Richest Man in Babylon, the

Thievery Corporation: The Richest Man in Babylon Label: ESL Music
Rating (scale of 1-10, 10 being best): 7.5

Well, these guys are at it again w/ their wide range of trip-hop/electronica/downtempo that incorporates dub, world-music, M. Eastern, bossa-nova, and Latin. I think some of the dub work isn’t all that strong. But the Middle Eastern-influenced trip-hop tracks and the French (LouLou) tracks are good. Try: 1,2,5,7,8,9,15.

1. Pretty fem vocal (I thought it was Bjork for a second, but this singer is not as annoying), simple synths and lush synths
2. Like the title says – Facing East – Middle Eastern trip-hop w/ all the sounds & percussion
3. Basically dub – lots of reverbs & some jah-rasta-vocals – deep bassline
4. Middle Eastern flute & synths interlude
5. Echoe-y soft female vocals by French chanteuse– breathy loungey trip-hop with some nice touches (tablas & synths) – very nice track
6. Reverbed synths & bass, like dub music, w/ breathy vocals – got that swank lounge guitar
7. Sinister spy bassline w/ some M.Eastern touches – chanteuse LouLou sings in French, which for some reason is really sexy here
8. Bossa-nova lounge – soft male vocals in Portuguese w/ some lush synths & mellow guitar
9. Afro-Cuban sound now – Spanish male vocals, lots of congas, smoky synths, dubby bass
10. Space-y synths & a rasta vocal loop, big bass & thick trip-hop beats – most dance-y track yet
11. Reggae-dub mixed w/ some trip-hop beats – somehow works well here
12. Instrumental w/ big horns, dub-ish effects, stylish funky bassline
13. Big loopy dub – lots of reverbed synths & effects, rasta-man vox (Shinehead), deep bassline
14. Kind of like Bjork/Portishead-style trip-hop
15. Instrumental track - lots of synths, dubby bassline, trip hop beats breakdown