invisible Robots

Hopeless

Zara

Found a bunch of old tracks I produced from 2004-2008. 

7 of the 9 tracks have never been shared with any friends. 
I performed "Broken Hands" as a closing track at some Hiphop show back in 2009. Other than that, Noone has heard this shyte but me. 

Most of them have a softer, less silly feel to most of the stuff I was making at the time. I wanted to separate these and put them online for the (literally) few friends I know who may enjoy them. It's not truly "IDM" or hiphop or whatever.. It's just the shit that I made at the time. None of it is mastered and that's kind of the point of the old I.R music. It was just low budget songs thrown together with a crappy mic. I like listening to this little collection because I can see the potential I had at the time and I can also see where I could have made improvements on the production/structure of songs etc.

I have tons of 2008-2010 I.R stuff when I was starting to make "Dubstep" (hah) but that shit will never surface. I will be uploading some of the old "silly" songs in the coming weeks. I think i'd like to just throw as much as I can find online and just put it all behind me. 

Though, listening to the old silly stuff inspires me to create a new I.R album. I am more experienced and think I can produce a good mix of the old silly shit mixed with a modern sound. 

I'd like to thank my old friend Benjamin Pena aka "Producer Snafu" for the artwork. A lot of tracks that came out in the 2004-2008 era were because of him. He always hooked me up with programs and showed me how to use things like Adobe Audition to chop up samples etc. In a big way it makes sense for him to have created the art for this. (He also compared me to Daniel Johnston. Which is an amazing compliment.)

I send many thank yous his way and encourage everyone to check out his music at Soundcloud.com/ProducerSnafu 


*OH! Also... the little melody that is looping during track 1 "Secret Admirer" is not produced by me. I was drinking alone one night in 2004 chatting with my friends on Myspace in the middle of the night. I was listening to some Buck 65 album and this melody drops in the middle of some track. I recorded it right away, looped it and turned the microphone on. The words you hear weren't written and were done in one take. I just hit record and started singing the first words that came to my head. All the other "Im'ma monkey" stuff were added after the fact. Low budget, but that's the point. 

Love you.  

Invisible Robots - The Help Line

Invisible Robots - Why you ruin my souffle ?

Invisible Robots - Secret Admirer

An exclusive piece, that I produce to thank the best participants at the Endless Smile's crowdfunding.

Pussy For Christmas

EL BOSS - Hip Hop Instrumental Beats (15)

Street Blues

Edel Electronic Music Vol. One - 1

Human Sausage / Skye Burial / Inner C

2011 - It's The Trip (snippets)

Sounding Out the City

Behind The Blue Curtains

Recorded at Freudentaumel im Salon der Lieblingsbucht surrounded by many, many, many beloved faces. Wtf! Felt like in a zoo. Obrigaaado!

Bambule in der Bucht

In Search of the Lost City of the Monkey God

Treasured Sacrament

Jam on Easter Island

When Leon Michels name first appeared on a record, he was 16. That release was Thunder Chicken, and the group was his high school band, The Mighty Imperials. The record was essentially an homage to The Meters, at the time it was near pitch-perfect for the budding retro-soul scene. While that release was an early step for Michels, aspects of it have almost become trademarks of his work: a unique raw-yet-disciplined approach to his sound and songwriting, and a soulful genuineness that has a sense of humor one minute and a sense of solace the next.

Right from the jump his hustling work ethic was evident, always involved in a lot at once. While finishing Thunder Chicken, Michels began touring and recording with Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings—which he did for the next 7 years. During that time he was also recording songs in a makeshift home studio and preparing for what would be his first full-length record, Sounding Out The City, and the first release under the name El Michels Affair. In 2004, when Sounding Out The City was recorded, Michels’ obsession with Euro Library, American soul, and early rocksteady crept its way into the songwriting and recording aesthetic, the outcome was something Michels appropriately dubbed “Cinematic Soul.” The album was to be the first release on Truth & Soul Records, a new label Michels co founded.

The lo-fi warm recording aesthetic and bottom heavy production alongside the immediate success of EMA’s debut release lead to playing a show with Raekwon of Wu-Tang fame. That show went over so well it lead to a tour with El Michels backing multiple members of the Wu-Tang Clan. It was these shows that ended up laying the groundwork for the release of El Michels Affair’s second full-length, Enter the 37th Chamber, which eventually introduced them to a worldwide audience. While the band’s fanbase went through the roof, the industry also quickly recognized that EMA was a force to be reckoned with. Almost in a domino effect, a huge range of hip-hop artists sampled Michels’ songs, from Ghostface Killah, Just Blaze, and Jay-Z to J Dilla, J.Cole, and Travis Scott.

While simultaneously running a label, playing / touring, and co-producing other artist’s music Michels helped found The Menahan Street Band, co-produced Aloe Blacc’s sophomore smash LP, Good Things, and received a writer credit on Adele’s Grammy-nominated album, 19. Shortly there after Michels found himself on tour with The Black Keys after being cold-called by Auerbach and asked to join them on the road. It turned out that Auerbach was a big fan of the sound and approach of the Lee Fields record “My World”, which Michels produced. When Auerbach was tapped to make Dr. John’s critically acclaimed album , “Locked Down” and Lana Del Rey’s LP, “Ultraviolence”, Michels was brought along to play and add his signature sound. That led to being included in and touring for Auerbach’s psych-rock project, The Arcs, which features Michels as a musician and co-producer. 

in 2016, Michels co-founded Big Crown Records with Danny Akalapse, the second record label Michels has helped build from the ground. Since then, he has produced a majority of the albums from the labels roster including Lee Fields, Lady Wray, Brainstory, Paul & The Tall Trees, Liam Bailey, and Thee Lakesiders.  Michels has also produced records for Beyonce & Jay-Z’s side project, The Carters, Hanni El Khatib, Chicano Batman, Marco Benevento, and Don Toliver.

In 2020, Michels will release the second album of original material under the El Michels Affair moniker.  The Album, entitled Adult Themes, which Michels calls “the soundtrack to an imaginary movie,” creates a lush, evocative, complex and eclectic collection of tunes that will keep your ears on edge as you nod your head.

Behind The Blue Curtains

El Michels Affair

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