El Michels Affair – ’24 Hr Sports’ album review: A cinematic blend of hip-hop rhythms and old-school soul
Immersing yourself in the past is no way to go through life, regardless of just how nightmarish the present tense really is. Society and culture must continue moving forwards. Still, that isn’t to say that the forgotten media of the old days cannot be useful in inspiring the creation of something entirely new; the latest offering from Big Crown Records, 24 Hr Sports is a prime example of that fact.
Reportedly, the inspiration behind Leon Michels’ latest project lies within vintage sports magazines and advertising, using that retro styling to lay the foundations of 24 Hr Sports and its endlessly cool atmosphere.
Those influences certainly come across within the tracklisting, which feels imbued with the kind of shiny, aspirational quality that sports magazines are full of. At the same time, though, Michels draws upon a multitude of other, genre-defying influences, something which will come as no surprise to those who have been following El Michels Affair throughout their previous releases.
From the outset of the record, with the opening track ‘Drumline’, the producer wastes no time in setting the anthemic, uplifting sonic span of the album. Even in that relatively short opening track, you can hear the influences of everything from grandiose orchestral scores to retro Latin soul rhythms. As the album progresses, that pool of influences only seems to increase. For instance, 24 Hr Sports is clearly indebted to the soulful hip-hop stylings of somebody like MF Doom, particularly on tracks like ‘Eastside’.
At its core, however, the album is drenched in the retro appeal of cinematic soul. Spanning the breadth of the style, Michels’ harks back to the funk-ridden soundtrack albums of the 1970s, by artists like Roy Ayers, while, at other points, bringing in innovative, modern influences into the mix. The resulting record is one that perfectly toes the line between being an expansive, endlessly cinematic soul album, and being a compelling modern effort which fits right in with the world of hip-hop and neo-soul.
Some key highlights on the album come with the various collaborative tracks. Voices like Norah Jones, Florence Adooni, and Clairo add a multitude of incredible new layers to the structure of the album, keeping things feeling fresh and diverse throughout the runtime. It takes a very talented producer to tie an album like 24 Hr Sports together, given just how many different sounds and shifting moods are included on the track listing, but Leon Michels has certainly earned his stripes, by this point, and this new album only cements his extraordinary abilities.
Defining track: ‘Say Goodbye’
For fans of: Carefully crafting your daily playlist to make yourself feel as though you are the mysterious main character in a 1980s thriller movie.
A concluding comment from a sports marketing executive: “Hey, listen, we were just trying to flog a few basketballs, not inspire the creation of this expansive cinematic soul album.”
Release date: September 5th, 2025 | Producer: Leon Michels | Label: Big Crown Records
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