Big Crown US Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Cinematic soul legend El Michels Affair has written a superb album Glorious Game which is due for release later in spring. Before that full-length with Roots co-founder and lyricist Black Thought - which is a meditation on the state of the hip-hop scene in the early 2020s - we get this taster single from it. 'Glorious Game' as you would expect as all the lush instrumentation and dark soul sounds you'd expect from this artist by now with the added extra of some superbly thought-provoking mic work. 'Grateful' is another heart-wrenching and alluring sound that more than gets us excited for the full length.

Review: Cinematic soul maestro El Michels Affair unleashes his latest collaboration with Roots co-founder and lyricist Black Thought, bowling full speed ahead into the next phase of his career. Glorious Game is an album-length ode to "the game", an ephemeral concept loosely denoting the group practice of ladder-climbing in hip-hop; the divine hustle; life itself. Through bright soul-tinged electronic beats, instrumental contributions from session artists, and introspective lyrics, the pair once more prove themselves able to convey a complex sonic world.

Review: The instrumental version of the underground classic Glorious Game is a collaboration between El Michels Affair and Black Thought which showcases Leon Michels' signature "cinematic soul" sound in all its considerable glory. Since the release of Sounding Out The City in 2005, Michels has consistently pushed musical boundaries and has produced for many top names. In Glorious Game, he merges soul-tinged, bottom-heavy beats with Black Thought's deeply personal lyrics and, inspired by hip-hop's sample-based production, crafts new compositions that sample and reinterpret his own work to create dynamic, loop-driven instrumentals. The album is released on Big Crown Records which marks a debut partnership which will be interesting to follow.

Review: 'Glorious Game' is the latest addition to the LP pile by hip-hop / soul artist El Michels Affair, wh has teamed up with The Roots' Black Thought here for a comprehensive meditation on the state of the hip-hop scene in the early 2020s. Coming to a variety of formats, this version of the LP is a standard vinyl version; also check out the limited edition 'sky high coloured' version featured on our site.