This Is El Michels Affair

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“Tausend Lichter” drifts through the city like a slow heartbeat after midnight — a moment caught between longing and quiet surrender. It’s about wandering familiar streets that feel both alive and empty, where memories flicker like lights reflected on wet asphalt. Every image — the smoke in the rain, the bus passing by, the open window — becomes part of a calm melancholy that’s somehow comforting. It’s a song for those nights when time stretches and the world seems to hold its breath, when you’re still awake while everything else sleeps.

„Tausend Lichter“ bewegt sich durch die Stadt wie ein leiser Puls nach Mitternacht – ein Moment zwischen Sehnsucht und stillem Loslassen. Es geht um das Umherstreifen durch vertraute Straßen, die zugleich lebendig und leer wirken, um Erinnerungen, die wie Lichter auf nassem Asphalt aufblitzen. Rauch im Regen, ein vorbeifahrender Bus, ein offenes Fenster – all das verschmilzt zu einer sanften Melancholie, die tröstlich wirkt. Ein Song für Nächte, in denen die Zeit stillzustehen scheint und man noch wach ist, während die Welt längst schläft.

Tausend Lichter

Der Asphalt glitzert vom letzten Gewitter
Auf der Brücke träumt einer vom Meer
Ein Taxi hält an, keiner steigt aus
Der Himmel hat keine Wolken mehr

Der Wind blättert durch vergessene Plakate
Am Kai zählt jemand die Minuten bis zum Morgen
Die Nacht spielt Blues auf rostigen Gleisen
Die Stadt vertreibt meine Sorgen

Und im Regen tanzt der Rauch einer Zigarette
Tausend Lichter
Tausend Gesichter - in meinem Kopf
Das Leben rauscht nur so vorbei
Die Welt ist aus dem Takt
Aber wir noch dabei
Alles schläft
Nur die Sehnsucht nicht
Die Sehnsucht nicht

Ein Bus fährt vorbei
Leer, wie ein trüber Gedanke
Ein paar Jungs trinken Bier
Da hinten, an meiner Tanke

Ein Fenster steht offen
Jemand raucht dahinter
Schon ziemlich grau das alles
Meine Stadt im Winter

Im Regen tanzt noch der Rauch einer Zigarette
Tausend Lichter
Tausend Gesichter - in meinem Kopf
Das Leben rauscht vorbei
Die Welt aus dem Takt
Und wir noch dabei
Alles schläft
Nur die Sehnsucht nicht
Meine Sehnsucht nicht

Die Stadt hält mich wach
Irgendwo läuft unser Lied
Klingt nach Abschied
Abschied

Und im Regen tanzt der Rauch einer Zigarette
Tausend Lichter
Tausend Gesichter - in meinem Kopf
Ein halbes Leben vorbei
Die Welt aus dem Takt
Aber ich noch dabei
Alles schläft
Ich nicht
Und meine Sehnsucht nicht

Ich hör der Stadt beim Atmen zu
Sie klingt fast wie du
Der Morgen zögert noch hinter den Häusern
Und ich verharre im Blau
Tausend Lichter...


Tausend Lichter

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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.

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El Michels Affair

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