Thievery Corporation Abductions & Reconstructions CD

Definitive collection of Thievery Corporation remixes featuring tracks by David Byrne, Baaba Maal, Rockers Hi-Fi, Stereolab, Pizzicato 5, Gus Gus, Hooverphonic, Black Uhuru & more. ESL Records.

Audio Remixer: Thievery Corporation.
Recording information: Eighteenth Street Lounge Studio.
Unknown Contributor Roles: GusGus; Rockers Hi-Fi; Stereolab; David Byrne.
Abductions and Reconstructions, the 15-track collection of Thievery Corporation remixes done for other artists, includes luscious trip-hop versions of a more diverse cast of artists than most remix LPs -- including Rockers HiFi, Slide Five, David Byrne, Baaba Maal, Black Uhuru, Stereolab, Pizzicato 5, Gus Gus, and Hooverphonic. The Thievery touch is effortlessly applied to each artist in turn, softening the edges and giving a stoner vibe to tracks like Maal's "I Will Follow You (Souka Nayo)" and Byrne's "Dance on Vaseline." All in all, Rob Garza and Eric Hilton prove themselves one of the best remixing teams around. ~ John Bush
With their Thievery Corporation DJ and production house, and their Eighteenth Street Lounge label and (Washington, DC) nightclub, Rob Garza and Eric Hilton spent the late '90s helping redefine the club aesthetic and the club sound aesthetic. Sonically, they are downbeat cats, in love with shaggy hip-hop beats, dubby spaces, organic percussive textures from nearly every continent, and creamy lounge-perfect melodies. Aesthetically, they are hi-fi jet-setters, staying away from the dark and depressing, heading always toward the light, airy spotlight.
On this set, David Byrne gets head-nodding rhythm; Stereolab is reduced to a swirl of melodies (including Laetitia's incomprehensible voice) and beats; Rockers Hi-Fi toast on a bed of fat bass lines and brass kicks, amidst a mellow dancehall haze. While every participant, from reggae stalwarts Black Uhuru to trip-hop opera sculptor Edson Cordeiro, may already be a sympathetic fit with the Corporation's methods and affinities, they get further remade in Garza and Hilton's image. And though it may be simplifyingly gauche to simply call Abductions & Reconstructions a funkier Stateside take on Kruder & Dorfmeister's shtick, it wouldn't be offbase either; and it'd be a compliment.

Entertainment Weekly (7/23/99, p.69) - "...they electro-massage David Byrne, lead Baaba Maal to the echo chamber, and ship Stereolab further out in space....It's music for coming down when the sun's comping up..." - Rating: B+
Alternative Press (10/99, p.74) - 4 out of 5 - "...these dubbed out remixes abduct the original tracks, inserting sharp objects and strange devices into [them], while some simply reconstruct the blueprint.... The resulting trance is addictive, and it validates the duo's cultish repuation."
Magnet (8-9/99, p.90) - "...Just slip on some earphones, light up that Cohiba and press your martini into service: The Corporation is open for business and cold gettin' paid."
CMJ (5/3/99, p.33) - "...ABDUCTIONS & RESTORATIONS is a smooth, languid offering of chilled-out dub and trip-hop grooves. An eclectic array of talents, including David Byrne, Stereolab, Pizzicato 5, Gus Gus and Black Uhuru, serve as the duo's source material."