Listen: El Michels Affair Announce New Album 24 Hr Sports, Share “Anticipate” with Clairo
Leon Michels has announced 24 Hr Sports, his eighth studio album with the El Michels Affair ensemble. Set to release on Sept. 5 via his Big Crown imprint, the next venture from the booked and busy producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and general New York soul prime mover continues to build on his brand of lush retro R&B with a star-studded team of guests. Today, he’s previewed the project with the lead single “Anticipate,” which centers a performance from returning collaborator Clairo.
“Anticipate” is emblematic of a turn in the El Michels Affair from faithful takes on the bandleader’s core influences to the pursuit of a sound all his own. While earlier records like Enter the 37th Chamber and Adult Themes stuck close to their inspirations in golden age hip hop beats and ‘70s soundtracks, the warm, funky haze of his latest single deftly melds disparate styles with nuance and vision, stacking piano trills and simmering synths over a muted, locked-in drum groove. Clairo, whose 2024 album Charm was co-produced by Michels, brings sweetly dusky vocals that set the track in some dreamy place between new and nostalgic.
“I think the evolution of my sound is this: It’s coming from old records, so it references the past a lot, but I’m not a purist, I’m a fan of modern technology,” Michels said. “I think what I’m doing is new. It’s a merging of the past and present, not unprecedented, but a good mix of then and now.”
For 24 Hr Sports, the band’s first album since the 2023 Black Thought collaboration Glorious Game and first independent release since 2021’s Yeti Season, Michels tapped a wide orbit of friends and collaborators, including Norah Jones, Shintaro Sakamoto, Florence Adooni, Rôge, Dave Guy, Lady Wray, Homer Steinweiss, Brainstory, Marco Benevento, Nick Movshon and the late Rahsaan Roland Kirk, who features with a prominent sample. His sonic concept drew on odd guides like MF DOOM’s Special Herbs series, the gospel of Pastor T.L. Barrett and the look of ‘80s and ‘90s Sports Illustrated back issues. “The graphic design, the look, the pictures, and the way people dressed… that kind of super colorful but very two-dimensional design,” he detailed. “I wanted to make music that sounds like that.”
24 Hr Sports is available to pre-order now. Listen to “Anticipate” below and read on for the album’s full tracklist.
24 Hr Sports – El Michels Affair:
01 “Drumline”
02 “Mágica” (feat. Rogê)
03 “24 Hr Sports Theme No. 1”
04 “Say Goodbye” (feat. Florence Adooni)
05 “Oakley’s Car Wash” (feat. Dave Guy)
06 “Anticipate” (feat. Clairo)
07 “Eastside”
08 “Clean The Line”
09 “Cortex”
10 “Shining”
11 “24 Hr Sports Theme No. 2”
12 “Indifference” (feat. Shintaro Sakamoto)
13 “Carry Me Away” (feat. Norah Jones)
14 “Take My Hand” (feat. Rahsaan Roland Kirk)
15 “Open Season”
16 “Victory Lap”
