Not only do renditions of hip-hop songs by live bands usually sound great, they also serve as a kind of recognition of the musical importance of what at least has been an underdog’s genre. el Michels Affair’s Enter the 37th Chamber, released on Fat Beats Records this year, covers several tracks from the Wu Tang Clan’s iconic debut album, as well as a few solo songs byRaekwon, Ghostface Killah and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard.

The best thing about the album is that none of RZA’s timeless production is cleaned up; nor is it straight copied. el Michels Affair time warp RZA’s soul-ridden beats by bringing them back to where they originally came from; the impromptu, gritty and uniquely imperfect sound of 60s and 70s jazz and soul recordings. The sound is obviously appreciated by Wu Tang’s members. Several of them have done shows backed by el Michels Affair.

It’s about as hard to select my favourites from this album as it is to pinpoint which Wu Tang tracks I like the most, but with only my gut feeling to back me up, I’ll say ’Can’t It All Be So Simple’, ‘C.R.E.A.M.’ and ’Heaven & Hell’. Oh, and the kids’ choir on ’Shimmy Shimmy Ya’ proves beyond doubt ODB’s statement that ”Wu Tang is for the children.”

words Sven Carlsson