Album of the Month: Makaya McCraven – Off The Record

Spontaneous composition meets studio precision on the Chicago beat scientist's most ambitious project yet.

At the beginning of Off The Record, Makaya McCraven's voice cuts through the opening of "YoYoYo Intro" with a simple declaration: this is improvised music, spontaneous composition. It's a fitting introduction to what might initially appear daunting: a sprawling double album compiling four distinct EPs, recorded across a decade, spanning three continents, featuring rotating casts of some of contemporary jazz's finest players. But McCraven, who has been aptly dubbed a "beat scientist" and "cultural synthesiser", has spent his career collapsing such boundaries, and Off The Record stands as his most eloquent argument yet for the power of his unique production methodology.

The Studio as Instrument

McCraven's approach has always been distinctive. Since his 2015 breakthrough In The Moment, he's pioneered what he calls "organic beat music": recording live improvisations, then extensively editing, overdubbing, and recomposing the material in his Chicago studio into something entirely new. It's a process that honours the spontaneity of jazz whilst embracing the manipulation and looping techniques of hip-hop production. The result bridges acoustic tradition with electronic innovation, creating music that feels simultaneously in-the-moment and meticulously crafted.

Off The Record takes this methodology to its logical extreme. Released on 17 October 2025 through International Anthem and XL Recordings, the album gathers performances from venues ranging from Venice's Del Monte Speakeasy in 2015 to Brooklyn's Public Records in 2025, with stops in Chicago, London, Berlin, and New York along the way. Some tracks were edited the day after recording. Others underwent an eight-year gestation period as McCraven continually refined and reimagined the original performances.

Four Distinct Perspectives

Each side of this double LP represents a different ensemble and context, yet they cohere into a remarkably unified statement.

Side A, "PopUp Shop", captures a 2015 Venice performance featuring vibraphonist Justefan, bassist Benjamin J. Shepherd, and the brilliant Jeff Parker on guitar. Recorded as part of the RAWS:LA series, these tracks demonstrate McCraven's ability to work anywhere inspiration strikes. The editing and overdubs were completed the very next day in an alley behind Townhouse on Windward Avenue, testament to his instinctive production touch.

Side B, "Hidden Out!", documents a 2017 Chicago residency at The Hideout with bassist Junius Paul and Parker returning on guitar. What makes this material fascinating is its extended timeline: McCraven worked on these tracks between 2017 and 2025, layering drums, keyboards, percussion, vibraphone, and guitar onto the original foundation. "News Feed" is a rhythmic masterclass, borderline psychedelic in its trance-inducing drum patterns, whilst "Battleships" benefits from Parker's distinctive guitar work cutting through hard bass stabs.

Side C, "Techno Logic", features UK tubist Theon Cross (of Sons of Kemet fame) and Chicago multi-instrumentalist Ben LaMar Gay across performances recorded in London, Berlin, and New York between 2017 and 2025. This is where the album truly soars. "Technology" is astonishing, recalling the electronic-charged work of acts like Red Snapper. The low tones of Cross's tuba combined with McCraven's rapid-fire drumming create something beautifully hypnotic, a frantically skittering pulse that brings to mind cyborgs dabbling in bebop whilst sounding completely and intoxicatingly live.

Side D, "The People's Mixtape", presents the freshest material, performed in January 2025 at Brooklyn's Public Records. Featuring vibraphonist Joel Ross, trumpeter Marquis Hill, bassist Junius Paul, and synthesist Jeremiah Chiu, these tracks capture McCraven's current ensemble sound. Ross's vibraphone work is particularly noteworthy. The laid-back chimes of "What a Life" benefit from McCraven's post-production tinkering, with backmasked, whooshing shuffles and levitational, reverbed-out vibes that recall Madlib or Carlos Niño's early work. The closing "Lake Shore Drive Five" provides warm, glorious listening, an immersive journey that justifies the album's extended runtime.

Beyond Genre

What's remarkable about Off The Record, particularly given its improvisatory nature and scope, is that it never tests your patience. At 22 tracks across nearly 90 minutes, it could have been exhausting. Instead, McCraven's curatorial instincts and production craft ensure each piece earns its place. His drumming anchors everything with both propulsive energy and subtle detail, but his role extends far beyond traditional drumming. As producer, editor, and overdub artist adding keyboards, synth, percussion, guitar, and vibraphone, he functions as auteur, shaping live performances into finished compositions.

The personnel reads like a who's who of contemporary jazz innovation: Parker (of Tortoise and The Chicago Underground), vibraphonists Ross and Justefan, Cross, Gay, Paul, Hill, and Chiu. Each brings a distinctive voice whilst submitting to McCraven's transformative vision. The music is deeply soulful, endlessly curious, and, despite its complexity, remarkably approachable for listeners new to jazz's more adventurous corners.

Why This Matters

McCraven believes the word "jazz" is insufficient to describe what he's doing, and Off The Record makes a compelling case. This is post-genre 21st century music that happens to be rooted in jazz tradition. It's music that understands hip-hop production, electronic textures, and global rhythms as part of the same continuum as bebop and free jazz. Most importantly, it's music that sounds utterly contemporary whilst honouring the legacy of improvised Black American music.

In an era when modern jazz is experiencing a genuine renaissance, McCraven represents something vital: an artist who understands that tradition and innovation aren't opposites, that the studio can be an instrument as expressive as any horn, and that spontaneity and meticulous craft can coexist beautifully.

The Vinyl Experience

This International Anthem pressing is exemplary. The gatefold 2LP format gives these performances room to breathe, and the mastering captures both the intimacy of the various venues and the richness of McCraven's studio work. You can hear the audience energy, the room acoustics, and every nuance of the intricate production layering.

If you've been following McCraven's journey from In The Moment through Universal Beings to In These Times, Off The Record feels like both a return to his improvisational roots and a culmination of everything he's learned about production and composition. For newcomers, it's an ideal entry point: adventurous yet welcoming, complex yet deeply musical, challenging yet endlessly listenable.

This is essential contemporary jazz, the sound of a master craftsman at the height of his powers, documenting a decade of creative exploration across four continents and distilling it into 90 minutes of sublime, forward-thinking music. Off The Record isn't just one of 2025's best jazz releases. It's a roadmap for where improvised music can go when you refuse to be bound by conventional categories.

Available now at Lush Life Records on 2LP vinyl.

Key Details:
- Artist: Makaya McCraven
- Album: Off The Record
- Label: International Anthem / XL Recordings
- Catalogue: XL1588LP
- Format: 2LP Compilation
- Released: 17 October 2025
- Runtime: 22 tracks across four EPs

Featured Musicians: Jeff Parker, Theon Cross, Ben LaMar Gay, Joel Ross, Marquis Hill, Junius Paul, Jeremiah Chiu, Justefan, Benjamin J. Shepherd, Josh Johnson

Listen if you like: Jeff Parker, Kamasi Washington, Sons of Kemet, Tortoise, Carlos Niño, contemporary Chicago jazz, organic beat music, post-genre improvisation, studio-as-instrument approaches