Acclaimed drummer, producer, and sonic collagist Makaya McCraven releases four new singles today, one from each of his four upcoming EPs – Techno Logic, The People’s Mixtape, Hidden Out!, and PopUp Shop – that will be released on all music platforms October 31st. Today’s four singles – ‘What a Life,’ ‘Prime,’ ‘News Feed,’ and ‘Sweet Stuff’ – and subsequent EPs are all compiled on a 2xLP and 2xCD physical release titled Off the Record, which is available for preorder now and in stores October 17th via International Anthem / Nonesuch / XL Recordings.
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). Built from live recordings, McCraven reshapes the music via extensive editing, overdubs, and post-production at his home studio in Chicago.
Listen to the singles from each of the four EPs, and preorder Off the Record on 2LP/2CD here.
Techno Logic
Listen to new single ‘Prime’ here
Cover image by Jacob Blickenstaff.
The People’s Mixtape
Listen to new single ‘What a Life’ here
Cover image by Jacob Blickenstaff.
Hidden Out!
Listen to new single ‘News Feed’ here
Cover image by Scott McNiece
PopUp Shop
Listen to new single ‘Sweet Stuff ‘ here
The source material from each of McCraven’s new EPs is also drawn from moments of pure improvisation that were recorded live in performance, and shaped as much by the room and audience as by the musicians themselves.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.
Today’s new single from the forthcoming Techno Logic, ‘Prime,’ is a piece McCraven edited from his first time playing with Cross and Gay at Worldwide FM’s former North London studio in 2017. Cross’s hulking tuba basslines bolster Gay’s funky cornet leads, with McCraven augmenting his original drumkit performance with keyboards overdubbed at his home studio in 2024. Listen to new single ‘Prime’ 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 ten-year anniversary of In The Moment with an intentional return to the improvisational language he developed during that album’s sessions. For the occasion, McCraven played with bassist Junius Paul and trumpeter Marquis Hill, both of whom are majorly present on In The Moment; as well as vibraphonist Joel Ross, a regular collaborator of McCraven’s since the 2017 sessions for Universal Beings; and synthesist Jeremiah Chiu, the SML co-leader and International Anthem labelmate, playing with McCraven for the first time.
The new single from The People’s Mixtape, ‘What a Life,’ sounds more like a lost RZA beat from the late ‘90s than a piece of music edited from live improvisation. Chiu’s synthesized soundwaves in reverse spread across the stereo spectrum while Hill’s ghostly, heavily reverberated long trumpet tones cry out in the darkness over Paul and McCraven’s minimal boom bap rhythm, setting a perfect stage for an extended vibraphone solo by Ross. Listen to new single ‘What a Life’ 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.
‘News Feed,’ is essentially an extended Junius Paul bass solo over odd-meter drumming, with vibraphone and guitar comps added by McCraven in post. Listen to new single ‘News Feed’ here.
PopUp Shop was 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.
Today’s single ‘Sweet Stuff,’ is from the final movement of McCraven and the quartet’s improvised performance at Del Monte, peaking in a beautiful guitar solo from Parker. Listen to new single ‘Sweet Stuff’ here.
The OFF THE RECORD vinyl LP and CD compilation (in stores Friday, October 17th, and available for preorder here) is not just a collection of these four EPs, but a tactile document celebrating creative, communal, IRL moments of musical gathering.
Listen to the singles from each of the four EPs, and preorder Off the Record on 2LP/2CD here.
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.”
Tracklists & Credits for the Four EPs:
Makaya McCraven – Techno Logic (featuring Theon Cross and Ben LaMar Gay)
- Gnu Blue
- Technology
- Boom Bapped
- Prime
- Strikes Again
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.
Makaya McCraven – The People’s Mixtape
- Choo Choo
- The Beat Up
- What a Life
- Lake Shore Drive Five
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.
Makaya McCraven – Hidden Out!
- Battleships
- Away
- Dark Parks
- Awaze
- News Feed
- Braddas
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.
Makaya McCraven – PopUp Shop
- YoYoYo Intro
- Venice
- Imafan
- Los Gatos
- Sweet Stuff
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.
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