Thievery Corporation & Emiliana Torrini

Biography

Thievery Corporation is a Washington, D.C.-based electronic music duo formed in the summer of 1995 by Rob Garza and Eric Hilton at D.C.'s Eighteenth Street Lounge, where they bonded over shared passions for dub, bossa nova, jazz, club life, and global sounds from Brazil, India, Iran, and Jamaica. Starting as a hobby in the lounge's liquor room with limited gear, they mixed these influences with electronic production, launching their self-started Eighteenth Street Lounge Music label in 1996 and debuting with the groundbreaking album Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi, which pioneered song-based electronic music featuring diverse vocalists. Their sound evolved from warm minimalism to more psychedelic and politically charged styles, with key albums like The Mirror Conspiracy (2000) featuring the hit 'Lebanese Blonde,' The Richest Man in Babylon (2002) with vocalist Emiliana Torrini on tracks like 'The Hearts a Lonely Hunter,' and The Cosmic Game (2005).[1][3][5]

Over nearly 30 years, Thievery Corporation has released over a dozen acclaimed albums, remix LPs, and DJ mixes, defining a subgenre of downtempo, trip-hop, and world-infused electronic music through DIY ethos inspired by D.C.'s hardcore punk scene and Dischord Records. They maintained independence, rejecting major labels to sell 200k-300k copies per release, enabling genre-hopping experimentation and incendiary live performances worldwide with a rotating ensemble including vocalists like Lou Lou, Lif, and rhythm sections. Notable milestones include opening for Paul McCartney in 2009 and Eric Hilton's directorial debut Babylon Central (2010).[1][4][6]

Their legacy endures as standard-bearers of adventurous electronic music, blending past homages with future-facing innovation, addressing social themes through unfiltered global influences, and remaining relevant with inclusive, boundary-pushing work that defies mainstream lanes.[3][5]

Fun Facts

• Thievery Corporation began as a hobby in the liquor room of D.C.'s Eighteenth Street Lounge, surrounded by boxes of spirits and random music gear.
• Their track 'Lebanese Blonde' from The Mirror Conspiracy (2000) became a seminal international hit, featured on the Grammy-winning Garden State soundtrack.
• They opened for Paul McCartney at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, on August 1, 2009.
• Rob Garza started with electronic music at age 14 in a Connecticut high school class using modular synthesizers and samplers.

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Dischord Records (DIY ethos) - Influenced by D.C. hardcore punk scene including bands like Minor Threat and Fugazi (Shaped independent label approach and DIY principles) [1980s-1990s]

Key Collaborators

• Emiliana Torrini - Guest vocalist (The Richest Man in Babylon (2002)) [2002]
• Pam Bricker - Guest vocalist (The Richest Man in Babylon (2002)) [2002]
• Loulou - Frequent vocalist and key ensemble member (Multiple albums and live performances) [2000s-present]
• David Byrne - Guest singer (The Cosmic Game (2005)) [2005]
• Perry Farrell - Guest singer (The Cosmic Game (2005)) [2005]
• Wayne Coyne (The Flaming Lips) - Guest singer (The Cosmic Game (2005)) [2005]

External Links

• Spotify