years (downtempo, chill out,etc.), they have maintained their unique sound for the duration of their career.

In 2002, they released The Richest Man in Babylon on their ESL label. This fifteen track album is similar in sound and timbre to their earlier 2000 release, The Mirror Conspiracy, and features performances by vocalists Emiliana Torrini, Pam Bricker, and Loulou.

In 2005 they released The Cosmic Game, which has a darker, more psychedelic sound than The Richest Man in Babylon. The album also featured more high-profile guest singers on it, including Perry Farrell, David Byrne, and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips.

In 2006, the group released Versions, a selection of remixes done by Thievery Corporation for other artists. They toured around the United States, playing at Lollapalooza. The tour was photographed by Rob Myers, Thievery Corporation's sitar & guitar player, in the Blurb photo book Thievery Corporation 2006.[1]

The group released their fifth studio album, Radio Retaliation, on September 23, 2008. It was nominated for the Grammy for best recording package.[2] Thievery Corporation's tour started out with 5 consecutive sold out shows at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC.[3]

The language of the group's lyrics throughout their career include English, Spanish, French, Persian, Portuguese, Romanian and Hindi. This reflects the group's world music influences.

[edit] Politics

Thievery Corporation's lyrics are highly influenced by their opposition to certain 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 the positions and initiatives of former president George W. Bush's administration and supporters.

In September 2005, the group participated in the Operation Ceasefire concert, with the objective of ending the war in Iraq.

From their Press Release regarding their upcoming album Radio Retaliation Garza is quoted:

"Radio Retaliation is definitely a more overt political statement ... There’s no excuse for not speaking out at this point, with the suspension of habeas corpus, outsourced torture, illegal wars of aggression, fuel, food, and economic crises. It’s hard to close your eyes and sleep while the world is burning around you. If you are an artist, this is the most essential time to speak up." [4]

Thievery Corporation, or, Eric Hilton and Rob Garza, are vocal advocates for the World Food Programme, seeing hunger as "...something basic, really elemental, that transcends boundaries around the world."[5]

[edit] Appearances in Media

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[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
  • Originality
  • Supreme Illusion (2007) - Cover designed by Nikolas Schiller[7]

[edit] Compilations

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ Rob Myers (August 14, 2007). "Thievery Corporation 2006" (Print). Photo Book. Blurb. http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/76564. Retrieved on 2009-03-11. 
  2. ^ The Recording Academy (February 27, 2009). "51st Annual Grammy Award Winners List" (HTML). News. The Recording Academy. http://www.grammy.com/grammy_Awards/51st_show/list.aspx. Retrieved on 2009-03-10. 
  3. ^ Mark Jenkins (January 29, 2009). "At the 9:30 Club, Down-Tempo Thievery Corporation Takes It Up a Notch or Two" (HTML). News. Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/28/AR2009012803235.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-10. 
  4. ^ "Thievery Corporation to release new album: Radio Retaliation out September 23rd". http://www.thieverycorporation.com/news.htm#08_14_08. 
  5. ^ "Rob Garza & Eric Hilton, Thievery Corporation - WFP Celebrity partner". World Food Programme. http://www.wfp.org/content/rob-garza-eric-hilton-thievery-corporation-wfp-celebrity-partner. Retrieved on 2009-03-31. 
  6. ^ http://www.eslmusic.com/news/radio_retaliation_9_23
  7. ^ Thievery Corporation (October 11, 2007). "Discogs: Thievery Corporation - Supreme Illusion ESL110" (HTML). Album Cover. ESL Music. http://www.discogs.com/release/1124845. Retrieved on 2007-11-14. 
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thievery_Corporation"
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