Thievery Corporation Review

Originally published in Fábrika here.






For most groups, establishing a unique signature sound is a matter of transcending strict genre – witness, for instance, Sigur Ros with their symphonic soundscapes that seem to defy the broad label “rock.” This is understandable, for as much as we cling to the norms of a given genre to define our tastes, we always want our favorite musicians to violate those same norms. As unique as Sigur Ros may be, they still play electric guitars and drum sets. For the Washington, D.C.-based Thievery Corporation, however, a different approach is taken. Instead of transcending genre, this duo embraces diverse musical forms, cutting their material up in the laboratory of beatcraft to produce something that is defined more by the sheer quality of synthesis than by anything else. Their music is the sonic equivalent to collage art.

On their latest record, Radio Retaliation, Thievery Corp. continues in this aesthetic. One can’t help but marvel at the global, “one world” philosophy that underlies their sampling choices – on this record, we have everything from hints of dub reggae (“Sound the Alarm,” “Radio Retaliation”) to classical North Indian music (“Mandala,” featuring the virtuosic Anoushka Shankar on sitar). It is a testament to the syncretic skills of the group that they can put so much diverse musical material through the mill and still create a coherent product. Highlights of the album include: “Hare Krishna,” which features the buoyant samba-funk guitar and vocals of Brazilian star Seu Jorge; “El Pueblo Unido,” an uptempo Afro-Cuban track complete with piano montuno and brass section; and “(The Forgotten People),” which employs samples of a Middle-Eastern oud and dumbek drum to great effect (despite the unsubtle political commentary of the title). Listening to this record is a veritable world tour of disparate genres.

Of course, underpinning the whole project are two themes consistent with previous Thievery Corp. releases: politically charged lyrics and a lush production style. Although the stylistic conceit of each song varies wildly, all of the tracks on the record are given a similar sound, complete with textured, ambient waves and that classic down-tempo signature, the heavily reverb-modified Fender Rhodes piano. It is this style – pulsating grooves, samples, and sonic swirls – that moves Radio Retaliation beyond simply a grab-bag of world styles and into its own orbit of electronic-lounge-downtempo-chill out-(insert genre) music.

To me, this last point is what makes Radio Retaliation a shallow, if reasonably enjoyable, listen. The name of the group is quite appropriate: Thievery Corp’s music steals from all over the place, processes it, and spits out something that, while being a product of genre-play, ends up as firmly embedded in genre as anything else. Minus the transcendence.