El Michels Affair to release Enter The 38th Chamber

After leaking the initial series of remakes from Enter The 37th Chamber in late 2009, El Michels Affair is back with the final three installments to the remix series. Released last year on Fat Beats, Enter The 37th Chamber is El Michels Affair's retro-soul recreation of many classic Wu-Tang Clan songs with an infusion of their signature style. In a project presented by URB.com, Fat Beats, and Audible Treats, Enter The 38th Chamber was released featuring a slew of artists remaking their own versions of these Wu-Tang Clan songs using El Michels Affair's instrumental covers.

The first leak in this series, "C.R.E.A.M." features A-Plus of Souls of Mischief and Knobody of the Hieroglyphics crew. While recreating a Wu-Tang anthem may be a difficult feat, the two met the lofty challenge. Over top El Michels' jazz-soul instrumentation, the duo maintains Wu-Tang Clan's original mantra with, "Cash rules everything around me / C.R.E.A.M. get the money / Dollar dollar bill, ya'll." Their new tone is complimented with upbeat guitar and bass and a more prominent embellishment of the track's original piano melody, all while maintaining the original sounds and elements that made the track a classic. Next on deck is Nuk Farm, N.R.O., and The Dugout's cover of "Protect Ya Neck," re-titled "Trifect Ya Neck." Taking the original dialogue from Wu-Tang's version, the cover's distorted bass, aggressive lyrical attacks, and strong instrumentals bring Wu-Tang's classic sound into the 21st century. Paying homage to the clan, the trifecta performed "Trifect Ya Neck" live at Southpaw in conjunction with the release of Enter The 37th Chamber. The third and final leak is "Shimmy Shimmy Ya," by the late Ol' Dirty Bastard of Wu-Tang Clan. Remade by Von Pea of Tanya Morgan and Spec Boogie of the Lessondary crew, the track overflows with horns and adds a child-like voice to rap the chorus. While recreating the classics was never an easy task, the variety of artists that created Enter The 38th Chamber didn't try to overshadow the legends. Instead, they revamped the tracks to demonstrate their own unique styles, bringing new life to the Shaolin classics.

El Michels Affair biography
El Michels Affair, at the core of the retro-soul and funk movement, is led by saxophonist/organist Leon Michels and producer/engineer Jeff Silverman. The group began as a series of informal collaborative sessions with musicians from top-selling acts Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, The Budos Band, and Antibalas. In 2005, the group released their debut effort, Sounding Out The City on Truth & Soul, a label co-founded by Silverman and Michels. Since the album's '05 release, the El Michels sound has been prominent on successful collaborations with Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson, Just Blaze, Adele, and Iggy Pop. Furthermore, in 2007, a horn part written and performed by Leon Michels was lifted and used for Jay-Z's "Roc Boys," the lead single from the American Gangster album. Most famously, however, is El Michels 2007 tour with Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon, which led to the recording of two widely successful 7" instrumental singles for "C.R.E.A.M." and "Bring Da Ruckus." Since then, El Michels Affair has diligently been in the studio, interpreting fifteen of some of the most legendary and well-know Wu-Tang Clan songs, including "Can It All Be So Simple," "Protect Ya Neck," "Cherchez La Ghost," and "Incarcerated Scarfaces" for their upcoming sophomore album, Enter the 37th Chamber, due in stores on April 21st via Fat Beats Records.



"Enter The 38th Chamber" by El Michels Affair - release date: 05/14/10..