Thievery Corporation

The Richest Man In Babylon

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Editor's Review:

Thievery Corporation - the DJ and production duo of Ron Garza and Eric Hilton - is at the forefront of groups who have been blending the organic sounds of Indian music, dub reggae, European spy film soundtrack music, Latin-flavored folk and everything else they can get their hands on with the beats and attitude of downtempo electronic and hip-hop music. The resulting sound has helped the Thievery Corporation spawn, foster and promote a new direction in music.
On The Richest Man In Babylon, the group's fourth official full-length release on their own label, Thievery Corporation masterminds Garza and Hilton draw from a broad palate, lacing spacey synth tones or Middle Eastern sitar over echo-y, deep and full drums. On "The Outernationalist," for example, an almost straight-ahead dub format is utilized, from echoed key sounds to the vocal samples of a Rasta praising Jah. This release also features a lot of vocalists, including Loulou, Vernie Verela and Emiliana Torrini, whose contributions to "Heaven's Gonna Burn Your Eyes" and "Until the Morning" nicely accent the songs' mellow, organ-driven jazz tones. The obvious standout on The Richest Man in Babylon is "All That We Perceive," featuring the soft but strong vocals of Pamela Bricker. The song employs a ton of soul, from organ accents and wah-wah guitar licks to a solid drum pattern, a funky bass line and horn section hook laid down with style and smooth delivery. As one of a few frontrunners of the electro-lounge and -jazz scene, Thievery Corporation have done what they've had to do to maintain that status: raise the bar.
- Max Sidman

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