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American DJ/composer/producer duo Rob Garza and Eric Hilton are among today's most popular exponents of modern lounge music. The sounds of bossanova, reggae and hip hop are the basic building blocks of their subtle electro-acoustic sound spiced with horns, lush synths, global exotica and a smattering of guest vocalists. Their headquarters is Washington DC, home to Eighteenth Street Lounge which is the name of both their nightclub and their beloved indie record label. The former helps fund the latter, on which recordings from both themselves and various other acts have emanated at fairly regular intervals since the late 1990's. Thievery has developed an ultra-smooth eclectic style that has been particularly popular on the other side of the Atlantic. What Kruder & Dorfmeister began Thievery cleverly honed into something akin to a brand, so the appeal to fashion-conscious Europeans is therefore not surprising. The duo's dedication to style in everything they do - their music, artwork, sense of dress, PR, choice of live and DJ gigs - was always going to be both a strength and a weakness. Music as fashion helps you get noticed, but also leaves the music at risk of style triumphing over substance (and the better judgment of certain music journos). Still, the majority of their original music impresses regardless of the cocktail bar associations and image of cultivated cool. Following several years series of vinyl single releases Thievery Corporation's debut album Sounds From The Thievery Hi Fi was released in 1997 to widespread underground acclaim. Like Nightmare On Wax's genre-defining Smokers Delight (1995) it's intriguing retro feel comes largely from extensive and creative use of samples from 60's/70's soul and funk records, TV and movie dialogue. The mostly instrumental arrangements are lean and that's one of the album's great strengths: the relatively bare beats and basslines make for quietly powerful groove music. The stoned hip hop numbers "One", "Transcendence" and "Incident At Gate 7" achieve their spine tingling ambience with a very restrained use of their respective elements - strings, subtle synths, flute, tamboura, wisps of indistinct vocal. There's also an ominous edge at times - "Interlude" and "The Oscillator" for example - that's every bit as compelling as Kruder & Dorfmeister's darker cinematic moments. The few "songs" are Jamaican vocals and toasting with a conscience, setting the scene for the vaguely revolutionary fervor that permeates all of Thievery's album releases to date. The duo's second collection of original songs and instrumentals The Mirror Conspiracy is Thievery Corporations virtual textbook and where their polished studio craft really starts to emerge. There's a fuller sound, more dominant Latin polyrhythms and more live instrumentation. "Le Monde" introduces the smooching vibrato electric piano and muted wah-wah guitar phrases so often associated with the silky Thievery sound. It also marks the debut of regular guest vocalist Lou Lou, although whatever her lyrical intentions it is the the soft, sexy, melodious sound of her voice that stays with you. The special way in which Gaza and Hilton integrate little ideas from sources as diverse as orchestral soundtracks, cool jazz and Indian folk songs makes for many striking and beautiful moments here. A method much imitated by nu jazz and lounge acts, and I'm glad to say quite often equaled. The Richest Man In Babylon is the work of a mature duo more interested in refinement than innovation and its a gorgeously slow burning collection of tight down-to-midtempo grooves and luminious sounds. It contains some of their most uplifting, full-blooded melodic instrumentals like the sultry Arabic groove "Facing East", and "From Creation" with its muted electric piano/guitar and soaring ethereal strings. The Spanish vocal on "My Destiny" by one Patrick de Santos is exceptionally tender, and two melancholic songs featuring husky-voiced Icelandic singer Emiliana Torrini are touching and vulnerable. Babylon's polish does beg the question: where to from here? As good as the album is, it does suggest a musical dead end may be just around the corner and that's unfortunately confirmed by The Cosmic Game (2005). It's expertly engineered but the line-up of star guests (David Byrne, The Flaming Lips) can't mask its lack of emotional engagement at times and in the end style eclipses substance. Released at a time when Thievery Corporation had never been more popular the album does no more than quote their past and go through the motions. That's the trouble with finding a nice comfy lounge. You want to stay there. Of Thievery Corporation's DJ mixes available on CD, the best is their excellent entry in the DJ Kicks series which for some fans is the highlight of their album output despite having only two of their own compositions. A travelogue of old inspirations (like bachelor pad soundtrack icon Les Baxter), Indian sitar melodies and cutting-edge lounge productions, it marks them as selectors and mixers of note and sits comfortably alongside Kruder and Dorfmeister's classic from the same series. |
