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Music styles: Downtempo/Triphop

Thievery Corporation is a Washington DC based production and DJ duo consisting of Rob Garza and Eric Hilton and their supporting artists. Their music can be characterized as downtempo electronica with influences of dub, acid jazz, Indian classical and Brazilian styles (such as bossa nova) fused together with a lounge aesthetic. Thievery Corporation is on the Eighteenth Street Lounge record label named after the swank DC club owned by Eric Hilton, but several of their singles and EPs appear on the 4AD and !K7 labels. In 2002, they released The Richest Man in Babylon on their ESL label. This fifteen track album is similar in sound and timbre to The Mirror Conspiracy and features performances by vocalists Emiliana Torrini, Pam Bricker, and Lou-Lou. Indra, the third track from The Mirror Conspiracy, was featured in the opening shots of The West Wing season five episode Gaza and in an MTV (India) promo for the programme Non Stop Hits. The group also received support from Scrubs star, Zach Braff, when Braff used their track "Lebanese Blonde" on the soundtrack of his film Garden State. This resulted in boosted sales for the group after the film's release.

Music styles: Downtempo/Triphop

Zero 7 is a downtempo styled musical duo comprising Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker from the United Kingdom. The band's songs feature vocals from Mozez, Sia Furler, Tina Dico, Sophie Barker, José González, and for the first time, Henry Binns providing backing vocals on the third album, The Garden. Zero 7 is sometimes viewed as the British counter-parts of the French downtempo group, Air.

Music styles: Downtempo/Triphop

Air is a French duo, consisting of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel. The two studied architecture at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Versailles before forming a band in 1995. Their debut EP, Premiers Symptômes, was followed by the critically acclaimed album Moon Safari, the re-release of Premiers Symptômes, The Virgin Suicides (soundtrack), 10,000Hz Legend, Everybody Hertz, and Talkie Walkie. Although Air's music is often referred to as electronica, their form of electronic music really owes more to the synthesizer sounds of the 1970s such as Jean-Michel Jarre, Vangelis and Francis Lai. Other influences are psychedelic rock pioneers Pink Floyd and Krautrockers, Tangerine Dream, Jean-Jacques Perrey (although there are some echoes of dance music styles in the production), and French crooner Serge Gainsbourg. Air's music also has jazz inflections at times. Before founding Air, JB and Nicolas played together in the band Orange, with others such as Alex Gopher, Xavier Jamaux and Etienne de Crécy – names that have recently reappeared in connection with Air's remixes. Air uses many of their studio instruments (like Moog synthesizers, the Korg MS-20, Wurlitzer and Vocoder) live on stage, where their ability to improvise is more clearly highlighted. The band performs the well-known tracks from the albums live as extended or altered versions. Air often works together, both in the studio and live on stage, with artists like Beth Hirsch (Moon Safari), Françoise Hardy ("Jeanne"), Jean-Jaques Perrey ("Cosmic Bird"), Gordon Tracks ("Playground Love" and "Easy Going Woman"), Beck (10,000Hz Legend) and, on the 2004 tour, with Dave Palmer and drummer Earl Harvin.

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