15TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY
ESL MUSIC
RELEASE DATE: 15TH NOVEMBER 2010
‘It Takes a Thief ‘is a retrospective compilation from Thievery Corporation celebrating 15 years of pioneering and revolutionary beats by the masters of downtempo music.
The album is a collection of tracks specially selected by Rob Garza and Eric Hilton for both long time fans and for music lovers who have heard of Thievery Corporation but may have never listened to the band. Rob Garza said “looking back and realising it’s been almost 15 years since we started, we figured maybe now is the time. These tracks are some of our favourite moments.”
Thievery Corporation have released 5 studio albums to date and sold over 1.5 million records since 1996. Thievery’s tracks have been licensed for film, TV and advertisements including True Blood, Entourage, Six Feet Under, CSI, Skyy Vodka, Jaguar, Lexus, EA Sports and many others.
Spanning right across the last 15 years of their career, the album unfolds in a kaleidoscope of sonic colour. It serves to demonstrate the versatility and diversity of their sound as it showcases classic tracks like “Warning Shots” featuring incendiary reggae toaster Sleepy Wonder, “Vampires” featuring Afrobeat heir Femi Kuti, “Shadows of Ourselves” featuring multi-lingual Persian singer Lou Lou, and of course the hit track “Lebanese Blonde” featuring the late jazz chanteuse Pam Bricker. ‘It Takes a Thief’ also features an exclusive, never before released track “The Passing Stars” also featuring Pam.
This release is, however, more than just a collection of great songs. It is also an inspirational example of a band on a small independent label who can transcend the hype machine that surrounds the modern music industry and the ‘throw away culture’ inherent in dance music to become a ‘dominant force’ as godfathers of the electronic landscape.
From the release of the duo’s first LP, its been remarkable to witness the growth of Thievery Corporation’s fan base as it has steadily grown in such a DIY, organic fashion. Hilton himself notes, “We were so inspired by the true do-it-yourself ethos of the DC punk scene that Rob and I both grew up on. A lot of great music reaches fans without the typical hype and fanfare enjoyed by bands on the majors.”
This fan base has only got stronger as the years have passed, to such an extent that Thievery Corporation have been able to sell out the famed Hollywood Bowl, London’s Shepherd’s Bush Empire and countless other legendary venues around the globe.
Their infectious live show features 15 musicians and a carousel of performers unlike any other live band playing today. In 2009, Thievery Corporation sold out 2 nights at New York’s Terminal 5, and recently finished a 13 date European tour including Morocco, Rome, Athens, Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam.
“As we are in the midst of recording our sixth studio album this year, it just seemed like the time was right to release this collection. It’s been a great journey – musically and personally – and we just wanted to have that one definitive document. It Takes a Thief is it,” explains Garza. “We feel like it’s a great look back for some; and for others, an excellent introduction to our sound.”
The band is preparing to announce a major US tour for the autumn of 2010 and is recording a new album to be released in 2011.
thieverycorporation.com
eslmusic.com
After an outstanding pack of 12-inches for Scuba’s Hotflush Recordings, London DJ and producer Sigha a.k.a James Shaw confidently returns to the label with his heavily anticipated debut LP, ‘Living WIth Ghosts’. For this offering he presents twelve impressive techno and ambient productions and fuses his love of classic UK techno with the contemporary sound that currently pulses through Berlin’s Berghain.
Twitter
