In the 1970’s there were some phenomenal blaxploitation soundtracks, but the best among them were done by none other than Isaac Hayes. If one was aiming to make a dark and grimy gangster film now, and didn’t turn to El Michel’s Affair you’d be missing out one of the best instrumental groups alive.

You probably already know the story. Members of the band are a part of every great funk band alive right now from The Budos Band, to Sharon Jones’ Daptones and the Jay-Z sampled Menahan Street Band. They have the co-sign, the talent and the history to pull off a quality EP like this tribute to one of the greatest.

Starting off with the theme from Shaft, they infuse the song with a bit of afro-tinged rhythm and funk, amplifying the flickering guitar that was the basis to the original. In a rare move for El Michels Affair, they make the song sound more upbeat.

Next up on the album is “Walk On By”, a slowed down, stretched out, long and winding trip. This is a long version that has appeared on a few other compilations, but is a great addition to the album along with a short version that appears at the end of the album. Another track that has appeared elsewhere is “Hung Up On My Baby” which was the last darkly ominous track on 2005’s “Sounding Out the City”. Its more reminiscent of The Geto Boys than Isaac Hayes, but that’s a good thing.

“Red Rooster” is this album’s pimp strut song, bursting horns, an understated guitar line and some straight dead on drums make this a driving with the top down classic. The album closes with “Bumpy’s Lament”, as they slow the funk back down.

Back in the day Isaac worked with some of the best musicians alive. The members of El Michels Affair have the same talent and work ethic and luckily we’re getting amazing music from them just like we got from Isaac Hayes and his fellow Stax label mates forty years ago.

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. Available now at Itunes.

(Right Click Song Titles To Save)
- A-Plus of Souls of Mischief and Knobody – “C.R.E.A.M.” (MP3)
- Nuk Fam, N.R.O., and The Dugout – “Trifect Ya Neck” (MP3)
- Von Pea of Tanya Morgan and Spec Boogie – “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” (MP3)
- Sandpeople – “Can It All Be So Simple” (MP3)
- Del The Funky Homosapien – “Bring Da Ruckus” (MP3)
- Diamond District – “The PJ’s” (MP3)

The 38th Chamber from The Publics on Vimeo.

This isn’t a real video per say, more just El Michels Affair’s rendition of Wu-Tang’s “C.R.E.A.M.” set to Kurasawa visualz, but if you aren’t up this album yet, this should seal the deal for you. – DJ Pizzo

Produced with the blessing of the Wu-Tang Clan, New York City funk outfit, El Michel’s Affair, has covered a handful of Wu classics, instrumental style. It all started in the underground funk 45 circuit, as the crew released big-hole 7inch singles featuring their renditions of songs like “Duel Of The Iron Mic” and “C.R.E.A.M.”, which did so well with the crate diggers that this full-length project was born. Later, El Michels Affair would come full circle, recording a “live remix” of Pete Rock’s “The PJ’s” with Raekwon himself, as well as backing up the Wu-Tang Clan during live performances.

So a crappy cover album this ain’t. To lend more credibility to Leon Michels and his crew, it was he who produced the original horn section that Jay-Z sampled for “Roc Boys”, and they were commissioned for a remix of Amy Winehouse’s “Love Is A Losing Game”. The rest of the El Michels Affair is made up of members of today’s current funk revivalist scene, including muscians from The Dap Kings, Budos Band, and Antibalas. So yes, this is the real deal.

Authenticity checks have cleared, but what makes this album so good? First and foremost, like Breakestra’s The Live Mix before it, El Michels Affair has reproduced a handful of dusty groove gems with today’s clean, studio sound. Make no mistake, it’s still raw – by no means did they try to make it sound “modern” – but instead, the sound is full and rich. Unlike Breakestra, however, the group isn’t looking to replay the original breaks, but instead the songs themselves. So “Duel Of The Iron Mic” for instance is exactly that – not a cover of David Porter “I’m Afraid The Masquerade Is Over”. Replayed pianos, moody violins, and of course the actual samples from Shogun Assassin playing over the top of it, making a beautiful new composition. “C.R.E.A.M.” is another lush production, expanding on the original, with reinterpreted Charmell snares and looming RZA basslines, not to mention that infectious piano loop – here played live, of course.

Listening to the original instrumentals by themselves might seem a little bare without the Wu’s colorful cast of characters on top of them, but it’s not the case with El Michel’s cover versions. “Can It Be So Simple” for instance, is executed so beautifully, that it evokes the emotional response of the original version and at the same time sounds completely original. In further brilliance, “Glaciers Of Ice” – one of RZA’s most off kilter, hardest-to-grab-onto-ever tracks is amazingly executed, as the crew’s new live rendition sounds less like a strangely chopped sample, but instead a fully realized deep funk song, with rolling guitar licks and that sneaky horn section. It’s original b-side, “Criminology” is another gush-worthy rendition, as its celebratory horns are played almost identical to the original, leading into an orgasmic xylophone driven breakdown. Yes, it’s that good.

The album hops around different eras of the Wu-Tang Clan’s career, much of it spent on covering Enter The 36 Chambers. However, it also leaps forward into the future with more recent (well, not that recent) hits like “Chez Chez La Ghost” and “Pinky Ring”. Longtime fans of the Wu-Tang Clan, or anyone who was present during the first five albums of the Wu-Tang Saga will fall in love with this record. While El Michels Affair will probably venture into creating an LP of original songs next time around, we can still wish for a song-for-song re-imagining of Only Built For Cuban Links. – Pizzo