Thievery Corporation

Like some sort of mythical civilisation from pre-history, the Chill Out era left almost nothing behind: excepting the odd reminder of a blinding Ibizan night, a dusty copy of Hed Kandi's ubiquitous Serve Chilled compilations or FAC 15's diaphanous cover of Stay With Me 'Til Dawn, relics are few, almost as if the end of the last Millennia bled straight into System of A Down and Britney.

Washington based duo Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, aka Thievery Corporation, are one of the few survivors from the time that bass forgot, veterans whose first album Sounds From The Thievery Hi-Fi wore their love of Brazilian rhythms unashamedly on its sleeve.

So pronounced has this obsession continued to be for the pair that 2014's Saudade was in its entirety a downbeat collection of bossa nova campfire songs, a series of little indulgent breaths mostly exhaled in Portugese. If Temple I & I by contrast sounds like some radical house keeping has been done, it's because it's true: decamping to Port Antonio in Jamaica, the Thieves have used the island's vibes as a canvas, their residency in the erstwhile Geejam Studios facilitated with copious amounts of local rum and weed.

Continue reading: Thievery Corporation - The Temple of I & I Album Review

It Take A Thief is the long overdue 'best of' which sees the Thievery Corporation Rob Garza and Eric Hilton select their favourite Thievery Corporation tracks from the last decade (and more) and present them here in a career retrospective for the very first time. And what a trip it's been. The music is wide-ranging, using electronica as a base and incorporating many elements of music from across the world and mixing them to delightful effect, perfect for late night listening or for lounging around the bars in Brick Lane.

Continue reading: Thievery Corporation, It Takes A Thief Album Review