Support Act: Cumbia Cosmonauts
In their silver spacesuits, with their array of sounds, the Cumbia Cosmonauts seemed to have descended from a time and space light years into the future. Yet, their well of groove influences originated hundreds of years ago on South America’s north coast. With their blend of cumbia, jungle beats, Jamaican dub and tropical riffs, the Melbourne based Cumbia Cosmonauts are drawing dancers and listeners in both Australia and Europe.
As the support act for Thievery Corporation, they had the scattered audience up and dancing pretty early on a Monday night, and that’s testament to the Cosmonauts’ infectious energy. Skillfully executed reggae drum rhythms gave way to spacey sounding solos on accordion or guitar. A racy tune with a catchy hook, from their new E.P., to be officially released on August 16th, was a stand-out track.
Sweet Tides
Thievery Corporation’s set opened with a thumping bass line, played in the dark, and, by the time the band was on stage and the lights were on, the Enmore Theatre was jammed with fans. The dancing, from the front row to the foyer, didn’t run out till the two hour long set came to an end.
Eric Hilton and Rob Garza, the duo that is the brainchild behind Thievery Corporation, know how to structure a set to keep their audience hooked. So the mellow tracks, like the dreamy ‘Sweet Tides’, with its sweet female vocals over a bass ostinato, were cleverly interspersed with James Brown influenced funk; hip hop and samba. The irresistible, groove-driven playing of irrepressibly energetic bassist, Ashish Vyas, contrasted with the full, melodic sounds of sitar player Rob Myers. An evening with Thievery Corporation is something of a rhythmic journey around the globe.
Vampires
Hilton and Garza carry this global awareness into their lyrics. In an era in which so much of the lyrical content of popular music is light and trivial or excessively self-indulgent, it is refreshing that some songwriters still actually use their music as a vehicle for political and social commentary. The audience loved the punchy deliveries of ‘The Numbers Game’ and ‘Vampires’, which the MC introduced with, “This goes out to the institution that wrecks so many countries around the world”. ‘Vampires’ is a criticism of the IMF, with its direct accusation, “You live on the blood of my people”, and its references to crises in Lagos, Kinshasa, Darfur and Malabo. As Garza says on Thievery Corporation’s website, “The best thing we can do is try to open people’s minds.”
Source
- Biography section of Thievery Coporation's official website.
Jasmine Crittenden - Jasmine Crittenden (B.A.)(Hons.)(First Class) is a writer and editor specialising in music, literature and travel.
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