Tearz / Verbal Intercourse
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Album Summary
El Michels Affair, the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist and producer Leon Michels, dropped this seven-inch single on Big Crown Records in 2017, offering the world two tracks steeped in that raw, cinematic soul that the outfit had been cooking up since their earliest days. Recorded with the kind of analog warmth that would make any crate-digger weak in the knees, 'Tearz / Verbal Intercourse' represents El Michels Affair doing what they do best — breathing new life into foundational hip-hop DNA through lush, orchestrated instrumental arrangements. Big Crown, the label Michels co-founded, served as the perfect home for this release, a house built specifically for music that honors the past while planting a flag in the present.
Reception
- The release was embraced warmly by fans of the group's signature style, who recognized the reverence and craftsmanship baked into both sides of the single.
- As a seven-inch release, it circulated primarily among dedicated collectors and soul-funk enthusiasts, generating buzz within underground and independent music communities rather than mainstream chart attention.
Significance
- The single stands as a testament to El Michels Affair's commitment to the seven-inch format as a living, breathing art form — keeping the vinyl single tradition alive in an era dominated by streaming.
- Both 'Tearz' and 'Verbal Intercourse' exemplify the group's ability to channel classic Wu-Tang-era New York energy through a fully live, band-driven instrumental lens, bridging hip-hop and cinematic soul.
- Released on Big Crown Records, this single reinforced the label's identity as a sanctuary for soulful, analog-rooted music operating proudly outside the commercial mainstream.
Tracklist
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A Tearz 96
2:39
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B Verbal Intercourse 92
2:47
Artist Details
El Michels Affair is a New York City-based soul collective led by producer and multi-instrumentalist Leon Michels, who brought the group together in the mid-2000s with a deep reverence for the gritty, cinematic sounds of classic soul, funk, and vintage film scores. These cats carved out a lane all their own, blending raw instrumental hip-hop grooves with the warmth of old-school wax, gaining serious underground credibility with their Wu-Tang Clan reimaginings and original releases on the legendary Truth & Soul label. Their work stands as a vital thread in the fabric of the modern soul revival, proving that the spirit of the '60s and '70s never really left — it just needed the right hands to bring it back home.
