Search - thievery corporation :: Abductions & Reconstructions

For Those that like Thievery Corporation, this is a must....

fetish_2000 | U.K. | 08/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Thievery Corporation - "Abductions & Reconstructions" (Downtempo, Electronica, Trip-Hop) : The Thievery Corporation has long since mined the more instrumental end of Downtempo trip-Hop, and made a name for themselves, by usually delivering Solid albums, with their sublime "The Mirror Conspiracy" largely sonsidered their best work.



Here they tackle the prospect of 'Remixing' (or reinterpreting), a collection of 14 or so artists. That are not all necessarily associated with Electronic or Downtempo Music. And as well as tackling Artists that are familiar to most (stereolab, Gus Gus, David Byrne, Black Uhuru), they also re image less-known artists work with as much proficiency (Edson Cordeiro, Waldeck, Savior Faire, Slide Five).



"David Byrne's - Dance on Vaseline" gets a contemporary subtle Dance-beat reinterpretation, with slinky and a restrained Laid-back and stylish percussion beat layed underneath the David Byrne's vocal, and the effect is most impressive, like a supremely sophisticated Laid-back Alternative Pop tune.



"Rockers Hi-Fi's - Tranmission Central" is given a dub re-edit, and the Thievery Corporation trademark of Eastern-influenced instrumental Percussion and string arrangements & Samples makes this a beautifully hybrid of Trip-Hop composition with Dub/Reggae vocals overlayed



My Personal fave, (although its a close run thing) is the re imaging of "Stereolab's - Ticker-Tape of the Unconscious", with rather than stripping the track of Stereolab's trademark Kraut-rock electronics & Drone, soften the edges and turns it into a more sensual Electronica-derived track, that retains the original female vocal, but reshapes it to fit within the context of the new composition.



What works so well for the Thievery Corporation is the fact that, they realise that some tracks actually don't need to be completely reconstructed, to compete as being as good tracks. When carefully considered sampling or instrumention or a well chosen Elegant, Stylish or well chosen vocal track to underpin their Eastern-styled synth swooshes or sampling, will present a fresh spin on a track, but still maintaining the integrity of the original. And so "Thunderball's - Hijack" & "Edson Cordeiro's" sublime vocal "Ave Maria", aren't completely reinterpreted, but more given a tidy Lounge makeover, with the essence of the original still intact.



"Gus Gus's", style of quirky and Cerebral electronica find that their Polyesterday is completely taken apart and rebuilt with echoey keys, Continental flair & atmospheric percussion, with the vocals reedited...it feels a fair distance away from the original and is expertly produced, and although noticeably different does the original proud.



"Black Uhuru" (another act that have had their material remixed by Trip-Hop artists), find their "Boof N' Baff N'' Biff" not so much 'Dubbed', but given a lazy smoked out groove with the reggae vocal still largely intact. And seeing how most remixers would baulk at the prospect of turning a reggae tune into something digestable for the Downtempo/Trip-Hop Crowd. Here the Thievery Corporation rise to the challenge, and breathe life into the mix by introducing a head-bobber of a drum loop, layered with loads of reverb and echo, and tweaked bass and drums to impressive effect.



If your a Thievery Corporation fan....then as mentioned in a previous review, there's a lot here that'll appeal. the musical trademarks to brought them their audience is stamped over a lot of the material here, and proves them to be not only excellent remixers in their own right, but seemingly have impeccable track/artist selection for who to remix.



If want criticisms to give this a balanced review, then it could be argued that some of the beats or instrumentation used feels familiar to their previous work, and irrespective of how well incorporated it is here, isn't as innovative as some of the other artists in this genre. But what they lack in cutting-edge sounds, then make up with 'Mood, Atmosphere, Production & unexpected choices' (Stereolab??...Black Uhuru??...David Byrne??). Sure, this album will take you nowhere fast, but isn't that the point of Chill-out???"