Gentlemen Robers

Daryl Easlea salutes the thinking man’s remixers, Thievery Corporation

Founded in 1995, Washington-based dance duo Thievery Corporation is in that select band of acts, that even though they remain elusive to the great majority, their name and music exudes a mysterious exclusivity. However, there is nothing petty about their thievery: more Thomas Crown than common crooks, a look at their website encapsulates their mystique perfectly. Among their self-designed T-shirts, there is one that bears the legend 'Air Thievery'; on a design that apes the Air France logo. Those who know will get the joke – and those who don't will at least appreciate its elegant conceit.

Rob Garza and Eric Hilton met in 1995, when Garza, who had DJ’ed and played in a variety of bands, hooked up with Hilton at his recently opened Eighteenth Street Lounge club in Washington DC. Finding they shared the same musical tastes, the duo set about creating a world that married the laid-back beats of the day with their sizeable record collections; dub, bossa and punk influences weaved in and out of a dreamy, filmic stew. And they made a lot of friends along the way: currently the duo have recently released their fourth studio album, The Cosmic Game, which includes guest vocalists as esteemed as Perry Farrell, David Byrne, and opening the album in a full Floydian flourish, the Flaming Lips.

RC caught up with half of the Thievery leadership, Rob …

by Daryl Easlea
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