Politically outspoken and super-charged DJ set Thievery Corporation talk about the relationship between music and politics backstage during the 2011 Lightning in a Bottle music festival. They touch on how the music industry is changing and what it means for political consciousness as well as independent artists. And these two, Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, the core dynamic duo of Thievery Corporation, would know: they have managed their independent record label Eighteenth Street Lounge since the inception of Thievery Corporation in 1995. Based in Washington, D.C. Eighteenth Street Lounge has remained small and selective, even after the duo exploded on the scene and gained steady attention from mainstream media.
Best known for their smooth fusions of various genres including dub, Indian, Brazilian, bossa nova, jazz, trance and hip hop, Thievery Corporation is often a favorite of those who claim to "like a little bit of everything." They've had tracks featured on the Hollywood hits Vanilla Sky and Garden State and often work with other major recording artists, such as Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips, David Byrne and Perry Farrell (all featured on their 2005 album The Cosmic Game).
Often referred to as Burning Man's little cousin, the electronic music and consciousness festival Lightning in a Bottle spanned Memorial Day weekend of 2011. The unabashedly otherworldly event featured mind and body workshops, eco-villages and yoga classes, and not least the recording and mixing talents of Thievery Corporation, who headlined alongside Pretty Lights. Garza and Hilton spent a moment backstage before their performance Sunday night to talk with Urban Nomad, aka Jeremiah Alexis, about the state of confusion in mainstream media and their newest album, Culture of Fear, just released on June 28, 2011.
Interview Bio - Nancy Woo, managing editor at OnlineRock, studied Sociology, Literature and Environmental Studies at UC Santa Cruz. A self-described "bohemian of sorts" she spends most of her time listening to music, reading, writing, freelancing in the world of journalism, tutoring writing, running, practicing yoga, attending live music and theater shows.
