More Info on Thievery CorporationSimilar Undetermined MusicSearch Artistopia
Biography
Infobox musical artist| name = Thievery Corporation| image = Thievery-Corporation.jpg| caption = Thievery Corporation live in 2010| background = group_or_band| landscape = yes| origin = Washington, D.C. , United States | genre = Electronica , Downtempo | years_active = 1995–present| label = ESL Music | website = http://www.thieverycorporation.com ThieveryCorporation.com| current_members = Rob Garza Eric Hilton Thievery Corporation is a Washington, D.C. based recording artist and Disc Jockey|DJ duo consisting of Rob Garza, Eric Hilton, and their supporting artists, including current drummer Jeff Franca. Their music style mixes elements of Dub music|dub , acid jazz , reggae , Indian classical music|Indian classical , Middle Eastern, and Brazilian music|Brazilian (such as bossa nova ) with a Lounge music|lounge aesthetic.
History
Thievery Corporation was formed in the summer of 1995 at Washington D.C.'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 music|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 .
In 2002 they released The Richest Man in Babylon (album)|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 Emilíana 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 (musician)|David Byrne , and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips .
In 2006 the group released Versions (Thievery Corporation album)|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 and guitar player, in the Blurb (publisher)|Blurb photo book Thievery Corporation 2006 .cite web|url= http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/76564|title=Thievery Corporation 2006|first=Rob|last=Myers|work=Blurb|date=August 14, 2007|accessdate=March 11, 2009 In 2006, the band also recorded "Sol Tapado" for the AIDS benefit album Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin Redux produced by the Red Hot Organization .
The group released their fifth studio album, Radio Retaliation , on September 23, 2008. It was nominated for the Grammy for best recording package.cite web|url= http://www.grammy.com/grammy_Awards/51st_show/list.aspx|title=51st Annual Grammy Award Winners List|work= National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences |date=February 27, 2009|accessdate=March, 10 2009 Thievery Corporation's tour started out with 5 consecutive sold out shows at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC.cite web|url= http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/28/AR2009012803235.html|title=At the 9:30 Club, Down-Tempo Thievery Corporation Takes It Up a Notch or Two|first=Mark|last=Jenkins|work= The Washington Post |date=January 29, 2009|accessdate=March 10, 2009
The language of the group's lyrics throughout their career include English language|English , Spanish language|Spanish , French language|French , Persian language|Persian , Portuguese language|Portuguese , Romanian language|Romanian and Hindi . This reflects the group's world music influences.
They were the opening act on August 1, 2009 for Sir Paul McCartney at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.
On July 27, 2010, Babylon Central , the cinematic directorial debut of founding member Eric Hilton, was released. Set (and shot) in Washington, D.C., the film follows tripwire events in the interconnected lives of its characters, each influencing power brokers' schemes to manipulate international currencies.cite web|url= http://www.thieverycorporation.com/news/babylon_central_released|title=Babylon Central released|work=ThieveryCorporation.com|accessdate=October 13, 2010
In June 2011, Thievery Corporation released their sixth album, Culture of Fear .
In January 2012, Thievery Corporation launched a remixes contest in conjunction with Dubspot . http://soundcloud.com/groups/thievery-corporation-culture-of-fear-remix-contest/tracks
Politics
Thievery Corporation has taken progressive political stances on various issues, opposing war and exploitative trade agreements, while supporting human rights and food programs. Tracks such as "Amerimacka" and "Revolution Solution" from their album The Cosmic Game and The Richest Man in Babylon (album)|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.
In September 2005, the group participated in the Operation Ceasefire concert, with the objective of ending the Iraq War .
From their press release regarding their album Radio Retaliation , Garza said:
cquote| 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=Rob Garzacite web|url= http://www.thieverycorporation.com/news.htm#08_14_08|title=Thievery Corporation to release new album: Radio Retaliation out September 23rd Thievery Corporation are vocal advocates for the World Food Programme , seeing hunger as "...something basic, really elemental, that transcends boundaries around the world."cite web|url= http://www.wfp.org/content/rob-garza-eric-hilton-thievery-corporation-wfp-celebrity-partner|title=Rob Garza & Eric Hilton, Thievery Corporation – WFP Celebrity partner|work= World Food Programme |accessdate=March 31, 2009
At Lollapalooza 2009 the group spoke out against the International Monetary Fund|IMF after playing the politically charged song "Vampires".
Discography
Studio albums
Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi (1997)
The Mirror Conspiracy (2000)
The Richest Man in Babylon (album)|The Richest Man in Babylon (2002)
"DJ-Kicks EP / It Takes a Thief" (Studio !K7, Rough Trade, 1999)
"Focus on Sight" (2000)
"The Lagos Communiqué" (2000)
"Focus on Sight" (2000)
"Sound File 001" (4AD 2000)
"Sound File 002" (4AD 2000)
col-2
"Shadows of Ourselves" (4AD 2000)
"DC 3000" (2000)
"Thievery Corporation VsNicola Conte - Bossa Per Due" (2001)
"The Richest Man in Babylon" (2003)
"The Heart's a Lonely Hunter" (2005)
"Revolution Solution" (2005)
"Warning Shots" (2005)
"The Time We Lost Our Way" (2005)
"Sol Tapado" (2005)
"Originality (2006)
"Supreme Illusion (2007)
"Radio Retaliation Extras" (2008)
"Sound the Alarm / La Femme Parallel (Sonik Magazine 2009)
"Vampires" (2011)
"Culture of Fear" (2011)
col-end
References
Reflist
External links
commons category|Thievery Corporation (band)
http://www.thieverycorporation.com/ Official website
http://www.eslmusic.com/ Eighteenth Street Lounge Music
Category:Thievery Corporation|* Category:Trip hop groups Category:American hip hop groups Category:Electronic music groups from Washington, D.C. Category:Musical groups from Washington, D.C. Category:4AD artists
