Surging Retro-Soul Movement Stings The Killer Bees

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(March 30, 2009 – Brooklyn, NY) New York-based vintage soul instrumental group, El Michels Affair are proud to announce the release of their highly anticipated upcoming studio LP, Enter The 37th Chamber. The album, full of adaptations of classic Wu-Tang Clan songs, will be available April 21st via Truth & Soul / Fat Beats Records.

At the core of a movement that includes Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson, and The Budos Band, El Michels Affair are among the leaders of a retro-soul and funk movement causing a stir both in the streets and on the charts. Led by saxophonist/organist Leon Michels and producer/engineer Jeff Silverman, El Michels Affair comprises a collection of other musicians from The Dap-Kings, the Budos Band, and Antibalas. Although sharing similarities with these groups, the El Michels’ sound is its own – versatile enough to span genres including soul, funk, hip-hop, and punk rock. Always hard at work in the studio, El Michels Affair looks forward to stepping back into the spotlight to display that versatility on their new album, Enter The 37th Chamber.

For Enter The 37th Chamber, a name that pays homage to the title of the Wu-Tang Clan’s historic debut album, Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), El Michels Affair, took the time to interpret fifteen of some of the most legendary and well-known Wu-Tang Clan songs, including “Can It All Be So Simple,” “Protect Ya Neck,” “Cherchez La Ghost,” and “Incarcerated Scarfaces.” Also included on the album are the El Michel’s interpolations of Wu-Tang Clan anthems “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Bring Da Ruckus,” two songs fans will undoubtedly remember from their previous release as 7″ singles through the Truth & Soul label. Similar to the sounds found on those two records, on Enter The 37th Chamber El Michels Affair are able to bring their own astute musicianship, artistic touch, and soul vibe to each instrumental, breathing new life into already classic songs. It was that musicianship and versatile sound that led to El Michels Affair joining the Fat Beats family, and now, two years later, the album is finally ready for the masses.

El Michels Affair 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 2005 release, the El Michels sound has been prominent, even when the group’s name has not. A successful tour with Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon led to the recording of two widely successful 7″ instrumental singles for “C.R.E.A.M.” and “Bring Da Ruckus.” Later, in 2007, Wu-Tang Clan member, Ghostface Killah sampled a track from Sounding Out The City, and most famously, 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 his wildly successful American Gangster album. Elsewhere, the Truth & Soul duo was enlisted by Amy Winehouse to remix her hit, “Love Is A Losing Game,” has played on sessions produced by Mark Ronson, Just Blaze, and Iggy Pop, and were hired by British singing sensation Adele to bring the patented Truth & Soul sound to her Grammy-award winning album, 19. 2009 plans to be a big year for El Michels Affair, as they prepare the release of Enter The 37th Chamber, available April 21 via Fat Beats Records.

MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/truthandsoulrecords

Throwback:Stephanie Mills-Put Your Body In It

Stephanie Mills has been performing since she was 11 years old and won the Apollo Amateur night six times. In the ’70’s she toured as an opening act for The Isley Brothers and with the help of Jermaine Jackson got a deal with Motown Records. While waiting for Motown to make her a big star she took on the role of Dorothy in the broadway version of The Wiz where she became known for the song “Home.” When things didn’t work out at Motown she left and got another deal with 20th Century Fox in ’79. James Mtume and Reggie Lucas met while working in Miles Davis’s electric band in the ’70s and formed a writing and producing partnership. Their collaboration produced “Put Your Body In It” which was the flip side of “Whatcha Gonna Do With My Lovin'” the title song of her first gold album. Mills has recorded many soul classics like “Sweet Sensation,” “Never Knew Love Like This Before,” “If I Were Your Woman,” “I Feel Good All Over,”“Comfort Of A Man,” “You Puttin A Rush On Me,” “Something In The Way You Make Me Feel” and “I’ve Learned To Respect The Power Of Love.” She also recorded somenice duets with Teddy Pendergrass “Feel The Fire,” “Two Hearts” and “Take Me In Your Arms” She released her last album Born For This in 2004.

Media Questions Of The Week

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1. When will Damon Dash rise from the ashes like a phoenix?
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2. Did Ciroc Vodka really exclude dark skinned African-American women from their ad campaign?

3. Will T.I. get out of prison early for good behavior?

Ain’t No Nigga Like..Dame Dash/ Hip-Hop Chronicles: A Blog by Russell Simmons

Sitting in the audience last night at the crowded 37th Street Arts Theater in NYC, I witnessed another great Damon Dash contribution, one that takes hip-hop culture to another significant level of accomplishment.

Sony Entertainment and Damon Dash produced the “Hip-Hop Monologues: Inside the Life and Mind of Jim Jones.” It’s a fantastic show that portrays the evolution of hip-hop through the life of Jim Jones.

I have to say: Damon Dash is a hip-hop genius who should never be underestimated. I have watched Dame’s growth, development and entrepreneurship over the years, not from a distance, but through first hand observation. He was one of the creative forces behind Roc-A-Fella Records, the architect of Rocawear Fashions, he made significant, culturally relevant movies with Dash Films and has made other creative cultural statements through Dash Enterprises. And another great note… He spent a small fortune developing a major talent and women’s brand through supporting his wife to the hilt !!

In our early days, Lyor Cohen and I used to shout at Damon. And Damon would shout back. Then we would hug and go handle our business That was our way of communicating. Eventually, Lyor got older and I did more yoga and we both stopped shouting so much . Dame eventually made a few bad choices and a few things went sour. We know haters love a man who’s been hot to catch a lil cold. Hate spreads. But like Tony Montana said “Two Quaaludes ….. And they gonna love him again.”

So haters, it really doesn’t matter about your blogs from the sidelines. Dame’s gonna help heat the economy again!! But if he got hit by a truck today remember this: Dame’s a giver by nature. That’s why he has already received so much. He was the business leader, the Architect, and one of the creative forces that built Roc-A-Fella Records into an empire. I remember that it was Damon who came to my office, after we signed Jay-Z to be on The Nutty Professor soundtrack, with a bag of cash ready to put his money where his mouth was. :-). But the record “Ain’t No Nigga…” didn’t need his cash (hit from The Nutty Professor). It was a masterpiece and so was his artist. Jay-Z: the greatest rapper of all time. I saw countless displays of vision and faith all the way up to and beyond his struggle to convince everyone, when no one else believed him, of the artistry and the genius of Kanye West.

In order to succeed in this business you need to have both a business sense and great creative instincts (The latter is intuitive and cannot be learned). Damon has, once again, proven that he is a great innovator with amazing vision.
So now he is helping Jim Jones in a powerful manner that combines their collective experiences around being born and raised in Harlem by taking the culture to the 37th Street Theater, off-Broadway in New York City, with a live hip-hop band, dance, multimedia and the dynamics of theatrical stage presentations focusing on the struggles of life through the lens of hip-hop. I have two pieces of advice: 1) respect Dame’s gangster 2) go see the play immediately.