Nearly seven years after releasing their first remix album Abductions and Reconstructions Thievery Corporation present Versions, a new collection of rare and sublime remixes of songs by The Doors, Sarah McLachlan, Astrud Gilberto, Nouvelle Vague, Wax Poetic with Norah Jones, Anoushka Shankar, and Transglobal Underground among many others. Versions also includes a new original track featuring legendary dancehall queen Sister Nancy.
With a nod to the Jamaican production tradition of creating versions of the original compositions; this 18-track collection showcases Thievery Corporations versatility and studio production talent to transform music by a wide range of artists into sonic gems baring the distinct Thievery sound.
Highlights from Versions include a haunting remix of Ustad Sultan Khans Tarana that glides along lazily through a haze of atmospherics, a sultry take on Nouvelle Vagues This is Not a Love Song that drips with sex appeal, an upbeat percussive rework of The Doors Strange Days that fuses psychedelia with a groovy Manchester sound, and the brand new track Originality, a sub-heavy collaboration between Thievery Corporation and Sister Nancy.
Recording at the Consulate studios in Washington D.C., Thievery Corporation have managed to blossom in the heart of the empire, a city the duo often refer to as the real Babylon. The group is a major presence in a scene legendary for fierce independence, musically and politically from genre-defining pioneers such as Chuck Brown and Fugazi to grassroots organizations such as Positive Force and the Future of Music Coalition. Formed in the summer of 1995 at D.C.s Eighteenth Street Lounge the now world-renowned venue that is still a creative incubator for DC underground music-- Eric and Rob bonded over strong drinks, dub, bossa nova and jazz records, then decided to see what would come of mixing all these in a recording studio.
The duo caught the ears of underground DJs with their first two 12 offerings, 2001 Spliff Odyssey and Shaolin Satellite and with their 1997 debut LP, Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi, they had already begun to define a new genre of electronic music and connect with an international community of like-minded souls. Though the terminology has varied (downtempo, chill out, leftfield and a myriad of other permutations), they have been at the top of the game ever since.
After the warm minimalism of Sounds from the Thievery Hi-fi, Garza and Hilton raised the production value significantly with the highly acclaimed The Mirror Conspiracy, which contained the seminal international hit Lebanese Blonde, which was featured on the Grammy winning and platinum selling Garden State Soundtrack.
The next corporate offering was the conscious and thought-provoking The Richest Man in Babylon, which raised the stakes just as record bins began to be flooded with imitators.
Released in February of 2005, The Cosmic Game broke new ground for Thievery with high profile collaborations with The Flaming Lips, Perry Farrell, and David Byrne contributing outstanding performances to an album that pushed Thieverys signature sound in new directions.
With the renowned club and record label, acclaimed compilations, legendary live shows, and sales of over one million albums to date -- every single one of them self-produced and independently distributed -- Thievery Corporation are undisputed standard-bearers of electronic music, and among the most adventurous and compelling artists extant. In the words of Rolling
Stone: Together, Hilton and Garza explore foreign cultures with wide-eyed curiosity and a taste for the unexpected. Then they lock themselves in a studio and record songs that tell stories of a better world.
Favorite show at Rothbury which is saying a lot...I remember like it was last night one of the members saying 'man you guys are wicked' I was going insane...
