El Michels Affair - Sounding Out The City

Leon Michels, who was 18 when the recording of his debut, 2016's Sounding Out The City began, was freshly discovering rocksteady, afrobeat, and 60’s garage rock, when he purchased a Tascam 388 and a reel to reel 8 track and began recording music in a windowless bedroom. Along with fellow Mighty Imperials (and future Dap Kings) Nick Movshon, Homer Steinweiss, Sean Solomon, Michael Leonhart, and Thomas Brenneck, the record was birthed over a two year period.

Upon it’s release, it received rave reviews within the deep funk community, but lack luster promotion and distribution made the cinematic soul gem a slow catch for the rest of the world.  As luck would have it, in 2005 Michels was sought out to play a show with Raekwon of Wu Tang Clan fame. The show was such a success it eventually led to the release of the second El Michels Affair’s record, Enter the 37th Chamber.

Michels has since gone on to produce and write for Lee Fields, Lady Wray, Adele, Jay-Z, Ghostface Killah, Aloe Blacc, Ray LaMontagne, Lana Del Rey, The Black Keys and Dr. John.

Heavyweight vinyl produced by Big Crown.