Backup band for the Wu-Tang Clan and accomplished afro-beat soul/funk band … Read Full Bio ↴Backup band for the Wu-Tang Clan and accomplished afro-beat soul/funk band in their own right, currently signed to truth & soul recordings.
El Michels Affair first appeared in 2002 for a 12" single on Soul Fire records entitled Easy Access Parts 1 & 2. The release was a loose collaboration between Soul Fire session musicians that featured saxophonist and organist Leon Michels. However, the style and sound of El Michels Affair, which was later coined “cinematic soul”, came about when Leon Michels and Nick Movshon, fellow band mates from The Mighty Imperials, began recording music in Michels’s bedroom studio. Leon Michels had purchased a Tascam 388 (a home recording 8-track module from the early eighties), and began experimenting with music that purposely strayed from the cookie cutter funk that began to saturate the market at the time. Taking influence from all types of music, Michels and Movshon began to create new type of soul music that blended the cinematic quality of soundtrack records with the recording aesthetic of early reggae, and the rawness of 60's rock. As the record took shape, Michels brought in fellow musicians and friends to help shape the style and sound of the record, which would be commercially released on Truth & Soul as Sounding Out The City. Some of the musicians included in the sessions were old band mates from the Mighty Imperials, Homer Steinweiss and Sean Solomon, as well as Todd Simon, Michael Leonhart, Thomas Brenneck, Aaron Johnson, Ben Solomon, and Toby Pazner.
In 2005, after the record had generated an industry buzz, Scion approached El Michels Affair with the prospect of performing with Raekwon from the Wu-Tang Clan. The epic grittiness of Rza's production matched perfectly with the soulful, cinematic sound El Michels Affair was known for. In fact, it matched so well that El Michels Affair went on to play four more concerts with members of the Wu-Tang, including a national tour with Raekwon, which climaxed into a series of critically acclaimed 7" releases from El Michels Affair which were instrumental re-interpolations of Rza’s original beats.
El Michels Affair has since been recording a full record of Wu-Tang instrumentals as well as material for an upcoming album of originals. Always pushing the boundaries, never trying to repeat themselves, expect the unexpected when it comes to the music of El Michels Affair.
(2) Organist and drummer Leon Michels was hardly more than a high-school student playing in the Mighty Imperials, the Meters-inspired house band for the Brooklyn label Soul Fire, when he decided to start El Michels Affair, teaming up with bandmate and bassist Nick Movshon. The two began recording music that pulled from '60s and '70s funk, soul, Afrobeat, and jazz, eventually growing to a nine-piece live outfit and releasing the single "Detroit Twice" on Daptone's Misty imprint. In 2004 the founder of Soul Fire sold his studio and equipment to Michels, who, along with partner Jeff Silverman, decided to start Truth & Soul Records; El Michels Affair's 2005 Sounding Out the City acted as the label's inaugural full-length. Later that year the band played with Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon at an event, and they got along together so well they decided to do instrumental reworkings of Wu-Tang beats for what they called the Shaolin Series (Pt. 1 includes "C.R.E.A.M." and "Glaciers of Ice" while Pt. 2 covers "Duel of the Iron Mic" and "Bring the Ruckus"). El Michels Affair also collaborated with Raekwon on a new version of "PJ," originally done by Pete Rock, for a track called "PJs from Afar," and even toured with the Clan in 2007. ~ Marisa Brown, Rovi
(2) Organist and drummer Leon Michels was hardly more than a high-school student playing in the Mighty Imperials, the Meters-inspired house band for the Brooklyn label Soul Fire, when he decided to start El Michels Affair, teaming up with bandmate and bassist Nick Movshon. The two began recording music that pulled from '60s and '70s funk, soul, Afrobeat, and jazz, eventually growing to a nine-piece live outfit and releasing the single "Detroit Twice" on Daptone's Misty imprint. In 2004 the founder of Soul Fire sold his studio and equipment to Michels, who, along with partner Jeff Silverman, decided to start Truth & Soul Records; El Michels Affair's 2005 Sounding Out the City acted as the label's inaugural full-length. Later that year the band played with Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon at an event, and they got along together so well they decided to do instrumental reworkings of Wu-Tang beats for what they called the Shaolin Series (Pt. 1 includes "C.R.E.A.M." and "Glaciers of Ice" while Pt. 2 covers "Duel of the Iron Mic" and "Bring the Ruckus"). El Michels Affair also collaborated with Raekwon on a new version of "PJ," originally done by Pete Rock, for a track called "PJs from Afar," and even toured with the Clan in 2007. ~ Marisa Brown
El Michels Affair first appeared in 2002 for a 12" single on Soul Fire records entitled Easy Access Parts 1 & 2. The release was a loose collaboration between Soul Fire session musicians that featured saxophonist and organist Leon Michels. However, the style and sound of El Michels Affair, which was later coined “cinematic soul”, came about when Leon Michels and Nick Movshon, fellow band mates from The Mighty Imperials, began recording music in Michels’s bedroom studio. Leon Michels had purchased a Tascam 388 (a home recording 8-track module from the early eighties), and began experimenting with music that purposely strayed from the cookie cutter funk that began to saturate the market at the time. Taking influence from all types of music, Michels and Movshon began to create new type of soul music that blended the cinematic quality of soundtrack records with the recording aesthetic of early reggae, and the rawness of 60's rock. As the record took shape, Michels brought in fellow musicians and friends to help shape the style and sound of the record, which would be commercially released on Truth & Soul as Sounding Out The City. Some of the musicians included in the sessions were old band mates from the Mighty Imperials, Homer Steinweiss and Sean Solomon, as well as Todd Simon, Michael Leonhart, Thomas Brenneck, Aaron Johnson, Ben Solomon, and Toby Pazner.
In 2005, after the record had generated an industry buzz, Scion approached El Michels Affair with the prospect of performing with Raekwon from the Wu-Tang Clan. The epic grittiness of Rza's production matched perfectly with the soulful, cinematic sound El Michels Affair was known for. In fact, it matched so well that El Michels Affair went on to play four more concerts with members of the Wu-Tang, including a national tour with Raekwon, which climaxed into a series of critically acclaimed 7" releases from El Michels Affair which were instrumental re-interpolations of Rza’s original beats.
El Michels Affair has since been recording a full record of Wu-Tang instrumentals as well as material for an upcoming album of originals. Always pushing the boundaries, never trying to repeat themselves, expect the unexpected when it comes to the music of El Michels Affair.
(2) Organist and drummer Leon Michels was hardly more than a high-school student playing in the Mighty Imperials, the Meters-inspired house band for the Brooklyn label Soul Fire, when he decided to start El Michels Affair, teaming up with bandmate and bassist Nick Movshon. The two began recording music that pulled from '60s and '70s funk, soul, Afrobeat, and jazz, eventually growing to a nine-piece live outfit and releasing the single "Detroit Twice" on Daptone's Misty imprint. In 2004 the founder of Soul Fire sold his studio and equipment to Michels, who, along with partner Jeff Silverman, decided to start Truth & Soul Records; El Michels Affair's 2005 Sounding Out the City acted as the label's inaugural full-length. Later that year the band played with Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon at an event, and they got along together so well they decided to do instrumental reworkings of Wu-Tang beats for what they called the Shaolin Series (Pt. 1 includes "C.R.E.A.M." and "Glaciers of Ice" while Pt. 2 covers "Duel of the Iron Mic" and "Bring the Ruckus"). El Michels Affair also collaborated with Raekwon on a new version of "PJ," originally done by Pete Rock, for a track called "PJs from Afar," and even toured with the Clan in 2007. ~ Marisa Brown, Rovi
(2) Organist and drummer Leon Michels was hardly more than a high-school student playing in the Mighty Imperials, the Meters-inspired house band for the Brooklyn label Soul Fire, when he decided to start El Michels Affair, teaming up with bandmate and bassist Nick Movshon. The two began recording music that pulled from '60s and '70s funk, soul, Afrobeat, and jazz, eventually growing to a nine-piece live outfit and releasing the single "Detroit Twice" on Daptone's Misty imprint. In 2004 the founder of Soul Fire sold his studio and equipment to Michels, who, along with partner Jeff Silverman, decided to start Truth & Soul Records; El Michels Affair's 2005 Sounding Out the City acted as the label's inaugural full-length. Later that year the band played with Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon at an event, and they got along together so well they decided to do instrumental reworkings of Wu-Tang beats for what they called the Shaolin Series (Pt. 1 includes "C.R.E.A.M." and "Glaciers of Ice" while Pt. 2 covers "Duel of the Iron Mic" and "Bring the Ruckus"). El Michels Affair also collaborated with Raekwon on a new version of "PJ," originally done by Pete Rock, for a track called "PJs from Afar," and even toured with the Clan in 2007. ~ Marisa Brown
Slide Show
El Michels Affair Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'Slide Show' by these artists:
Eliane Elias Travelling on the road I feel like the sunlight Warming up m…
John Legend/T.I. Oh, oh, oh, oh Hey, when I think about all my…
John Legend; T.I. Oh, oh, oh, oh Hey , when I think about all…
school food punishment 笑い皺の隙間 こぼれた嘘 嘘 嘘 泳ぐ視線 まるで他人みたい 喉の奥がキュッと締まっていく 鮮やかな君の笑顔 色褪せてゆ…
T I Oh, oh, oh, oh Hey , when I think about all…
T.I. Oh, oh, oh, oh Hey, when I think about all my…
T.I. (Feat. John Legend) Oh, oh, oh, oh Hey, when I think about all my…
T.I. (Ft. John Legend) Oh, oh, oh, oh Hey, when I think about all my…
T.I. Feat John Legend Oh, oh, oh, oh Hey, when I think about all my…
T.I. featuring John Legend Oh, oh, oh, oh Hey , when I think about all…
T.I. FT JOHN LEGEND Oh, oh, oh, oh Hey , when I think about all…
T.I. Ft. John Legend Oh, oh, oh, oh Hey , when I think about all…
T.I. John Legend Oh, oh, oh, oh Hey , when I think about all…
T.I./John Legend Oh, oh, oh, oh Hey, when I think about all my…
T.I.; John Legend Oh, oh, oh, oh Hey , when I think about all…
Travis Today is the day For dancing and for singing The birds in…
Travis - The Man Who Today is the day For dancing and for singing The birds in…
We have lyrics for these tracks by El Michels Affair:
Cherchez La Ghost Tommy Mottola, lives on the road He lost his lady, two…
Shimmy Shimmy Ya Shimmy shimmy ya, shimmy yam, shimmy yay Gimme the mic so…
Snakes If I ever do you wrong If I ever leave you…
Tearz After laughter comes tears After laughter comes tears After …
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
Big Crown Records
For more music & videos check out the This is El Michels Affair playlist here -
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWm-49ZdJRN2MqXTJnn0J-ZsghzEDAlfu
Neil Dohi
Great stuff. This what good music is about, moving, groovin,& smoothin. When i have a shit day.I just watch this masterpiece and then everything is all gravy baby. Peace.
Matt da Murdaman
LOVE IT!
abdiel salaz
Love this song!!
Emerald Gold
Awesome keep it up love it!
Father Rick Clark
I fucking lobe this music video. The simplicity and editing make it entrancing.
2tone50gt 347
More vids like This, really help out the scenery...
García López Oscar Azel
que buena musica, y que buen video. es asombroso
Notti
I just crashed my car while watching this. Don't worry, it was in GTA V and had these beautiful ladies on the 2nd screen.
Bryan Lara
The video adds flavor to the funk I tell ya