“Indifference” brings together New York collective El Michels Affair and Japanese cult icon Shintaro Sakamoto in a surreal, slow-motion duet that draws equally from dubbed-out American soul and 1970s kayōkyoku. Released on 21 July 2025, the single is a preview of the group’s forthcoming album 24 HR SPORTS, due on 5 September on Big Crown Records.

Sakamoto, long established as a singular voice in Japanese underground pop since his years with Yura Yura Teikoku and subsequent solo career, adds a dry, conversational vocal delivery that twists the song into stranger registers. His performance carries the same offbeat phrasing that has defined his post-2011 albums, offering both intimacy and absurdity in equal measure.

The instrumental frame is unmistakably El Michels Affair. Leon Michels’ production pushes reverb-drenched rhythm guitar and warped Wurlitzer figures into dialogue with tape-delay horns and retro analogue synthesisers. The rhythm section shuffles softly, pulling the track into a hypnotic drift, and giving Sakamoto’s voice the room to hover across the mix.

The collaboration extends beyond sound. For the Japan-only 7-inch release issued on 30 July, Sakamoto’s artwork fronts the edition, pairing “Indifference” with “Clean The Line“, a companion piece featuring the Suginami Children’s Choir. Both works underline the project’s cross-continental framework, threading Tokyo’s underground lineage into Big Crown’s cinematic soul tradition.

“Indifference” sets the stage for 24 HR SPORTS, positioning El Michels Affair’s retro-futurist production alongside one of Japan’s most idiosyncratic singer-songwriters.

Stream the single and pre-order the upcoming album HERE