MAKAYA MCCRAVEN releases FOUR MORE SINGLES from four new EPs // live VIDEO of “CHOO CHOO” from Thalia Hall, Chicago // US, UK, and EU TOUR
(( photo by Shannon Marks ))
Makaya McCraven
OFF THE RECORD
Double LP Compilation in Stores October 17
US, EU & UK Tour Continues Through October & November
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 31.
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 17 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.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 reshaped 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..
"Choo Choo"
Live at Thalia Hall, Chicago
McCraven also releases a live video of “Choo Choo” today (from the forthcoming EP *The People’s Mixtape*), which was captured at his October 1 performance at Thalia Hall in Chicago.
Watch here.
Techno Logic
(featuring Theon Cross & Ben LaMar Gay)
(cover image by Jacob Blickenstaff)
The source material for 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.
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 “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, while McCraven augments his original drumkit performance with keyboards overdubbed at his home studio in 2024. Listen to “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 heavily featured 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, who was 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 contemporary jazz 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 “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. Today's single “News Feed” is essentially an extended Junius Paul double bass feature over odd-meter drumming by McCraven, who added vibraphone and guitar comps in post. Listen to “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 that performance, and peaks with a beautiful guitar solo from Parker. Listen to “Sweet Stuff” here.
Listen to the singles from each of the four EPs,
and preorder Off the Record on 2LP/2CD here.
Off The Record
Vinyl 2xLP and 2xCD compilation
The Off the Record vinyl LP and CD compilation (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.
(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.”
Makaya McCraven
OFF THE RECORD
TOUR
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 Room - 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
!!! FALL '25 BUNDLE IS HERE !!!
Makaya McCraven's Off the Record is the first of three new physical releases we'll be announcing for the upcoming fall season. And per usual, we're offering a limited quantity of bundles that gather them all, available for purchase now via our Bandcamp page.
The Fall ‘25 Bundle collects a full season of new releases and ships them as a single parcel. Purchase gets you a bundle-exclusive discount of 10% off the LP prices as well as a discounted shipping cost.
Included in the Fall '25 Bundle:
IARC0103 (Makaya McCraven - Off the Record)
IARC0099 (Tortoise - Touch)
IARC0105 (TBA soon)
Bundles will ship from our warehouses in the US, EU, and UK, but don’t wait too long, the quantity available in each warehouse is limited! Early purchase is recommended to ensure the lowest possible shipping, tax, and VAT costs. All items will ship together in one package around October 22nd. Bandcamp downloads will be sent via email for all the releases by, or before, the ship date.
ORDER THE FALL '25 BUNDLE on
limited edition color vinyl here
ORDER THE FALL '25 BUNDLE on
classic black vinyl here
