Tune! Spun on this week's show https://soundcloud.com/thepressuredrop/pressure-drop-show-monday-25th-october-2021 #radiogold

Yeti Season

Messy Grass

Inside Problems

The Night Before Your Birthday

Fire of Love

Acid Lake

Hallo zusammen.... Ich darf euch heute eine "Überbrückungsmusik" präsentieren, bestehend aus nur einem Titel (Chicago Blues, entstanden in den frühen 80 iger mit unserer damaligen Band Hydra), aber recht unterschiedlichen Interpretationen. Da die Idee von mir stammt, habe ich irgendwann begonnen, das Stück wieder aufleben zu lassen, mit den Möglichkeiten, die wir damals leider noch nicht hatten. Der Track Chicago Blues ist in meinem kleinen Home Studio entstanden und alles wurde von mir selber eingespielt, gemischt und finalisiert. Das Stück Chicago Blues (Olaf Svendson Master ) hat die weiteste Reise hinter sich und wurde in Spanien durch meinen Freund JJ komplett überarbeitet. Erstaunlich was er daraus gemacht hat. Nicht ganz soweit mußte Chicago Blues (featuring Armin Lonsinger) in den Süden der Republik reisen, wo es mit zwei tollen Gitarren parts veredelt wurde. Mir gefällt die unterschiedliche Interpretation von ein und demselben Stück außerordentlich gut und ich hoffe euch geht es ebenso... Bis bald... Gruß Jürgen

Hello everyone... Today, I would like to present you with some “bridging music,” consisting of just one track (Chicago Blues, written in the early 80s with our band Hydra), but with quite different interpretations. Since the idea came from me, I started to revive the piece at some point, using possibilities that we unfortunately didn't have back then. The track Chicago Blues was created in my small home studio and everything was recorded, mixed, and finalized by me. The piece Chicago Blues (Olaf Svendson Master) has traveled the furthest and was completely reworked in Spain by my friend JJ. It's amazing what he did with it. Chicago Blues (featuring Armin Lonsinger) didn't have to travel quite as far, to the south of Germany, where it was enhanced with two great guitar parts. I really like the different interpretations of one and the same piece, and I hope you do too... See you soon... Best regards, Jürgen

Tillmann - 01 - Chicago Blues

Over the past eight years, Ikebe Shakedown has cemented a reputation as one of the boldest, most creative acts in the Brooklyn instrumental scene. Combining cinematic soul, Afro–funk, deep disco, and an irrepressible groove, Ikebe has forged a style all its own. Each song is anchored in the deep-pocketed pulse of its four-man rhythm section (Barnaby Alter, drums; Dave Bourla, percussion; Vince Chiarito, bass; Robin Schmidt, guitar) and driven by one of the tightest horn trios on the East Coast (Mike Buckley, tenor/baritone sax; Jason Colby, trumpet; Nadav Nirenberg, trombone), with tunes ranging from dance-foor burners to lush, captivating scores.

The band frst came on the scene with 2009’s debut EP, Hard Steppin’, from Colemine Records.  Praised by WNYC’s Soundcheck as “the perfect soundtrack for the unwritten Tarantino movie of your imagination,” the five–song release led to tours up and down both coasts and paved the way for Ikebe Shakedown’s first full-length LP on Ubiquity Records in 2011. Recorded at Killion Sound in L.A. with Orgone’s Sergio Rios and Dunham Studios in Brooklyn with noted producer Tom Brenneck, this self-titled album featured 14 blistering tracks that Okayplayer called, “an adventurous trip through time” and “one of the best releases of the year.” Having toured the record throughout the U.S. and Canada, Ikebe returned to the studio in 2014 for their follow up album for Ubiquity, Stone by Stone.  Recorded at Daptone Studios, the 10–song set let the band become more adventurous than ever before, weaving psychedelic textures and raw soul into powerful compositions, or as Wax Poetics called it, “a greasy and sometimes trippy funk world.”

Now, after hitting major jazz festivals, opening on extended runs for stars like Lee Fields, and touring with acts like Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires, and the Monophonics, the seven members of Ikebe Shakedown are poised for their next big release in 2016. The band’s style has continued to evolve, with material that transports listeners beyond their living rooms and builds on the success that has led to musical features in series such as Eastbound and Down, movies like Our Brand is Crisis, and commercials for brands including Mini Cooper, Van’s Off the Wall, and Surfline. The songs are at once richly familiar and incredibly fresh, paying homage to classic influences while pushing a brand new sound. Defying genre or classification, this album proves Ikebe Shakedown is helping define the next bold wave in instrumental music.

Stone By Stone

Cover Your Tracks

Man With A Movie Camera

Theme De Yoyo

The first track off Surprise Chef's debut album 'All News Is Good News', Blyth Street Nocturne is an instrumental love letter to East Brunswick’s most charismatic East-West running residential street. 

Encapsulating Surprise Chef’s crusty, unconventional soul sound, the lead single from their upcoming debut LP is a controlled storm of dark, left field funk underpinned by lo-fi Casio drum machine sounds.

All News Is Good News is out on College Of Knowledge Records on November 8th, 2019.

Tracked by Henry Jenkins at the College Of Knowledge
Mixed by Henry Jenkins & Surprise Chef at Hopestreet Studios

Surprise Chef - Blyth Street Nocturne

In Search of the Lost City of the Monkey God

Treasured Sacrament

Sundowner

Brother, Sister

A Night At The Little Los Angeles

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.

Messy Grass

El Michels Affair

Recent comments

RobinGrownTear

ThePressureDropShow

DRUW1

Related tracks