Philly DJ & Producer DJ Apt One Unleashes Amy Douglas, Bosq & DJ Bruce-assisted Neo-Disco EP Under "Latest & Greatest Pseudonym," Michael The Lion (Soul Clap Records)
"When Rap Dads collide, their Rap Sons win. Shouts to @djaptone and his boy! And shouts to Uncle @curlycastro in the background playing free safety on defense with my son running wild!" Career Crook Stevie Z. (@zillarocca) posted on his Instagram 5 DAYS AGO following an apparent chance meeting with fellow "Rap Dad" DJ Apt One AKA Michael The Lion and his son in West Philly's own Clark Park. I promptly Followed and reached out to DJ Apt One, figuring any friend of Zilla Rocca's was an instant friend of mine; @djaptone seemingly shared the same kind of sentiment, simply Tweeting back "a friend of Zilla's is a friend of mine. I'd be happy to talk about it." He was of course, referring to his upcoming debut as Michael The Lion, by way of aptly-titled Michael The Lion EP on Soul Clap Records. Michael Fichman AKA DJ Apt One has shared stages with "some of the best talents of this generation," including Diplo, Spank Rock, Wale, Dillon Francis, Peanut Butter Wolf, De La Soul, RJD2, The Budos Band, The Flaming Lips, Flosstradamus, and more and is the Founder and Executive of Young Robot Records. Michael The Lion's Michael The Lion EP is now available for purchase in a number of formats including shiny black Record/Vinyl and 5-track Digital Album; depending on preferred format, Michael The Lion EP consists of 4-5 tracks, an Earth-shattering vocal assist from Amy Douglas, "Get It On" (Bosq Remix) and a pair of digital-only DJ Bruce remixes. @bosqmusic told me over Twitter that he "played lots of instruments under Amy's killer vocals and it was fun!" I was lucky enough to attain additional statements from Michael The Lion himself and modern day Disco Diva Amy Douglas, which can both be read in full down below. Michael The Lion EP is now available digitally and on 12-inch from Soul Clap Records.
"The Michael The Lion project is the culmination of years of tinkering with classic Dance music sounds—adding live instruments and voice to the kind of production techniques I learned as a Hip-Hop producer and as a producer of DJ-friendly edits—kind of a Stetsasonic-type approach. I try to take the composition and textures of Disco and bring them into a modern context and let some gravity, soul, and positivity seep back onto the dancefloor. I'm aided greatly by Amy Douglas, who provides some amazing vocals on this record. The artwork by Rick Gabriele and the [total] package put together by Soul Clap [Records] are really first-rate and a great tribute to what we think has been lost in the digital age: a real piece of art for your eyes, not just your ears."
- Michael The Lion (AKA DJ Apt One)
"I get the opportunity to sing for a variety of different people; sometimes, these unions produce projects (mostly notably Peach Melba, which I do with Juan Maclean (DFA [Records]) but often, I'm hired to do very "stock" things that don't always let me go "all the way there," as a writer and a vocalist. Working with Michael is rewarding because we have such a similar vision in what we want "Disco" conceptually to be, retaining the great hooks and song-writing of the classics, but presented in a modern context. I really love being a part of this project. Plus, Bosq and DJ Bruce, they destroyed those remixes!"
- Amy Douglas (FEINTS Frontwoman)