Music Mondays | Thievery Corporation
Rob Garza of Thievery Corporation
Image | Mark Taylor, Wikimedia Commons
Thievery Corporation has been recording and performing together for an impressive quarter century, first coming together in 1995. Rob Garza and Eric Hilton are the duo behind the project, but the studio and touring group has expanded to include at least a dozen other musicians.
Their music combines electronic, jazz, bossa nova, reggae, Middle Eastern styles, and more. While often their albums are a mix of all these sounds, Brazil and Jamaica are important musical influences for the group, as evidenced in their albums Saudade, a tribute to Bossa Nova, and The Temple of I & I, an exploration of Jamaican music.
Incorporating many languages, often their songs are also social commentary about war, exploitation, and human rights. Thievery Corporation releases their music under their own independent Eighteenth Street Lounge Music label, and the genre-bending sound defies any expectations of what “world music” should be.
“Lebanese Blonde” and “Le Monde” demonstrate the serene and etherial sound of Thievery Corporation. “Letter to the Editor” is a social commentary featuring up-and-coming Jamaican artist Racquel Jones. “Claridad” is from the band’s bossa nova album—enjoy this acoustic version. “Un Simple Histoire” has smooth overtones with a pulsing base line that are beautifully united with sensually breathy French lyrics.
“Lebanese Blonde”
”Le Monde” (“The World”)
“Letter to the Editor (featuring Racquel Jones)”
”Claridad” (“Clarity”)
”Un Simple Histoire” (“A Simple History”)
