Makaya McCraven releases 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.
Today, Makaya McCraven releases four new EPs — Techno Logic, The People’s Mixtape, Hidden Out!, and PopUp Shop — via International Anthem / XL Recordings / Nonesuch. Available digitally worldwide and to order as a 2xLP and 2xCD compilation titled Off the Record. In line with the album’s release, the acclaimed drummer, producer, and sonic collagist kicks off his European and UK tour in Berlin. The 18-stop excursion sees him stop off in the likes of Utrecht, Lisbon, Madrid, Paris, with a London headline show at Koko on 19 November as part of London Jazz Festival.
The source material from each of McCraven’s new EPs is drawn from moments of pure improvisation that were recorded live in performance. McCraven reshaped the music via extensive editing, overdubs, and post-production at his home studio in Chicago and from that these beautiful collage of music was created. The four forthcoming EPs mark McCraven’s first recorded offerings since 2022’s In These Times (“McCraven’s most ambitious set of music” – GRAMMY.com) and a return to the signature “organic beat music” approach that Makaya first debuted on his 2015 album In The Moment and further developed on Highly Rare (2017), Where We Come From (2018), and Universal Beings (2018).
LISTEN TO ALL FOUR EPS NOW HERE
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.
1. Gnu Blue
2. Technology
3. Boom Bapped
4. Prime
5. Strikes Again
The People’s Mixtape – Its foundation is a live recording from Brooklyn’s Public Records in January of 2025, where McCraven celebrated the tenth anniversary of In The Moment. For the occasion, McCraven played with Junius Paul (bass) and Marquis Hill (trumpet), and Joel Ross (vibraphone), a regular collaborator of McCraven’s since the 2017 sessions for Universal Beings; and Jeremiah Chiu (synth), the SML co-leader and International Anthem labelmate, who plays with McCraven for the first time.
1. Choo Choo
2. The Beat Up
3. What a Life
4. Lake Shore Drive Five
Hidden Out! – 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.
1. Battleships
2. Away
3. Dark Parks
4. Awaze
5. News Feed
6. Braddas
PopUp Shop – Created from recordings of McCraven’s Los Angeles debut at Del Monte Speakeasy in 2015, where he 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.
1. YoYoYo Intro
2. Venice
3. Imafan
4. Los Gatos
5. Sweet Stuff
The OFF THE RECORD vinyl LP and CD compilation is available to order now. It’s not just a collection of these four EPs, but a tactile document celebrating creative, communal, IRL moments of musical gathering.
ORDER OFF THE RECORD PHYSICAL LP NOW HERE
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.”