The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Based in
Washington D.C., Thievery Corporation broke new ground with their politically
charged music when the group first emerged in 1995 led by Rob Garza and Eric
Hilton. With their eclectic mixtures of old-school Jamaican dub, Brazilian
bossa nova, and a healthy dose of club beats and silky jazz, the band has never
failed to impress, and their sixth studio album Culture of Fear is no
different.

Released
on June 28th, 2011 the album features the usual pick of session artists Loulou
and veteran dancehall artist Sleepy Wonder. Tracks like ‘Take My Soul’ remind
us of Pam Bricker’s unforgettable sound in ‘Lebanese Blonde’, but Loulou adds
her distinctive Persian touch to ‘Safar [The journey]’, which is sung in Farsi. Sleepy Wonder gives the album a reggae twist with ‘Stargazer’. Despite
these strong performances, the strongest tracks on the album come from the new
blood that TC has brought in to complete their simmering yet hazy sounds.  

The
political tone of the album is well-summarized in the title track, which
features hip-hop artist Mr. Lif rapping ‘Maybe we just so used to it at this
point that it’s just a part of us/ Part of our culture/ Security alert on
orange/ It’s been on orange since ’01, G/ Can’t a brother get yellow/ just for
like two months or somethin?’ in reference to the US government’s
never-changing colour-coded security alert system. The song ignores that the
system is no longer in use, but the point gets across nonetheless. 

Anyone
bothered by TC’s political stances will find it exceedingly easy to ignore them
since, with the exception of Mr. Lif’s rap, any inflammatory language blends
silkily into the atmospheric backgrounds, leaving you focusing on the strength
of the instrumental features rather than the lyrics.

Rising
star Ras Puma brings a mystical feel with soft drumbeats to ‘False Flag Dub’
and the sizzling reggae track ‘Overstand’. Things calm down a bit with the
introduction of Bitter:Sweet’s Shana Halligan in ‘Is it Over?’ featuring slow,
booming tribal rhythms.

Newcomer
Kota lends a smoky sound to the album’s final track, ‘Free’. The mysterious
melodies in the background and Kota’s sultry tones make us wish that we could
hear a bit more of her on the album; but we are left with no other choice than
to start from the beginning and have another listen.

TC’s latest album is good because it replicates the sounds
that made them famous in the first place. While some might see this as laziness
or lack of originality, on their part we see enough of an effort in their
choice of session artists and lyrical content to agree with their decision to
not fix what isn’t broken.

Thievery Corporation hasn’t claimed any new ground
this time around, but they have definitely produced an excellent album.