Eric Hilton – A Sky So Close (Montserrat House Music, 2026)
Eric Hilton, co-founder of downtempo duo Thievery Corporation, will release his new album A Sky So Close on Friday, February 20, 2026. The 12-track project extends his work in trip-hop and downtempo production. Hilton delivers a refreshing set of laid back pieces with dreamworld cinematic passages, seductive EDM and funk beats, and enchanting melodies.
Hilton describes the record as inward-facing and personal. “This record is an atmosphere, a state of mind. I indulge myself by making music that I want to listen to,” he explains, noting that the album features few guest performers and reflects what he calls his “stream of consciousness.”
The producer continues his established method of combining samples with live playing to emphasize an organic feel. “I’m really a bassline designer,” Hilton says. He points out that he often mixes bass samples with parts played by himself and collaborators, “so you can get new kinds of grooves that one person couldn’t really play.” Tracks such as “Kali” and “Ghatam” showcase some of the album’s deepest low-end work.
Hilton again teams with longtime collaborator Natalia Clavier on “Lalita,” which combines sitar and Hindi chanting in what he describes as a departure for the Brazilian vocalist. Clavier also appears on “Kali,” contributing to the record’s vocal presence, while Hilton keeps the focus on mood and rhythm.
The title track, “A Sky So Close,” delivers one of the album’s most expansive arrangements, with finger-tapped tabla, string figures, wah-wah guitar and a prominent bassline.
“The Emerald Door” fuses desi-inspired elements with drum and bass rhythms in a way that recalls the late-1990s Asian Underground scene.
Hilton closes the record with “Behind My Eyes (Reprise)” and “The Lotus Gate,” easing the listener out of the album’s suspended, dreamlike space. In his comments about the project, he portrays these final pieces as a gentle transition back to everyday reality, hinting that further stylistic shifts may follow in future releases.
Buy A Sky So Close.