El Michels Affair - Yeti Season (Deluxe Version) (2022)

The "Unathi"/"Zaharila" single appeared in 2018 as a fascinating slight diversion from El Michels Affair. Both sides were fronted by 79.5 vocalist Piya Malik singing in her native Hindi. The songs had the uncanny vintage touch of EMA leader Leon Michels and took unexpected turns. "Unathi" was a kind of rallying anthem promoting communal advancement. The B-side, with baleful horns intensifying the distress in Malik's voice, hurtled to a berserk finish. After EMA released the distinctly different album Adult Themes, the thread was picked up later in 2020 with another single featuring Malik, the trippy "Dhuaan," backed by "Sha Na Na," an alluring and comparatively incidental piece with the Shacks' Shannon Wise softly repeating the title. Those four songs, along with the later single "Murkit Gem" -- throbbing Hindi soul/funk for the dancefloor -- form the basis of Yeti Season (which isn't a concept LP about the folkloric creature of the Himalayas). Elements of Bollywood, Blaxploitation, and Spaghetti Western soundtracks, along with gnarled psychedelia and Turkish funk, also seep through the new material, all of which is instrumental. The best of the bunch, "Fazed Out" and "Silver Lining," put the horns to work. There's some delightful warping of the EMA sound here, and it hopefully won't be the last time they collaborate with Malik. ~ Andy Kellman