El Michels Affair - 24 Hr Sports

Leon Michels returns as El Michels Affair with 24 Hr Sports, his first solo album since 2023’s collaboration with Black Thought. Having recently produced records for Norah Jones, Clairo, and Kali Uchis, Michels now focuses on his own expansive, genre-blurring sound.

Inspired by vintage Sports Illustrated design, MF DOOM’s Special Herbs, and gospel artists like Pastor T.L. Barrett, the album blends analogue soul, psychedelic textures, and bold vocal performances. Brazil’s Rogêpowers the anthemic ‘Mágica’, Ghana’s Florence Adooni brings flair to ‘Say Goodbye’, and Clairo delivers aching vulnerability on ‘Anticipate’. Dave Guy of The Roots lends his brass to ‘Oakley’s Car Wash’, while Shintaro Sakamoto adds laid-back charm to ‘Indifference’.

Michels sings lead on the sun-soaked ‘Shining’, while the Fabulous Rainbow Singers and a posthumous solo from Rahsaan Roland Kirk power the gospel-infused ‘Take My Hand’. Norah Jones reappears on the dreamy ‘Carry Me Away’, and Japan’s Suginami Children’s Choir close the album with the celestial ‘Clean The Line’.

24 Hr Sports is a kaleidoscopic statement from a producer at the top of his game — soulful, cinematic, and entirely his own.