El Michels Affair – Return To The 37th Chamber

This time El Michels Affair not only reinterpreted Wu-Tang compositions as live music, but also specifically paid tribute to the noisy and foggy productions by Wu-Tang boss The RZA, with which the clan became famous. Producer and band leader Leon Michels recorded the album entirely in analogue mode and partially dubbed the tape six times before he could mix it down. This is how the idiosyncratic, dim sound of "Return To The 37th Chamber" came about. What is lacking in rap is made up for with psychedelic embellishments, synths like something out of a John Carpenter movie, heavy metal guitars, proud brass and traditional Chinese instruments.

From the first to the last note, the album is a dark journey, driven just as resolutely by RZA's timeless hip-hop aesthetic as it is by the cinematic soul for which El Michels Affair are known.

Reviews

"Even if you don't know a single song by the legendary New York rappers, you may enjoy this completely analog recorded, foggy, noisy psychedelic funk album." (Jazzthing, April / May 2017)