El Michels Affair is an American cinematic soul group led by musician and producer Leon Michels. Based in New York, the group is noted for its wide-ranging influences, analog production approach, and hip hop collaborations. The group released its first single in August 2002, and its debut album Sounding Out the City in 2005. After touring behind Raekwon and other Wu-Tang Clan members, the group recorded the popular cover album Enter the 37th Chamber in 2009. After releasing other tribute albums in the following decade, El Michels Affair returned with the original albums Adult Themes in 2020 and Yeti Season in 2021. Since then, the group has released collaborative projects with Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, Liam Bailey, and Black Thought, including 2023's Glorious Game.
El Michels Affair | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | Big Crown, Truth & Soul, Fat Beats |
| Website | elmichelsaffair |
History
editMichels played with Soul Fire Records house band The Mighty Imperials before forming his own ensemble in 2002.[1] This group released singles for Soul Fire and for Misty, a sublabel of Daptone Records, as well as a full-length album which was released on the Michels-cofounded label Truth & Soul Records in 2005.[1] Titled Sounding Out the City, the album drew from library music and afrobeat influences.[2] After performing with Raekwon at a concert, the group began working with other members of the Wu-Tang Clan and covered several of their songs for vinyl single releases.[1] By 2009, this had yielded an album's worth of material, which was released in 2009 as Enter the 37th Chamber, the name is a play on the album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).[3] El Michels Affair followed this with a second album of arrangements of songs by Wu-Tang Clan and from its members' solo releases, titled Return to the 37th Chamber.[4][5]
In 2019, they accompanied Freddie Gibbs and Madlib at their popular NPR Tiny Desk performance and later recorded The Diamond Mine Sessions with them.[6][7]
El Michels Affair began the 2020s with new original material; they released their album Adult Themes in 2020 and followed it less than a year later with the Turkish pop and prog-inspired Yeti Season in March 2021;[8][9] the album features vocals from Hindi language singer Piya Malik and The Shacks.[2]
Personnel
edit- Leon Michels – bandleader and producer, tenor saxophone, flute, keyboards, guitar, bass, percussion, engineering
Other contributors include:
- Homer Steinweiss – drums
- Nick Movshon – bass, drums, guitar
- Thomas Brenneck – guitar, bass
- Michael Leonhart – trumpet, brass
- Toby Pazner – keyboards
- Aaron Johnson – trombone
- Sean Solomon – guitar
- Dave Guy – trumpet
- Marco Benevento – keyboards
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Sounding Out the City |
|
| Adult Themes |
|
| Yeti Season |
|
| Glorious Game (with Black Thought) |
|
Tribute & remix albums
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Enter the 37th Chamber |
|
| Walk on By (A Tribute to Isaac Hayes) EP |
|
| Return to the 37th Chamber |
|
| Ekundayo Inversions (with Liam Bailey) |
|
EPs
edit| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| PJs... from Afar (with Raekwon) |
|
| Loose Change |
|
| The Diamond Mine Sessions (with Freddie Gibbs & Madlib) |
|
Singles
edit| Title (A-side/B-side) |
Year | Album | Label | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Detroit Twice" / "Too Late to Turn Back" | 2003 | Sounding Out the City | Misty | 7" |
| "Creation" / "Behind the Blue Curtains" | 2005 | Truth & Soul | 7" | |
| "C.R.E.A.M" / "Glaciers of Ice" (Wu-Tang Clan cover) | 2006 | Enter the 37th Chamber | 7" | |
| "Duel of the Iron Mic" / "Bring da Ruckus" (Wu-Tang cover) | 7" | |||
| "Musings to Myself" / "Spread Your Soul" | 2008 | 7" | ||
| "4th Chamber" / "Snakes" (Wu-Tang cover) | 2016 | Return to the 37th Chamber | Big Crown | 7" |
| "Tearz" / "Verbal Intercourse" | 7" | |||
| "Strange Boy" / "No Surprise" (feat. The Shacks) | Non-album single | 7", digital | ||
| "Shadow Boxin" / "Iron Maiden" (Wu-Tang cover) | 2017 | Return to the 37th Chamber | 7" | |
| "Never Be Another You" | 2018 | Non-album single | 7" | |
| "Unathi" / "Zaharilia" (feat. Piya Malik) | Yeti Season | 7", digital | ||
| "12345678910" | 2019 | Non-album singles | digital | |
| "Reasons" (feat. Bobby Oroza) / "Hipps" | 2020 | 7", digital | ||
| "Dhuaa" (feat. Piya Malik) | Yeti Season | digital | ||
| "Sha Na Na" (feat. The Shacks) | digital | |||
| "Murkit Gem" (feat. Piya Malik) | 2021 | 7", digital | ||
| "Ala Vida" | digital | |||
| "Fazed Out" | digital | |||
| "Awkward (Take 2)" (with Liam Bailey) | Ekundayo Inversions (with Liam Bailey) | digital |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c El Michels Affair at Allmusic
- ^ a b "El Michels Affair, "Yeti Season"". Bandcamp Daily. 2021-03-24. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ Review of Enter the 37th Chamber. Pitchfork Media, May 11, 2009.
- ^ Review of Enter the 37th Chamber. Consequence of Sound, April 25, 2017.
- ^ Review of Enter the 37th Chamber. Allmusic.
- ^ "Freddie Gibbs And Madlib: Tiny Desk Concert". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
- ^ "Freddie Gibbs Says He's Making More Music With Madlib and Shares 'The Diamond Mine Sessions'". Complex. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "Adult Themes, by El Michels Affair". El Michels Affair. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
- ^ "Yeti Season, by El Michels Affair". El Michels Affair. Retrieved 2021-03-06.
- ^ "Adult Themes, by El Michels Affair". El Michels Affair. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "Yeti Season, by El Michels Affair". El Michels Affair. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "Return to the 37th Chamber, by El Michels Affair". El Michels Affair. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
- ^ "Ekundayo Inversions, by El Michels Affair meets Liam Bailey". El Michels Affair. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
- ^ "Loose Change EP, by El Michels Affair". El Michels Affair. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
External links
edit- El Michels Affair discography at Discogs