10 Years Later, Duo Is Still Thick as Thieves

It's where they met singer Pam Bricker, a master of jazz and Brazilian music who would be a big part of the first three Thievery albums (it's her vocals on "Lebanese Blonde") and who toured with them before her suicide in 1995.

Hilton remembers "going to Second Story Books in Bethesda and picking up really collectible Brazilian records for $3 that cost $100 on the Internet and were probably dropped off by someone who worked at the Brazilian Embassy."

Sometimes, he and Garza found inspiration around the corner or down the block. LouLou, who has contributed Thievery vocals in English, French and Farsi, was working as a waitress and manager at Tryst on 18th Street NW and hanging around the studio with her then-boyfriend, reggae singer Rootz, when Hilton and Garza heard her singing, decided to try her on some grooves and "knew we had to do something," Garza says. Colombian percussionist Verny Varela and Brazilian singer Patrick DeSantos were discovered when Hilton and Garza were "hanging out at the Rumba Cafe drinking mojitos and checking out the music. That we've been able to pull really talented people from our own back yard is really great," Garza says. Local vocalists performing at Thievery's 9:30 shows include Verela, LouLou, Sista Pat and Rootz & Zeebo, who will also perform with their dancehall reggae band See-I at the Eighteenth Street Lounge on Wednesday with guest Sleepy Wonder.

"It's a D.C. thing, and we're very fortunate," Hilton says.

That also accounts for an increasing political consciousness that first appeared on 2002's "The Richest Man in Babylon" and became more evident on last year's "The Cosmic Game." Among that album's offerings: "Marching the Hate Machines (Into the Sun)," a peace anthem collaboration with Wayne Coyne and Flaming Lips, and "The Revolution Solution" with guest singer Perry Farrell. Thievery also helped organize the massive Operation Ceasefire concert last year on the Mall protesting the war in Iraq.

"It's part of our personal growth," Hilton says. "We've seen a lot of things go down in the last six years that made us wonder and think and change our perspective."

There are historic inspirations, Dischord and Positive Force locally, punk and reggae generally, but it's a relatively new element in the world of electronic music, Hilton says. "We've been fighting that whole 'lounge music' pigeonhole for a long time. It's such a broad category -- anything that doesn't have abrasive edges is thrown into the lounge category. We didn't want to exclude our sound from that type of positive energy."

Garza has been putting the finishing touches on his Dust Galaxy debut, recorded in London with British producer Brendan Lynch (Paul Weller, Primal Scream, Asian Dub Foundation, Ocean Colour Scene). "It was fun going over there and working with a bunch of different musicians and creating some new things," Garza said last week from a Munich airport as Dust Galaxy was on its way to Amsterdam after dates in Greece, Spain and Portugal. Guest musicians on the album include several members of Primal Scream and Adam Blake of Cornershop, but the touring band comprises a few Washington-based musicians: drummer Jerry Busher (Fugazi's roadie and "second drummer"), guitarist James Canty (the Make-Up, the Pharmacists) and bassist Ashish Vyas.

"It's been wild," says Garza, admitting that a new mindset has been necessary fronting a band rather than being a behind-the-scenes operator. "You get up and you really have to deliver the songs -- it's a different intensity of performing."

Ironically, Hilton is the Corporation man who'd played in rock bands before making what he calls "an electronic segue. I started out trying to make the whole Dischord sound with high school friends -- it wasn't hard, you just had to play fast and have strong wrists!"

"When Rob first started doing Dust Galaxy, I started worrying he was never going to do Thievery Corporation again, but after a year to process that and to work on my own, I realize everybody needs a break from what they're doing, and I think it's a healthy thing for him and for me."

Dust Galaxy performs Dec. 21 at Eighteenth Street Lounge. Other singers include Sleepy Wonder and Karina Zeviani, and the full band will feature bass, guitar, sitar, two percussionists, live horns, Garza on keyboards and effects, and Hilton on beats.

Thievery Corporation Wednesday through Dec. 23 at the 9:30 club, with other events at the Eighteenth Street Lounge and the Rock and Roll Hotel Sounds like: A celebration.

Listen to an audio clip of Thievery Corporation