El Michels Affair - Enter the 37th Chamber (CD)

With one foot in the Analog past and eyes firmly set on the future, El Michel's Affair are among the leaders of a resurgent funk &soul movement from New York City. Led by saxophonist/organist Leon Michel's and producer/engineer Jeff Silverman, El Michels Affair began as a loose collaboration of soul session men (including members of top-sellers Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, The Budos Band, and Antibalas), releasing an acclaimed 2005 debut on their burgeoning label Truth & Soul (also the moniker for the duo as a production team). The buzz generated from that album led to Toyota (!) inviting them to do some promotional shows backing Wu-Tang Clan members, which led to more Wu-Tang gigs, which in turn led to a contract with Fatbeats Records to do an album of instrumental Wu-Tang covers and interpretations.