Thievery Corporation - The Richest Man In Babylon (2002) [Reuploaded Link]

Date Released: September 17, 2002
Origin: United States
Genre: Trip-Hop, Chillout, Acid Jazz, Downtempo, Dub, Lounge
Label: ESL Music, Inc / Eighteenth Street
Site: http://thieverycorporation.com
Tracklist:
1. Heaven’s Gonna Burn Your Eyes
2. Facing East
3. The Outernationalist
4. Omid (Hope)
5. All That we Perceive
6. Un Simple Histoire (A Simple Story)
7. Meu Destino (My Destiny)
8. Exilio (Exile)
9. From Creation
10. The Richest Man In Babylon
11. Liberation Front
12. The State Of The Union
13. Until The Morning
14. Resolution

Download Link: http://rapidshare.com/files/245533802/Thievery_Corporation_-_The_Richest_Man_In_Babylon.rar

Susumu Yokota - Symbol (2005)

Date Released: July 19, 2005

Origin: Japan

Genre: Ambient, Chillout, Downtempo, Experimental, Lounge, IDM, Modern Classical

Label: Lo Recordings
Site: http://www.susumuyokota.org/

Tracklist:

1. Long Long Silk Bridge

2. Purple Rose Minuet

3. Traveller In The Wonderland

4. Song Of The Sleeping Forest

5. The Plateau Which The Zephyr Of Flora Occupies

6. Fairy Dance Of Twinkle And Shadow

7. Flaming Love And Destiny

8. The Dying Black Swan

9. Blue Sky And Yellow Sunflower

10. Capricco And The Innovative Composer

11. I Close The Door Upon Myself

12. Symbol Of Life, Love And Aesthetics

13. Music From The Lake Surface __________________________________________________

Having made an almost perfect musical statement with 2000's 'Sakura', Susumu Yokota is often accused of not living up to that album's sprawling scope and diffused ambience. Marking his 25th album (25!) Yokota has decided to answer those critics with a record that combines the detached aura of 'Grinning Cat' with the directness of his more truculent offerings, claiming it to be his "masterpiece". Built around hordes of classical samples (Puccini, Debussy, Mahler and Beethoven amongst them) 'Symbol' is a grand document that raises two pertinent questions; is it pretentious and is it any cop? The answers; probably and certainly. Opening with 'Long Long Silk Bridge' it's easy to stare cynically at the crate load of Juniper scented strings Yokota conjures up, dipping in and out as over-wrought choirs take to the stage with bare floorboard beats underfoot, but somehow it all works wonderfully. Yokota is barely finished on this prologue epic before he sends the listener into another huge arrangement ('Purple Rose Minuet') that sets harpsichords against some eerily echoing Japanese vocals, again to startling effect. Although his panache for bloody stupid song titles pervades throughout ("The Plateau Which the Zephyr of Flora Occupies"/"Fairy Dance of Twinkle and Shadow"), you get the feeling it's not as po-faced as you are first led to believe with a playful spirit evident on most tracks. Closing with the effeminacy of 'Music from the Lake Surface', 'Symbol' is undoubtedly overblown but in Yokota's affable hands it becomes an indulgent treat. Lovely.

Review taken from: http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=17650 Download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/163555823/Susumu_Yokota_-_Symbol.rar

Susumu Yokota - Acid Mt. Fuji (1994)

Date Released: 1994
Origin: Japan
Genre: Ambient, Chillout, Downtempo, Experimental, Lounge, IDM
Label: The Leaf Label

Site: http://www.susumuyokota.org/
Tracklist:
1. Zenmai
2. Kinoko
3. Meijiingu
4. Saboten
5. Oh My God
6. Tambarin
7. Oponchi
8. Ao-oni
9. Akafuji
10. Alphaville
11. Tanuki
__________________________________________________
I am so tired, so I really apologize for this time review… but at least you got an small one: “An overlooked ambient techno classic, this album (Yokotas first venture into modern electronic music) showcases his unique talent for composition and atmosphere.”

Review taken from: http://acrocosm.blogspot.com/2008/08/susumu-yokota-acid-mt-fuji.html
Download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/163532072/Susumu_Yokota_-_Acid_Mt._Fuji.rar

Susumu Yokota - Sakura (1999)

Date Released: November 30, 1999
Origin: Japan
Genre: Ambient, Chillout, Downtempo, Experimental, Lounge, IDM
Label: The Leaf Label

Site: http://www.susumuyokota.org/
Tracklist:
1. Saku
2. Tobiume
3. Uchu Tanjyo
4. Hagoromo
5. Genshi
6. Gekkoh
7. Hisen
8. Azukiiro No Kaori
9. Kodomotachi
10. Naminote
11. Shinsen
12. Kirakiraboshi
__________________________________________________
"Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" has been a huge hit in more than thirty countries, but it failed miserably in Japan. Apparently, the Japanese consider public displays of wealth embarrassing, so the money-grubbing show never had a chance. Failed culture translation can work both ways, of course. Here in America, it's generally considered embarrassing for grown adults to read comics whose heroines are scantily clad prepubescent girls with stripper-sized tits. At least we all agree on Cheap Trick and the Beastie Boys.
I'm thinking about these kinds of differences right now because I'm trying to get to the root of my fascination with the gentle electronic music coming out of Japan. Though they're working in dramatically different styles, I think it's safe to say that artists like Nobukazu Takemura, Aki Tsuyuko, Neina and Susumu Yokota share a sensibility. Each is capable of crafting subtle music that's not afraid to be warm and pretty, but they shade the tender melodies and childlike naiveté with hints of violence and loss. With now-familiar techniques like malfunctioning technology (Neina's Oval-style glitch is the sound of the digital world colliding with nature) and clipped vocal fragments (Takemura's "Kepler" traps Tsuyuko's innocent voice inside a machine), the pretty music becomes something more balanced and complex.
Susumu Yokota made his name in Japan as a House DJ and producer, and this functional background could explain why his ambient music is the most outwardly "pleasant" of the artists mentioned above. Sakura is his latest home-listening entry, a placid display of slow, careful movement with a few unexpected twists.
Much of this album features Yokota's dreamy, processed guitar as a distinctive sound tool. On the lush, cascading "Saku" and "Tobiume" he drowns the electric strings in reverb, and the plucked melodies are hard to trace to their source. The faint guitar melodies work well against the synthetic drones, offering a subtly percussive counterpoint to the electronic tapestry. On "Genshi," Yokota pulls out his this-old-House tools, wielding a gentle, steady kickdrum and shimmering high-hat to push along a gurgling guitar pattern reminiscent of Manual Göttsching. Adding further variation to the six-string texture, "Hagoromo" loops an acoustic guitar pattern to hypnotic effect.
Despite its use in the above tracks, this is by no means a "guitar album," not even in the Fripp & Eno sense of the word. Each of the elements, the guitars, the occasional beats, the vocal samples (heartbreaking on "Azukiio No Kaori," which reminds me of Nobukazu Takemura's amazing remix of "Proverb" on Reich Remixed) and the flowing synthesizers, are used to further the dreamy, contemplative mood. There are a few missteps, most notable the oddly jazzy "Naminote," which seems to strive for Amon Tobin territory but mucks up the flow of the album considerably. Still, this is a worthy artifact from what seems to be an incredibly fertile scene.

Review taken from: http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/23370-susumu-yokota-sakura

Download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/162757733/Susumu_Yokota_-_Sakura.rar

Thievery Corporation - DJ-Kicks (1999)

Date Released: May 18, 1999
Origin: United States
Genre: Trip-Hop, Chillout, Acid Jazz, Downtempo, Soft Trip-Hop, Dub, Lounge
Label: K7

Site: http://thieverycorporation.com
Tracklist:
1. Tropicando - Thievery Corporation, Baxter, Les
2. Rebirth - Thievery Corporation, Kunz, Bernd
3. Beija-Flor - Thievery Corporation, Forge, P.
4. Mother Africa Feeding Sister India/2001 - Thievery Corporation,
5. Rainbow - Thievery Corporation, Bangs, Chris
6. Success - Thievery Corporation, DJ Cam
7. Emerald Alley - Thievery Corporation, Senor Roody
8. Exploration - Thievery Corporation, Dingle, M.
9. Coming from the Top - Thievery Corporation, Thievery Corporatio
10. Ponteio - Thievery Corporation, Lobo, Edu
11. Guiro Electric - Thievery Corporation,
12. Fedime's Flight - Thievery Corporation, Leisering, Stefan
13. Janine - Thievery Corporation,
14. Imperial - Thievery Corporation, Carey, Dan
15. Transmission Central - Thievery Corporation,
16. Mathar - Thievery Corporation,
17. Reign Dub - Thievery Corporation,
18. It Takes a Thief - Thievery Corporation, Garza, Rob
__________________________________________________
Artists & titles selected by Washington, D.C. based DJ's Thievery Corporation (Eric Hilton & Rob Garza). Features many great lounge / chill-out moments, including cuts from Les Baxter, A Forest Mighty Black, Jazzanova & many more.
It seems Studio K7 do no wrong when its comes to their widely adored DJ Kicks series. The German label has showcased the record-selecting talents of DJs and producers from around the world, and in doing so has become a reliable brand name for quality home listening. This installment has Thievery Corporation, Washington, D.C.'s masters of the mellow groove, flexing their skills. The mood across the disc's 18 tracks is decidedly laid-back, but eclectically so. Les Baxter's '60s cinematic lounge sets the scene, but the second track is a quick fast-forward into modern lounge, as provided by Kraut-chillers A Forest Mighty Black. The vibe spans the gamut from sitar-and-tabla world beat (Up Bustle & Out) to dubby (Rockers Hi-Fi), but in the end, it's the Corp's own works that are the true standouts. This is easy listening for the hipster set; background music for the space-age dinner party.

Review taken from: http://www.music-city.org/Thievery-Corporation/DJ-Kicks-708850/
Download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/162420481/Thievery_Corporation_-_DJ-Kicks.rar

Thievery Corporation - Radio Retaliation (2008)

Date Released: September 23, 2008
Origin: United States
Genre: Trip-Hop, Chillout, Acid Jazz, Downtempo, Soft Trip-Hop, Dub
Label: Eighteenth Street

Site: http://thieverycorporation.com
Tracklist:
1. Sound The Alarm
2. Mandala
3. Radio Retaliation
4. Vampires
5. Hare Krisna
6. El Pueblo Unido
7. The Forgoten People
8. 33 Degree
9. Beautiful Drug
10. La Femme Parallel
11. Retaliation Suite
12. The Numbers Game
13. The shining Path
14. Blasting Through The City
15. Sweet Tides
__________________________________________________
The beautiful people are restless. Radio Retaliation retains the glazed-velvet façade, groin-grabbing bass beats, talented guest vocalists and nicely balanced international spice of Thievery Corporation's four prior albums, but this time producer-DJs Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, judging by their lyrics, are pissed. Closer in sound and sense to 2002's reggae-driven The Richest Man in Babylon than to 2005's psychedelightful Cosmic Game, Retaliation is a multinational dancefloor call to arms. There's definitely a party going on, but only after everyone has debated the ballot versus the bullet with their neighborhood MoveOn cadre.The fightin' words of Fela Kuti, Manu Chao and the Clash echo the loudest through Thievery's righteous (if relatively quiet) riot. Fela's son, Femi, could be quoting his father when he sings of, "Guns and debt/ Life and death/ IMF" over Afrobeat rhythms in "Vampires"; Jamaican crooner Sleepy Wonder rages and croons against Babylon atop the Sly and Robbie inspired riddims of the title track and "Sound the Alarm"; and Go-Go godfather Chuck Brown is all about "takin' back the power, gonna share the wealth" in "The Numbers Game."Luscious instrumentals like "Mandala" (featuring Anoushka Shankar's sitar), "Retaliation Suite" (acid afrojazz), and "The Shining Path" (shimmering lounge-adelica) are the less-retaliatory flip side to Thievery's sonic uprising. Likewise, Brazilian singer Seu Jorge's "Hare Krisna" (a plea for inner peace) and chanteuse LouLou's "Sweet Tides" once again find the Corporation smack dab in the eye of a quiet storm, making music so elegantly designed that any corporation would want to attach it to a car, a perfume or a hotel lobby, so universal is Thievery's appeal.

Review taken from: http://www.emusic.com/album/Thievery-Corporation-Radio-Retaliation-MP3-Download/11278917.html

Download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/161502845/Thievery_Corporation_-_Radio_Retaliation.rar

Thievery Corporation - Versions (2006)

Date Released: May 16, 2006
Origin: United States
Genre: Trip-Hop, Chillout, Acid Jazz, Downtempo, Soft Trip-Hop
Label: Eighteenth Street

Site: http://thieverycorporation.com
Tracklist:
1. Tarana – Ustad Sultan Khan
2. Habanos Days – Damian
3. This Is Not A Love Song – Nouvelle Vague
4. Beloved – Anoushka Shankar
5. Who Needs Forever – Astrud Gilberto
6. Desert – Emilie Simon
7. Lemon Tree – Herb Alpert
8. Originality – Thievery Corporation Ft. Sister Nancy
9. In Love – Fear Of Pop
10. The Girl’s Insane – The Januaries
11. Strange Days – The Doors
12. Revolution Solution (TC Remix) – Thievery Corporation
13. Shiva(TC Remix) – Thievery Corporation
14. Khalghi Stomp – Transglobal Underground
15. Angels – Wax Poetic Ft. Norah Jones
16. Nothing To Lose – Isabelle Antena
17. Cada Beijo – Bebel Gilberto
18. Dirt Little Secret – Sarah McLachlan
__________________________________________________
Michael Balzary, known to many as Flea from the Chilli Peppers, was once quoted as saying that when he hears a good bass line it makes him want to fuck. Thievery Corporation’s latest release “Versions” blends fat bass lines, melodic swells and yes, the desire to procreate for pure gratification when one hears the music. Driving south from LA to San Diego on the 5 South past San Clemente you pass the nuclear power station that is featured in many movies such as the Naked Gun. These two cone shaped nuclear reactors are to one a reminder of a pair of heavenly mammories. If Thievery Corporation was a pair of breasts they most certainly would be this pair – the most explosive set of tits in the world. Nearly 7 years after their first remix album “Abductions and Reconstructions” Thievery Corporation unleashes “Versions.” A new collaboration of rare and sublime remixes of songs by The Doors, Sarah McLachlan, Astrud Gilberto, Nouvelle Vague, Wax Poetic with Norah Jones, Anoushka Shankar, and Transglobal Underground, among many others. “Versions” signals a return to form for the duo Rob Garza and Eric Hilton. Released in 2005, “Cosmic Game” as a whole did not embody the sound that clearly defined Corp’s prominence. There were however some notable moments from Perry Farrell and David Byrne on the record. “Versions,” the 18-track collection showcases Thievery Corporation’s versatility and studio production talent to transform music by a wide range of artists into sonic gems baring the distinct Thievery sound.The opening track of “Versions” sets the tone with a haunting remix of Ustad Sultan Khan’s “Tarana” that glides along lazily through a haze of atmospherics. The sultry tones of Nouvelle Vague’s Camille leaves one dreaming of walking through an ominous forest at night yet calmed by the swells of a flute and the almost unearthly hum of a sitar. “Who Needs Forever” featuring Astrud Gilberto stands out as the strongest track on the album. This track sees you seated in a red leather booth wallowing in the blur of whiskey and then suddenly plucked out by a jazzy moving bass line that would bring death back to life – this coupled with the provocative tone of Astrud Gilberto’s voice is reminiscent of Thievery’s defining moment -- The Mirror Conspiracy.Corp’s brand new track “Originality,” a sub-heavy collaboration between Thievery Corporation and Sister Nancy, is a reggaelicious smoke infused anthem for the ages. On Angels, Nora Jones, an unlikely collaborator, surprises. Her voice glides through a rhythm- heavy underwater trance that brings back strong visions of Smoke City’s Underwater Love. Garza and Hilton managed to amass some of today’s sweetest songbirds and successfully couple them with an adventurous and compelling mix of their seminal electronic beats and bass lines. Versions stands to see Thievery once again spread their exotic blend of music which like rain absorbs moisture and then spreads its goodness for all to thrive.

Review taken from: http://www.kevchino.com/review/thievery-corporation/versions/872
Download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/158563591/Thievery_Corporation_-_Versions.rar

Thievery Corporation - The Cosmic Game (2005)

Date Released: February 21, 2005

Origin: United States

Genre: Trip-Hop, Chillout, Acid Jazz, Soft Tripo-Hop, Downtempo

Label: ESL Music, Inc / Eighteenth Street

Site: http://thieverycorporation.com
Tracklist:
1. Marching The Hate Machines (Into The Sun) (Ft. The Flaming Lips)
2. Warning Shots (Ft. Sleepy Wonder & Gujan)
3. Revolution Solution (Ft. Perry Farrell)
4. The Cosmic Game
5. Satyam Shivam Sundaram (Ft. Gunjan)
6. Amerimacka (Ft. Notch
7. Ambición Eterna (Eternal Ambition) (Ft. Verny Varela)
8. Pela Janela (Through The Window) (Ft. Gigi Rezende)
9. Sol Tapado (The Covered Sun) (Ft. Patrick de Santos)
10. The Heart’s A Lonely Hunter (Ft. David Byrne)
11. Holographic Universe (Ft. Gunjan)
12. Doors Of Perception (Ft. Gunjan)
13. Wires & Watchtowers (Ft. Sista Pat)
14. The Supreme Illusion (Ft. Gunjan)
15. The Time We Lost Our way (Ft. Loulou)
16. A Gentle Dissolve
__________________________________________________
What makes a great collaboration? At its worst, the collabo is a marketing tool and predictable, at its best, a creative detour and a catalyst for inspiration. For Thievery Corporation's fourth full-length of original material, the group turns increasingly to the aid of some handsome strangers to distill their prime influences of African diaspora music into a modern beat dub. The Corporation, the duo of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, draws up an eclectic guest list and merges it into a characteristic chill-out collage. While the Flaming Lips, South Asian superstar Gunjan, and David Byrne anticipate a meeting of major minds, the results are admittedly subdued and subtle. Similar to how recent celeb-fest Handsome Boy Modeling School wrapped odd orgies in the loveage of Paul and Dan, the Corporation weaves each artist into its recognizable patchwork. Each contribution blends neatly together, and creates a cohesive whole.
The Cosmic Game unfolds in a steady and consistent manner, much like a mixtape segmented neatly by mood and theme. "Marching the Hate Machines (Into the Sun)" opens the album with a notable appearance from an Air-headed Wayne Coyne. Like Yoshimi sipping Virgin Suicides, the Corporation crafts hollow atmospheres, lonely guitar leads, and twinkling keyboards. The peaceful backing provides a counterpoint to the confrontational title and upfront lyrics: "Let's start by, making it clear / Who is the enemy here / And we'll show them / That it's not them / Who is superior." The song's chorus continues on to dream an abstract Armageddon for the negative ones, a bold statement from a group associated more with chill-outs and sessions. Given the current political rhetoric, the schism in social discourse, and the group's base in Washington, D.C., the tension is more appropriate than out-of-place. However, the Corporation sticks to its tried and true moves, and bathes Coyne's critique in such cozy warmth that the assault feels more like a well-oiled Trojan Horse.
Similar to how the Corporation molds a track around Coyne's recent maturation to slick-psych, the production throughout the album is tailored around the guests. The hard-breaking "Warning Shots" is unusually aggressive for the two, but its knocking drums, punchy guitar accents, and Tech9 loop back Sleepy Wonder's underwater toasting with necessary heat. The feverish gargle in the first half of the song also works within the context of the album by detonating the ambivalence established in the opening track. Gunjan's warm voice gradually weaves in and replaces Sleepy's rasp, transitioning to the soothing cool-down of the lightly tripping "Revolution Solution". In contrast to the complete immersion of its guests into the music on "Shots", the Corporation provides sparse backing for Perry Farrell, whose voice functions as an instrument, channeling Horace Andy through a modern Madchester beat dub. Singing now in a subdued tone, filling out the lower end of his range and displaying a throaty tenor not often heard, Farrell sounds convincing. Admittedly, when he sings, "I hope for comfort / But I never felt safe", his beat down Babylon sermon sounds like fodder from the privileged hippie camp, but crisp production supports Farrell's diatribe dance with just the right amount of substance.
The title track "The Cosmic Game" strips vocals and any specific rhetoric, functioning as a moment of respite that actually brings the album into focus. Although each voiceless track functions as a similar transition piece, "Game" reintroduces the group's career-long exploration of South Asian, Caribbean, and Afro-Latin roots. The quiet "Shiva" follows as Gunjan stretches out on one of her several features, fusing modernist reading with sleek mod production. Notch, featured on the Corporation's last album, takes a step deeper into the pocket by heavily buttering his toasts on "Amerimacka"; his critical warning shot is lover's rock smooth, but runs roots deep: "If she had only stood for love / That would have been enough / But now we all burn in her plan". Although "Amerimacka"'s critique parallels the tone of the first section of Game, it contrasts with the Corporation's trademark subtlety; Dark Days drums swaying below slow-mo bass, and keys and strings washed in echo are the group's bread and butter. The effects become tired toward the end, because they are used repeatedly and often in a predictable manner -- echo is often in triplet and eighth increments -- but this seems more a product of digitized quantizing than any fault of the duo's creativity. Although the majority of the album does not contain such thematic consistency as the opening salvo, the whole's abstract exploration of ambivalence and soft funk suits the group well.
The Corporation proceeds to sail down the Atlantic coastline for a party cruise. "Ambicion Eterna" breezes through with minimal hand percussion and soft vocals courtesy of Vermie Varela. The group ventures further south with the nu-brasilo-beat "Pela Janela". The duo avoids the common mistake of giving into drum machine four-on-the-floors, but instead allow live percussion to carry the bump, loping bass to do the dance, and wafting vocals to set the mood. Continuing the tour is "Sol Tapado", which breaks berimbau similar to how Cornershop funkified raga, while DC virtuoso Patrick de Santos moves the crowd with casual rhythm. Nimble bongos and bouncing bass trace the Corporation's path back to Nigeria as Shako David Byrne struts his tail feather through "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter." Horns punctuate the melody, keys wash and echo throughout, and Byrne's flat intonation modernizes Afro-Beat, making one of the more progressive collaborations of the album.
The album closes with punches and caresses that ultimately bring Game in for a rocksteady landing. Gunjan sways in and out of "Doors of Perception", a guiro driven raga racer, as Sista Pat delivers throaty incantations over "Wires and Watchtowers'" pumping drums and echoing horns. Gunjan returns one last time on "The Supreme Illusion" to deliver quawwali-like pipes to dutty dancehall beatdowns and skull-snapping breaks. The final descent is gentle, as "The Time We Lost Our Way" cools out with muted trumpets and acoustic guitars. The Bacharach-Morricone vibe gives the composition a cinematic quality that leads naturally into the soft closer, "A Gentle Dissolve."
Thievery Corporation succeeds on The Cosmic Game by using collaborations to build on an established repertoire of instrumental music. Vocals have held an increasing presence in the group's work, but the Corporation uses each voice as an instrument, namely Gunjan, to push for newer sounds. The submergence of superior talents, like the oft-mentioned Gunjan, into the Corporation's palette is unfortunate for the guests, considering their ability to stand as centerpieces. However, for Thievery's purposes, the results are a fine distillation of their record interests. The overall quality of the work does not amount to the group's finest work, but considering the juggling act required to coordinate such talent, the Corporation sets forth on the best foot once again.

Review taken from: http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/t/thieverycorporation-cosmic.shtml
Download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/157889053/Thievery_Corporation_-_The_Cosmic_Game.rar.html

Thievery Corporation - The Richest Man In Babylon (2002)

Date Released: October 1, 2002

Origin: United States

Genre: Trip-Hop, Chillout, Acid Jazz, Downtempo

Label: ESL Music, Inc / Eighteenth Street

Site: http://thieverycorporation.com
Tracklist:
1. Heaven’s Gonna Burn Your Eyes
2. Facing East
3. The Outernationalist
4. Omid (Hope)
5. All That we Perceive
6. Un Simple Histoire (A Simple Story)
7. Meu Destino (My Destiny)
8. Exilio (Exile)
9. From Creation
10. The Richest Man In Babylon
11. Liberation Front
12. The State Of The Union
13. Until The Morning
14. Resolution
__________________________________________________
I love the missus for many reasons. There’s the sex. And there’s a certain laconic brilliance that shines like a Maglite in a moviehouse sometimes.
We were driving back from the beach. She’d just gotten her license reinstated. She’d been behind the wheel for an hour or two, and hadn’t quite gotten back into it yet. She needed a nap. I took over and put on the new Thievery Corporation album; just loud enough to know something was on. I didn’t want to keep her awake, and I didn’t feel much like paying attention. Before she nodded off, she said:
“This is what the cool people listen to.”
We’re going straight to hell, kids. If there’s hell below, we’re all gonna go. We’re going to boil in a bubbling cauldron of the oil from the pores of Sebadoh fans. And some of us will be so good at ironic, detached assimilation that we’ll affect an enjoyment of hell. We might never figure out whether we’re in heaven or hell. Which, if one believes the existentialists, is a pretty solid working definition of hell.
Our legacy? We’ll force a lot of Fugazi and Blackalicious on our kids, which will no doubt bore them to conniptions. They’ll be more interested in Neptunes and Green Day, having no more reason to reject them than we have to give the condescending stinkeye to Tommy James. (Our young’uns won’t give a shit about The Apples In Stereo, either.) And then there’ll be a more interesting, less easily defined legacy, passed on through discs like The Richest Man In Babylon. Provided this once great nation doesn’t rot through completely, this record will take over for Herb Alpert and “The Girl From Ipanema.”
It’s hipster Muzak, in other words. All ESL records are essentially “beautiful music” with a dash of urban flava, and can be enjoyed as such. Some can be probed for menacing subtext. Not Thievery Corporation. Break out your Physician’ s Desk Reference and Blue States can be melancholy, Thunderball can be paranoid, etc. This DC crew brings the straight tapioca.
The Corp goes slightly “exotic” now and again. There’re smoky leads from weary sounding women. And there’s a tabla.
The Richest Man In Babylon is strictly background fare. If you run a coffeeshop, you’re cooking with gas. If you’ve got a paper to write or tables to wait, it can pad out your skull. But I can’t imagine desiring to experience it through headphones. Even if I were a cool person. I imagine I’d be busy hitting on other cool people.
Shit, it’s less dull than Tortoise.

Review taken from: http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/405
Download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/157467910/Thievery_Corporation_-_The_Richest_Man_In_Babylon.rar.html

Thievery Corporation - The Mirror Conspiracy (2000)

Date Released: August 22, 2000
Origin: United States
Genre: Trip-Hop, Chillout, Acid Jazz, Downtempo
Label: ESL Music, Inc.

Site: http://www.thieverycorporation.com
Tracklist:
1. Treasures
2. Le Monde
3. Indra
4. Lebanese Blonde
5. Focus On sight
6. Air Batucada
7. So Com Voce
8. Samba Tranquille
9. Shadows Of Ourselves
10. The hong Kong Triad
11. Illumination
12. The Mirror Conspiracy
13. Tomorrow
__________________________________________________
Thievery Corporation's 1996 debut, Sounds From the Thievery Hi-Fi, was a must-have for martini-drinking lounge lizards everywhere. Plundering a bazaar of cosmopolitan sounds, it established this swank, mod-suit-wearing D.C.-based duo as the Thomas Crowns of sampling. Four years on, DJs Rob Garza and Eric Hilton continue their global pillaging with the hypnotic Mirror Conspiracy -- think James Bond chilling with Lee Perry and Antonio Carlos Jobim in a spliffed-out twilight zone. Only this time out, sampling takes a back seat: The duo relies on live instrumentation, taking in Jamaican reggae's reverb and echo, Far Eastern psychedelia and sitars, and bossa-nova horns and exotica. Where Sounds was dub-heavy, Mirror Conspiracy is infatuated with vintage Brazilian rhythms; on "Samba Tranquille," rousing Latin percussion rumbles over slow beats and spacey electronic riffs. Thievery's maturing flirtation with sultry female vocalists Bebel Gilberto (stepdaughter of that original girl from Ipanema) and Lou Lou (a sexy France Gall-like French chanteuse) could well propel this pair out of the club underworld. On the surefire lounge classic "Lebanese Blond," Pam Bricker's stoned-sexy vocals suck you in faster than the narcotic highs she lovingly details. Mirror Conspiracy is the perfect soundtrack for those who aspire to the elegantly roguish, Vespa-riding, Italian-soft-porn-loving international set.

Review taken from: http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/thieverycorporation/albums/album/206415/review/5945855/the_mirror_conspiracy
Download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/157443874/Thievery_Corporation_-_The_Mirror_Conspiracy.rar.html

Thievery Corporation - Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi [Extra Tracks] (2006)

Date Released: January 24, 2006
Origin: United States
Genre: Trip-Hop, Chillout, Acid Jazz, Downtempo
Label: Eighteenth Street

Site: http://thieverycorporation.com
Tracklist:
1. A Warning (Dub)
2. 2001 Spliff Odyssey
3. Shaolin Satellite
4. Transcendence
5. Universal Highness
6. Incident At Gate 7
7. Scene at the Open Air Market
8. The Glass Bead Game
9. Encounters in Bahia
10. The Foundation
11. Interlude
12. The Oscillator
13. Assault On Babylon
14. .38.45 (A Thievery Number)
15. One
16. Sun, Moon, and Stars
17. Sleeper Car
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Rare groove duo Thievery Corporation may fall under the general classification of electronica, but their album Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi, like much of their music, is such a confluence of subgenres that techno fans might not find what they're looking for in it. This record is electronic in that nearly everything heard on it has been tweaked in the studio, but almost all of the actual synth sounds on Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi lay in the background. Each song is carried by recordings of actual instruments, either live or sampled, mixed to create the arc of the specific track. Add a smattering of vocal samples, and the result is the love child of Massive Attack and Mondo Grosso, a trip-hoppy, acid jazz mutant that will make you want to dance, have sex, or lounge by the pool (if you're not left walking in confused circles, trying to figure out which one). That seems to be the CD's only real weakness: the seams that bind the various influences involved in the music can be a bit ragged, leading to some songs that come off as awkward rather than eclectic. The amalgamations throughout most of the disc are quite effective, however. The track "Scene at the Open Air Market," for instance, sounds like the melody is played on a xylophone, before switching to perhaps an accordion, eventually coming to sound like a mixture of lounge music, rhumba, and Eastern European folk -- but sexy. The samples of a man yelling reggae-style shout-outs during "2001 Spliff Odyssey," however, are mostly just distracting from the ultra-smooth groove, and can feel like interruptions. In the end, assuming that almost everyone who picks up Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi is a fan of trip-hop, acid jazz, club/dance, or electronica, then it is essentially a record for everybody. Its only real fault is that, occasionally, it edges toward being a record for nobody. [This version of Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi includes the bonus tracks "Sun, Moon, and Stars" and "Sleeper Car."]

Review taken from:

http://www.alibris.com/musicsearch?qsort=&page=1&matches=9&browse=1&qwork=400815406&mtype=M&full=1
Download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/158187161/Thievery_Corporation_-_Sounds_From_The_Thievery_Hi-Fi.rar.html

Bent - Intercept! (Deluxe Edition), (2008)

Date Released: April 15, 2008

Origin: United Kingdom

Genre: Downtempo, Chillout, Pop, House, Soft Trip-Hop

Label: Godlike and Electric

Site: http://www.bent-world.com/

Tracklist:

1. Exercise 7

2. To Be Loved

3. Stay Out All Night

4. Breakfast At 80,000 Ft

5. Tired Of The Show

6. Wendy Darling

7. Waiting For You

8. As Seen From Space

9. The Handbrake

10. Leavin' Me

11. After All The Love

12. Waiting For You / danny Howells Mix

13. Waiting For You / nightmoves Remix

14. Waiting For You / mr B Remix

15. Waiting For You / superbass Remix

16. The Handbrake / ernst St. Laurent Remix

17. The Handbrake / mr B Remix

18. To Be Loved / toby Tobias Remix

19. To Be Loved / soulchild Remix

20. To Be Loved / mr B remix

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This is a re-edition of the 2006 "Intercept!". This new version includes nine remixes from three tracks of this LP.

Bent are a duo from Nottingham consisting of Simon Mills and the tapered fingers of Neil Tolliday. And this is a Bent album sounds like it's been recorded by dead people or voices fed through a human vocoder by programmers who have managed to dismiss any needless emotion. This can be effective, occasionally, especially when the buoyant Lemon Jelly/Groove Armada artful background bombards your ears with plenty of pleasure. Right there you're listening to music beamed from an alternate dimension where sounds have moved just out of rack.
Shame that it is oddly humourless, like robots really have passed their fingers through the dictionary and handpicked the lyrics based on what their sentient free circuits are telling them. What's missing is the thinly disguised songs about anal sex that anchored the previous album.
Instead you're required to sit back in your comfy armchair and swallow the inoffensive glide through ‘Wendy Darling’ and ‘Waiting For You’ - both of which are homeopathic and deeply lulling. ‘As Seen From Space’ is a beguilingly apposite title while album opener ‘Excercise 7’ dispels any thought of a Bent backlash for at least three songs. Bent will play at the Big Chill and people reading The Guide will glance up for more than one song. They've gone and lost the flavour that once gave them the special taste.
It could be viewed as dispassionate, but when Bent arrived on the edge of the scene it was a welcome obtuse take on the beachside electronic wallpaper that was being led by the Zero 7 and their contemporaries. 2000's 'Programmed To Love' was an album to treasure and pimp to your friends. This one is a backward step from the seafront with too much over scrutiny in the studio.

Review taken from: http://www.new-noise.net/us_183.html

Download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/143400890/Intercept___Deluxe_Edition_.rar.html

Bent - Flavour Country [EP], (2004)

Date Released: December 6, 2004
Origin: United Kingdom
Genre: Downtempo, Chillout, Pop, House
Label: Open / Mosr
Site: http://www.bent-world.com/
Tracklist:
1. Exercise 5
2. The Waters Deep (2nd version)
3. I Can't Believe It's Over (2nd version)
4. Baby Of The Year
5. Continue...?
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Bent have something very special for you! Their brand new 'Flavour Country' EP signals a return to the kind of electronic delights that put them on the map in the first place.The EP includes 3 brand-new offerings alongside re-workings of classic tracks, 'The Waters Deep' & 'I Can't Believe It's Over' from their current album 'Ariels'. Set for release on the 6th of December the EP's artwork features 500 photographs personally taken by the boys themselves, offering a rare insight into Simon & Nail's 'Bent World'. To cap it all off each of the 500 limited edition 12"s will include a one-off photograph from the Flavour Country collection; surely a must have for any true Bent Fan!

Review taken from: http://www.bent-world.com/site2/releases/detail.php?articleId=93

Download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/142832321/Bent_-_Flavour_Country_EP__2004_.rar.html

Bent - Ariels (2004)

Date Released: October 12, 2004
Origin: United Kingdom
Genre: Downtempo, Chillout, Pop
Label: Ministry Of Sound
Site: http://www.bent-world.com/
Tracklist:
1. Comin’ Back
2. Sunday 29th
3. I Can’t Believe It’s Over
4. As You Fall
5. Silent Life
6. Sing Me
7. On the Lake
8. Now I Must Remember
9. You Are the Oscillator
10. Sunday Boy
11. Exercise 4
12. Waters Deep
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“Such pretty music. It makes me feel as though I am in love,” said a female friend, and I agree. It’s Bent, how can you not say that? There is something incredibly remarkable with “Ariels” by Simon Mills and Nail Tolliday; it’s delicate, sweet, and magical. Gone for the time being are the heavily use of samples from the par’s back catalog and we now welcome the natural acoustics and strings of two musicians alongside with the lush and surreal vocal talents of Steve Edwards, Sian (of Kosheen), Rachel Foster (of the Weekend Players) and of course Katty. The album works in twofold as Bent does what they do well – make dreamy bedtime songs for the contemporary electronic listener while still adapting its ears for the general public at large (for the first time…maybe it’s selling out, but I don’t think so). They know what works and they know how to create music that will move the soul while still being playful; it’s a balance that will push Mills and Tolliday into the mainstream once and for all. The dreamy soundscapes are pure and innocent with twelve tracks that work together as one, yet each can stand on its own; an emotional album that comes in and stays for sixty minutes only to leave you wanting more. It’s a bit sad to hear that the quirkiness and humor that graced Bent’s prior two albums are gone, but they’ve matured and so have you. Time moves on and you can’t stay in the same place forever.With the first single “Comin’ Back” as the opener, you get treated to the bouncy rhythms and hip-shaking percussions that begins the album with an upbeat mood. A fantastic start! The track reminds me of 70’s R&B and it’s understandable clear why this is chosen as the first single because of its upbeat attitude. Nourishing onward you get a taste a moods and tempos that ranges from disco-pop-to-wallpaper music that never lets go, but always staying constant in the back of your head. Other notable standouts are “As You Fall” with its deep ambience of tension and soft vocals that pushes the album to its peak early. “Silent Life” has it’s rich vocals by Simon Mills and earthly textures, while “Exercise 4” opens up the electroish influences that have been raging on the past year. It’s all so warm and fuzzy as “Ariels” is a rush of psychedelic melodies and beautifully sung lyrics that make this album what it is as the Nottingham producers now have graduated into the consciousness of pop culture. Very lush indeed.

Review taken from: http://www.residentadvisor.net/review-view.aspx?id=2488
Download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/142200800/Bent_-_Ariels.rar.html

Bent - The Everlasting Blink (2003)

Date Released: March 3, 2003
Origin: United Kingdom
Genre: Trip-hop, Downtempo, Chillout
Label: Phantom Sound & Vision / Pid
Site: http://www.bent-world.com/
Tracklist:
1. King Wisp
2. An Ordinary Day
3. Strictly Bongo
4. Beautiful Otherness
5. Moonbeams
6. So Long Without You
7. Exercise 3
8. Stay The Same
9. Magic Love
10. The Everlasting Blink
11. Thick Ear
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Bent's debut album Programmed To Love came bursting out into our living rooms three years ago. With choice tunes like "I Love My Man", "Always" and "Swollen", it heralded a new direction in leftfield dance, and in turn welcomed a new addition to the coffee table CD collection. Those Sunday Best tracks are now considered classics thanks to their over exposure on the latest All-Back-To-Mine-For-The-Greatest-Chillout-Album-In-The-World-Ever collection.
The Nottingham duo's new album, The Everlasting Blink, is by Simon Mills and Nail Tolliday's own admission their first album proper; their aforementioned debut to their minds more a collection of tracks. Regardless, the culmination of years of trawling second-hand record shops and car boot sales in search of the ultimate sample have produced a record that is firmly tongue-in-cheek and full of surprises.
Whilst the band are keen to stress this is not a concept album, there is a distinct theme with eerie soundtrack beds, kitsch sci-fi flavours and loved-up, down tempo beats en masse. Similarly, collaborations are aplenty: 1970s icon David Essex adds his two-pennys-worth to the Spanish guitar-kissed "Stay The Same", and country star Billie Jo Spears is to "So Long Without You" what Tammy Wynette was to the KLF's hoedown "Justified And Ancient".
The ethereal tones of the Beloved's Jon Marsh makes an appearance on the drifting string-soaked "Beautiful Otherness", while Captain & Tennille are expertly sampled to provide the musical inspiration on the beautifully lush 'n' dreamy lead-single "Magic Love". This is by far the album's standout track and with Ashley Beedle's remix makes the song an early contender for single of the year.
As a whole the chill beats and blissed out musicianship work well together and further highlight why Bent are the dons of eclectic cool and a slightly less pretentious alternative to, say, Air. Well worth getting your hands on.

Review taken from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/mqrg/
Download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/141787420/Bent_-_The_Everlasting_Blink.rar.html

Bent - Programmed To Love [European Edition], (2000)

Date Released: September 5, 2000
Origin: United Kingdom
Genre: Trip-hop, Downtempo, Chillout
Label: Phantom Sound & Vision / Pid
Site: http://www.bent-world.com/
Tracklist:
1. Exercise 1
2. Private Road
3. Laughing Gear
4. I Love My Man
5. Butterfingers
6. Cylons In Love
7. Wrong Rock
8. A Ribbon For My Hair
9. Blue
10. I Remember Johnny
11. Swollen
12. B Bishop
13. Exercise 2
14. Invisible Pedestrian
15. Memories
16. Irritating Noises
17. Always
18. Beach Buggy
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Humour. Not enough of it in electronic music, or so they say. Well, thank goodness for Programmed To Love because as it says on the sleeve notes-"They are Bent".
Obvious innuendo aside, the duo are actually bent in the sense that their approach to making electronic music is seriously skewed. The two are Masters of Whimsy, building lush soundscapes from humorous dialogue, fey electronica and even a few frisky efforts like the thinly veiled metaphor for sodomy that is "Chocolate Wings".
As listening experiences go, the sample-based Programmed to Love is a genuine pleasure. Blankets of melody rise and fall gently over innocuous rhythms, with the odd cosmic sound thrown in for good measure. The duo allegedly locked themselves in a studio for a couple of weeks with just their equipment and a load of vodka for this album, but while some of the tracks bear an amusing, crapulous quality (such as the now classic tune "Swollen", the folkish, almost unearthly "Private Road" (featuring vocalist Zoe Johnston) and the lewd "Chocolate Star"), many of the tracks here are simply enigmatic and charming. From the acoustic chug of "Cylons In Love," the funky "Invisible Pedestrian" and the subtly sweeping feel of "I Remember Johnny", this is a very original and captivating album that posits a genuinely alternative sound to the likes of other downtempo acts like Air, Zero 7 and Royksopp.

Review taken from: http://www.bent-world.com/site2/releases/detail.php?articleId=37

Download link: http://rapidshare.com/files/142680720/Bent_-_Programmed_To_Love__European_Edition_.rar.html