Internationally Acclaimed Drummer Makaya McCraven Announces 4 New EPs
TRACKLISTS & CREDITS
Techno Logic (featuring Theon Cross and Ben LaMar Gay)
Composed and performed by Makaya McCraven (drums), Theon Cross (tuba, electronics), and Ben LaMar Gay (cornet, voice, percussion, synths, electronics, diddley bow) on October 20th, 2017 at Worldwide FM Studios, London, UK, June 5th, 2024 at 90mil in Berlin, DE, and January 9th, 2025 at Nublu in New York, NY. Editing, additional composition and overdubs by Makaya McCraven (percussion, keys, synths, vibraphone) completed between 2024-2025 at Makaya Music Studios in Chicago, IL.
Produced by Makaya McCraven. Recorded by George Haskell, Caio Carvalho, Dave Vettraino, David Allen, and Alf Brooks. Additional Recording by Makaya McCraven. Mixed by Dave Vettraino and Makaya McCraven. Production Assistance by Tina Edwards, Niko de Paula Lefort, and Joe Summers. Mastered by David Allen. Cover Photo by Jacob Blickenstaff. Executive Production by Scott McNiece.
The People’s Mixtape
Composed and performed by Makaya McCraven (drums), Junius Paul (bass guitar), Joel Ross (vibraphone), Jeremiah Chiu (modular synthesizer, percussion), and Marquis Hill (trumpet, percussion, electronics) on January 14th, 2025 at Public Records in Brooklyn, NY. Editing, additional composition and overdubs by Makaya McCraven (percussion, keys, synths) completed across 2025 at Makaya Music Studios in Chicago, IL.
Produced by Makaya McCraven. Recorded by Lily Wen. Additional Recording by Makaya McCraven. Mixed by Dave Vettraino and Makaya McCraven. Production Assistance by Sruly Lazaros, James Hartnett, and Chris Weingarten. Mastered by David Allen. Cover Photo by Jacob Blickenstaff. Executive Production by Scott McNiece.
Hidden Out!
Composed and performed by Makaya McCraven (drums), Junius Paul (double bass), and Jeff Parker (guitar) on June 27th, 2017 at The Hideout in Chicago, IL; except “Awaze” composed and performed by Makaya McCraven (drums), Junius Paul (double bass), Marquis Hill (trumpet, electronics) and Josh Johnson (saxophone, electronics) on June 20th, 2017 at The Hideout in Chicago, IL. Editing, additional composition and overdubs by Makaya McCraven (percussion, keys, synths, vibraphone, guitar) completed between 2017-2025 at Makaya Music Studios in Chicago, IL.
Produced by Makaya McCraven. Recorded by Dave Vettraino. Additional Recording by Makaya McCraven. Mixed by Dave Vettraino and Makaya McCraven. Mastered by David Allen. Cover Photo by Scott McNiece. Executive Production by Scott McNiece.
PopUp Shop
Composed and performed by Makaya McCraven (drums), Benjamin J. Shepherd (bass guitar), Justin Thomas (vibraphone), and Jeff Parker (guitar) on September 22nd, 2015 at the Del Monte Speakeasy in Venice, CA, as part of RAWS:LA presented by King Hippo and Grown Kids Radio. Editing, additional composition and overdubs by Makaya McCraven (keys, synths) completed on September 23rd, 2015 in the alley behind Townhouse on Windward Ave in Venice, CA.
Produced by Makaya McCraven. Recorded by Tim Oakley. Recording Assistance by Ken Barrientos. Mixed by Makaya McCraven and Dave Vettraino. Mastered by David Allen. Cover Photo by Victor Duarte. Executive Production by Alejandro Ayala, Sergio Flores, and Scott McNiece.
OFF THE RECORD TOUR
Thu 9/25 – Minneapolis, MN – Icehouse – tickets
Fri 9/26 – Milwaukee, WI – Vivarium – tickets
Wed 10/1 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall (w/ Tom Skinner) – tickets
Thu 10/2 – Somerville, MA – Arts at the Armory – tickets
Fri 10/3 – Woodstock, NY – Bearsville Theater – tickets
Sat 10/4 – Philadelphia, PA – Solar Myth (3 night residency) – tickets
Sun 10/5 – Philadelphia, PA – Solar Myth (3 night residency) – tickets
Mon 10/6 – Philadelphia, PA – Solar Myth (3 night residency) – tickets
Wed 10/8 – New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge – tickets
Thu 10/9 – Springfield, MA – HOPE Theatre
Fri 10/10 – Ann Arbor, MI – UMS @ Michigan Theater – tickets
Sat 10/18 – San Diego, CA – Artpower at UC San Diego – Price Center East Ballroom – tickets
Tue 10/21 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall – tickets
Wed 10/22 – Los Angeles, CA – Jazz Is Dead @ Lodge Rooom – tickets
Thu 10/23 – Denver, CO – Dazzle – early tickets / late tickets
Fri 10/24 – Denver, CO – Dazzle – early tickets / late tickets
Sat 10/25 – Portland, OR – The Get Down – tickets
Sun 10/26 – Seattle, WA – Madame Lou’s – early tickets / late tickets
Fri 10/31 – Berlin DE – Jazzfest Berlin – tickets
Sat 11/1 – Roma IT – Auditorium Parco della Musica – tickets
Mon 11/3 – Prague CZ – Palác Akropolis – tickets
Tue 11/4 – Brno CZ – Cabaret des Pêchés – tickets
Wed 11/5 – Katowice PL – Ars Camerails / Jazz Club Hipnoza
Thu 11/6 – Mannheim DE – Enjoy Jazz / Alte Feuerwache – tickets
Fri 11/7 – Bremen DE – Theater Bremen – tickets
Sat 11/8 – Groningen NL – Rockit / Oosterport Kleine Zaal – tickets
Mon 11/10 – Utrecht NL – TivoliVredenburg – tickets
Wed 11/12 – Lisboa PT – Teatro Sao Luiz – tickets
Thu 11/13 – Madrid ES – Madrid Jazz Festival / Teatro Fernan Go
Fri 11/14 – Namur BE – Le Delta – tickets
Sat 11/15 – Den Bosch NL – November Music / Willem Twee Poppo – tickets
Mon 11/17 – Lille FR – Aéronef – tickets
Tue 11/18 – Paris FR – New Morning – tickets
Wed 11/19 – London UK – EFG London Jazz Festival / Koko – tickets
Thu 11/20 – Cenon FR – Le Rocher de Palmer – tickets
Sat 11/22 – Athens GR – Gazarte – tickets
Sun 11/23 – Oslo NO – Cosmopolite – tickets
Internationally acclaimed drummer, producer, and sonic collagist Makaya McCraven returns to announce four distinct yet interconnected EPs — Techno Logic, The People’s Mixtape, Hidden Out!, and PopUp Shop — to be released on all music platforms October 31st. The four EPs are also compiled on a 2xLP and 2xCD physical release titled Off the Record, available for preorder now and in stores October 17th via International Anthem / Nonesuch / XL Recordings. Together they mark McCraven’s first recorded offerings since 2022’s In These Times (“McCraven’s most ambitious set of music” -GRAMMY) and a deep return to the signature “organic beat music” approach that Makaya first debuted on his 2015 album In The Moment and further developed across subsequent releases Highly Rare (2017), Where We Come From (2018), and Universal Beings (2018). Built from live recordings, the music is later reshaped by McCraven via extensive editing, overdubs, and post-production at his home studio in Chicago.
Listen to lead singles from each of the four EPs, and preorder Off the Record on 2LP/2CD here.
The source material from each EP is drawn from moments of pure improvisation, recorded live in performance, shaped as much by the room and audience as by the musicians themselves.
EP cover art in clockwise order: Techno Logic, The People’s Mixtape, Hidden Out!, PopUp Shop
Techno Logic features Ben LaMar Gay and Theon Cross, and draws from performances in London (2017), Berlin (2024), and New York (2025), showcasing nearly eight years of developing rapport between the three musicians, starting with their very first session at Worldwide FM’s former North London studio. Listen to lead single “Technology” here.
The People’s Mixtape has its foundation in a live recording from Brooklyn’s Public Records in January of 2025, where McCraven celebrated the 10 year anniversary of In The Moment with an intentional return to the improvisational language he developed over that album’s sessions. For the occasion, McCraven played with bassist Junius Paul and trumpeter Marquis Hill (two musicians who are majorly present on In The Moment), as well as vibraphonist Joel Ross (who has been a regular collaborator of McCraven’s since the 2017 sessions for Universal Beings), and synthesist Jeremiah Chiu (marking the first occasion for McCraven to play with the SML co-leader and International Anthem labelmate). Listen to lead single “Choo Choo” here.
Hidden Out! is built off recordings from McCraven’s June 2017 residency at The Hideout in Chicago, where he improvised weekly with a revolving cast including bassist Junius Paul, Tortoise member, International Anthem labelmate, composer and guitarist Jeff Parker, and SML co-leader, GRAMMY-award winning producer and alto saxophonist Josh Johnson. Listen to lead single “Away” here.
PopUp Shop was created from recordings of McCraven’s Los Angeles debut at Del Monte Speakeasy in 2015, where McCraven took part in the King Hippo and Grown Kids Radio produced event RAWS:LA, and improvised with guitarist Jeff Parker, vibraphonist Justefan, and bassist Benjamin J. Shepherd. Listen to lead single “Imafan” here.
The OFF THE RECORD vinyl LP and CD compilation (available for preorder here) is not just a collection of these recordings, but a tactile document celebrating creative, communal, IRL moments of musical gathering.
Speaking on the record, McCraven says: “In a time where we’re increasingly connected through phones, in a virtual world where you can’t really tell what’s real or what’s fake, there’s something special where we come together and share space, there is something special where we are sharing music, art. I want to create an energy that amplifies the magic in the underground moments where we come together and we experience something wild, different, off the cuff, human. What I’m trying to present is a dreamlike alteration of that energy, which only exists in the recorded realm. But to actually have been there, in real life, is the special thing.”
ABOUT MAKAYA MCCRAVEN
Photo by Shannon Marks
Makaya McCraven, who has been aptly called a “cultural synthesizer” and “beat scientist,” has a unique gift for collapsing space, destroying borders and blending past, present, and future into poly-textural arrangements of post-genre, jazz-rooted 21st-century folk music. Profiled in the New York Times, Vice, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, the Guardian, and NPR, among other publications, Makaya and the music he makes today is what Passion of Weiss says “is part of a necessary conversation about the next evolution of the Black improvised music known colloquially as ‘jazz.’ He’s found the threads connecting the past with the present, and is either wrapping them with new colors and textures, or he’s plucking them gleefully like the strings of a grand instrument.”