{"product_id":"el-michels-affair-black-thought-glorious-game-sky-high-vinyl-lp","title":"El Michels Affair \u0026 Black Thought - Glorious Game [Sky High Vinyl LP] [New Vinyl]","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWhen Leon Michels and El Michels Affair released their first record,\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e Sounding Out The City\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, in 2005, it was hard to guess what was next for Michels and his then-introduced, now-patented “cinematic soul” sound. Now, four EMA studio albums and scores of tribute and remix projects later—all while producing for some of the biggest names in the industry—Michels has trademarked his sound, with each project taking audiences somewhere new and pushing the boundaries of what he is known for. The man is a river, not a lake and this time he takes his golden touch into the realm of hip-hop laying down a musical bed for one of the greatest to ever rhyme into a microphone: Black Thought of The Roots crew. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eReleasing on Big Crown Records, the LP is called \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGlorious Game\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and it is a remarkable debut partnership in more ways than one. Michels provides his bottom-heavy, soul-tinged production for Black Thought who gives us some of the more personal and transparent verses we've ever heard from him. Michels and Black Thought have been in each other's orbit for a while now. The two rst met in the 2000s when Thought was first getting familiar with the contemporary soul scene. \"Out of that whole world, Menahan Street Band was probably my favorite,\" recalling the funk and soul group Michels was a founding member of back in 2007. Fast forward a few years and musicians from that collective—Dave Guy on trumpet and Ian Hendrickson-Smith on sax —are now full time players with The Roots. This connection eventually led Leon and Thought to doing a few fundraising events around NYC and Philly together. \"Before long, Black Thought was coming around the studio and would jam with us from time to time,\" Michels explains. \"Then, fast forward to 2020 and COVID lockdowns, he just hit me up out of the blue, wanting me to send him stuff to write to. We both were looking to stay busy.\" \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBeing that Black Thought is the co-founder and emcee for, hands down, the best live-band group in hip-hop. Michels took a decidedly different approach to this project and instead of sending recorded tracks of live compositions, he pulled out the sampler and sampled himself and some records from his collection. \"I'm a big fan of soul music,\" as if Michels has to remind us. \"And part of hip-hop's appeal to me has always been the sample-based production\" For \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGlorious Game\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, Michels would make wholly composed and recorded soul songs in his studio, sample himself, then chop and\/or loop up his sounds and create instrumentals for Black Thought. On some tracks he took a more traditional hip-hop approach, starting from samples of other people’s music but then adding live instrumentation on top. But for the most part, it's him reinterpreting his own compositions into something new.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cdiv data-bt-autogen\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTracklist:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGrateful\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGlorious Game\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI'm Still Somehow\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHollow Way\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eProtocol\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Weather\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThat Girl\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI Would Never\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlone\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMiracle\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGlorious Game (Reprise)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlter Ego\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ol\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUPC:\u003c\/strong\u003e 349223012255\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLabel:\u003c\/strong\u003e Big Crown\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRelease Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e 4.14.23\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Vinyl\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"ShopTime Music \u0026 Media","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46898433818799,"sku":"STMM-232437","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0562\/4112\/7599\/files\/4184345-2956863.jpg?v=1778457734","url":"https:\/\/pureliverecords.shop\/products\/el-michels-affair-black-thought-glorious-game-sky-high-vinyl-lp","provider":"Pure Live Records","version":"1.0","type":"link"}