Technosonic Gold
Customer Rating: 
Thievery Corporation's 2005 release, The Cosmic Game once again demonstrated the groups ability to combine and synthesize various genres of music into a unique sound. Tracks such as Amerimacka and Doors of Perception feature synthesized percussion and feel like club tracks, while the album also features more soothing Brazilian sounds in songs such as Ambicion Eterna and Pela Janela. Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, the Washington D.C. based duo who make up the group, had previously found success in their genre with their previous album, The Richest Man in Babylon, and therefore were able to attract more high profile artists in their next release, such as Perry Farrell and the Flaming Lips.
The Cosmic Game runs at sixteen tracks, and each features different elements and degrees of electronic music. In "A Gentle Dissolve", for example, you can hear the coming and going of electronic synthed effects that sound like outer space, while the track also features acoustic music. All of the tracks feature elements of electronica, whether it be computer generated sounds or unnatural fades. The singing is done by various artists of different backgrounds, giving a feel of nations such as India, Jamaica and Brazil to the songs of the album.
Unlike in music such as MICE or more delicately composed tracks, Thievery Corporation utilizes lyrics and words to counteract the electronic feel. The lyrics have value over top of the beats, providing a meaning the artists can express to the listener over their synthesized sounds. Some of the tracks, such as "The Heart's a lonely Hunter" and "Amerimacka" would fit in most dance clubs or house parties, while the album also features more subtle sounds in "Holographic Universe" and "A Gentle Dissolve". Fans of the album have commented on Thievery's departure from uptempo house music while embracing more of a relaxed feel.
Thievery Corporation follows in the footsteps of other electronische artists, while featuring recorded tracks of vocals and instruments. Much like Karlheinz Stockhausen, Thievery corporation combines the elements of electronically created sounds and those created by computers. You can really hear it in Warning Shots, where there is a drum beat and a recorded hip-hop like sounds while also effects and fades made by the computers. This track also splices the words of the singer up, unlike any of the other tracks.
The entire album is exceptional, with different tracks offering different things to various listeners. If I had to say though, I would argue that Amerimacka is my favorite song on the album. The song mixes a reggae feel with electronica, with a beat that anyone could groove too. Unlike the reggae Bob Marley covers Jamaican tourists come to loathe, Amerimacka does an amazing job taking the ska feel of reggae and combining it with electronic elements such as keyboards and synthesizers. The lyrics are kept together in full, but the sound effects add a great touch to an already cool song. I gave the album five stars for its use of different techniques of electronic and sampling methods.
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