Thievery Corporation will be performing live with Seu Jorge and special guests Bebel Gilberto and Federico Aubele at SummerStage in Central Park on Thursday June 26, 2008 from 6:00-10:00pm.Tickets are $59.50 if purchased in advance or $65.00 on the day of the show.

This show is a benefit concert for Central Park SummerStage presented by LiveNation.

Central Park SummerStage is located at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. Enter the park at 69th Street and 5th Avenue on the east side or at 72nd Street and Central Park West on the west side.

If you are unfamiliar with Thievery Corporation, here is a review of their latest CD called  The Cosmic Game.

Thievery Corporation: The Cosmic Game

From the first note of Thievery Corporation’s fourth album, The Cosmic Game, it takes the listener a matter of moments to realize that they are listening to the leaders of the down-tempo beats and chill-out sounds genre. Transported back to a time when stars didn’t beat you over the head with choruses and catchy hooks, The Cosmic Game soothes the soul with a melodious utopia of musical harmonies and is a gem that once again vaults this soulful duo to the elite status as one of the top U.S electronica acts.

            Rob Garza and Eric Hilton have once again managed to surpass their previous efforts with their latest release. Departing from the emotionally-charged “The Richest Man in Babylon,” the beautiful intellectualism of “The Mirror Conspiracy,” and the hypnotic minimalist “Sounds From the Thievery Hi-fi”, Thievery Corporation treads new ground with their new sonic masterpiece.

After achieving international success with their hit “Lebanese Blond,” (Mirror Conspiracy), Thievery Corporation definitely felt pressure to find a new way to expand their distinct sound and were forced to expand their musical boundaries. If this album’s successful debut at number two on the BBC’s UK Dance Chart is any indication, they have managed to once again strike gold and what makes this an especially amazing feat, is that they are on an independent label, ESL, and have no major corporate sponsors backing them.

             Unlike previous albums, The Cosmic Game, boasts an impressive line-up of collaborating artists. The Flaming Lips helped to create the CD’s first track, the hauntingly beautiful, Pink Floyd-esque Marching The Hate Machines (Into the Sun), while Indy-Alternative rocker Perry Farrell, takes a slightly different turn with his rastified-vocals on Revolution Solution. In addition to Farrell, Thievery Corporation got another famous lead singer in Talking Heads’ front-man David Byrne, to lends his vocals and quasi-paranoia to the funky horns of The Heart’s A Lonely Hunter.

            Although this impressive line-up of guests might overshadow other artists, Thievery Corporation holds its own by weaving a psychedelic tapestry of sounds that incorporates these stars and other not-so-well-known collaborating artists. This fusion of different sounds is what vaults Thievery Corporation light-years ahead of their imitators.  Each song is crafted to highlight the instrumental magic that Garza and Hilton infuse throughout the album, while still giving their collaborators the freedom to have their own sounds.

            Formed in Washington D.C., Thievery Corporation’s stateside style has transcended international boundaries and garnered the group fans from around the globe. Although their beats manage to cross international culture barriers with ease, the group continues to remain rooted to certain influences like the rhythmic drums of Brazil. The album’s musical ride sets listeners on a soulful journey and makes stops at majestic locations where the listener can almost feel the Jamaican influence of Notch (Amerimacka) as he blows a soothing West Indies breeze or they can enjoy the mind-melting vocals of eastern superstar Gunjan as he brings new meaning to the words hypnotic.

If you let them, Thievery Corporation will give you a dose of their hypnotic medicine and leave you wanting more. Be prepared for feel the hallucinogenic effects of traveling through what might be the musical equivalent of the solar system. The Cosmic Game is more than just listening pleasure. It is a journey that that invites listeners to open the doors of perception and the more willing you are to let go and allow yourself to become enveloped by the sounds, the more likely you are to get caught up in Thievery Corporation’s solid sounds.

Federico Aubele: U kent allen ongetwijfeld Gotan Project. Die zal ik niet bespreken want dat kent iedereen toch. Dit is een tip voor wie op zoek is/was naar iets dat lijkt op Gotan Project. Federico Aubele is een Argentijn die houdt van zijn land en de muziek die er geproduceerd wordt, en tegelijk ook heel graag aan knopjes draait. Dat leverde twee albums op, de ene met een wat mooiere naam dan de andere (maak zelf maar uit welke): Gran Hotel Buenos Aires en Panamericana. Mijn aanbeveling? De eerste! Wat krijg je in Gran Hotel Buenos Aires (geef toe: dergelijke albumtitels doen je toch echt drómen??)? Akoestische gitaren die strakke akkoorden spelen, elektronische elementen eraan toegevoegd, een mooie vrouwenstem die onverstaanbare dingen zingt (Spaans dus) en een algemeen laybackgevoel. Waar voor uw geld! Dit hotel kijgt van mij alvast 5 sterren.

Album: Gran Hotel Buenos Aires
Luister: Ante Tus Ojos
(opgelet: als je naar meer info googlet of zo, is het Federico en niet Frederico!)

Calexico: Travelall/98-99 Road Map/Aerocalexico/Toolbox: Ik geef het grif toe: ik ben een Calexicoman. Om niet fan te zeggen. Maar als we het over warme blokmuziek hebben kan je er gewoon niet omheen. Calexico zit vol creativiteit die eruit moet. Daarom blijven ze maar muziek in het rond gooien. Ze gooien zelf ook onuitgegeven materiaal op het internet om gratis down te loaden, inclusief live shows. Zelfs tijdens hun tournees krijgen ze er niet genoeg van en blijven ze muziek produceren die dan als zgn "tour-album" wordt verdeeld. Travelall, 98-99 Road Map, Aerocalexico en het meest recente Toolbox zijn hier voorbeelden van. Je vindt er geen echte "liedjes" op (toch zeker niet op Travelall) maar eerder soundscapes. Dat is het woord dat ik erop plak. Laat ons wat vergelijkingen maken en beelden oproepen, want woorden op zich volstaan zelden om muziek te omschrijven. Neem nu Travelall. Dat is een soort van niet-elektronische ambientmuziek, doorspekt met geluidjes en konkelfoezende instrumenten. Neen, het is geen kakafonie, daarvoor is het allemaal te subtiel, te gevoelig, te zacht. Er wordt niet gezongen, alleen gespeeld. En waaraan denk je dan tussen twee hoofdstukken leerstof door? Aan Zorro, en aan rotswoestijnen, en aan lange highways met kadavers van slangen en coyotes. En het is warm en broeierig. En je zal je deze examenperiode nog lang herinneren.

Luister:
Aerocalexico: Crawlspace (Lastfm)
Travelall: Piker Sam (volledige mp3) (live)

Ry Cooder - Paris, Texas: De meester van de slide guitar! Paris Texas is soundtrack van de gelijknamige film en is één en al leegte en weemoed. De slide zoeft op en af over de steel van een akoestische gitaar, buigende tonen banen zich een weg tussen bizonschedels, cactussen en de woorden in je cursustekst. Eén nummer zou je beter skippen: "I knew these people" omdat het een - zei het heel mooie - conversatie is. Paris, Texas is trouwens een prachtige film over een man die de liefde van zijn leven probeert terug te vinden in, jawel, Texas.

Kijk en luister: de heerlijke openingscène.

myspace.com/aubele

eslmusic.com/artist/federico_aubele

Federico Aubele - Panamerica

The Argentine guitarist-songwriter's second album reaches far beyond the tango+electronics of his first album, although both are present.   With real songs, sung mostly by women, each song combines various Latin American styles and traditions. Poetic and pointed lyrics reward concentrated listening. Especially beautiful are La Esquina and En Cada Lugar.

Juanes - La Vida es un Ratico

While Juanes is perhaps the most popular mainstream rock musician in Latin America, he manages to resist crossing over to pop syrup or English lyrics. In most of his songs he retains a commitment to telling the stories of ordinary people of Colombia, sort of a Latin Springsteen. More than on his previous album, this one incorporates both Colombian dance music like vallenato and cumbia and the hard rock guitar music that originally made him popular with the band Ekhymosis. The first single Me Enamora is a romantic pop tune though.

Manu Chao - La Radiolina

A superstar practically everywhere except the United States, Spaniard Manu Chao writes political anthems ideal for crowds of hundred thousands in soccer stadiums and central plazas. However the songs work at home, in earphones, or small scale protests as well. To reflect his political concerns about poverty and globalization, he mashes together styles from Latin America and West Africa with punk rock, Spanish flamenco, and sonic collages(there are a lot of sirens on this album).  The 21 songs on La Radiolina repeat several musical themes changing up the lyrical subjects and languages. The stand out on the cd is Me Llaman Calle, a melodic and thoughtful song about the hard lives of prostitutes(written for the excellent Spanish film Princesas about Dominican immigrant women in Madrid).  See the video for the poppy anti-Imperialism/Iraq War Rainin in Paradize.

Mexican Institute of Sound - Piñata

After I wrote up a blurb about the debut of Instituto Mexicano de Sonido, Camilio Lara shortly released an even better CD. Piñata features funnier lyrics and a deeper variety of samples, loops, and beats than the debut. Aspires, while not quite reaching, to be a Mexican Paul's Boutique. See the video for Escribeme Pronto.

Pacha Massive - All Good Things

This Bronx based bilingual band combines traditions from their parents' homelands(Colombia and the Dominican Republic) with hip-hop, soul, and funk from their adopted New York borough. Don't Let Go, an electro-funk  groove with R&B chorus and rap interlude, is easily the catchiest song of the year. Watch the video here. Also good are the house track Drive and a dub version of the traditional song Verdolaga.

Zoé - Memo Rex Commander y el Corazón Atómico de la Vía Láctea

The band Zoé has emerged after three albums, as one of Mexico’s most popular and accomplished indie rock bands. However unlike other contemporary Mexican bands, like Kinky or El Gran Silencio, Zoé doesn’t use any traditional styles in their music and sound as if they could almost come from anywhere in the world. The band has more in common with Radiohead or TV on the Radio than with Café Tacvba. Read more at Zoé - Memo Rex Commander y el Corazón Atómico de la Vía Láctea.

Best New Music of 2007 - Part I