Makaya McCraven - Off The Record (2025 International Anthem 2LP Vinyl)

Makaya McCraven's innovative approach to contemporary jazz reaches new heights with Off The Record, a sprawling double album that compiles four distinct EPs spanning a decade of live performances across three continents. Released on 17 October 2025 through International Anthem Recording Company and XL Recordings, this collection showcases McCraven's unique "organic beat music" concept: recording live performances, then extensively editing, overdubbing, and recomposing the material in his Chicago studio into something entirely new. The result bridges acoustic jazz tradition with electronic production techniques, creating a sound that feels simultaneously spontaneous and meticulously crafted.

Each of the four sides represents a different performance context and ensemble configuration. Side A, "PopUp Shop", captures a 2015 Venice, California performance at the Del Monte Speakeasy featuring vibraphonist Justefan, bassist Benjamin J. Shepherd, and guitarist Jeff Parker. Recorded as part of the RAWS:LA series presented by Kingo Hippo and Grown Kids Radio, these tracks were then edited and overdubbed the very next day in an alley behind Townhouse on Windward Avenue, demonstrating McCraven's ability to work anywhere inspiration strikes.

Side B, "Hidden Out!", documents a 2017 performance at Chicago's intimate Hideout venue featuring bassist Junius Paul and guitarist Jeff Parker. These tracks underwent an extraordinary transformation, with editing, additional composition, and overdubs completed between 2017 and 2025 at McCraven's own MakayaMusic Studios. This eight-year gestation period allowed McCraven to continually refine and reimagine the original performances, adding layers of drums, keyboards, percussion, vibraphone, and guitar to the foundation.

Side C, "Techno Logic", features UK tubist and electronics artist Theon Cross and Chicago multi-instrumentalist Ben LaMar Gay across performances recorded at Worldwide FM in London (2017), 90mil in Berlin (2024), and Nublu in New York (2025). This international collaboration spans eight years and three cities, with McCraven weaving together disparate performances into a coherent suite that explores the intersection of jazz improvisation and electronic textures.

Side D, "The People's Mixtape", represents the most recent material, performed in January 2025 at Brooklyn's Public Records with vibraphonist Joel Ross, trumpeter Marquis Hill, bassist Junius Paul, and synthesizer/percussion artist Jeremiah Chiu. Edited throughout 2025, these tracks are the freshest on the album, capturing McCraven's current ensemble sound while benefiting from his increasingly sophisticated production techniques.

Throughout all 22 tracks, McCraven's drumming anchors the music 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 that honour improvisation's spontaneity while achieving studio production's polish.

The personnel across these sessions reads like a who's who of contemporary jazz innovation: guitarist Jeff Parker (of Tortoise and The Chicago Underground), vibraphonists Joel Ross and Justefan, tubist Theon Cross (Sons of Kemet), multi-instrumentalist Ben LaMar Gay, bassist Junius Paul, trumpeter Marquis Hill, and synthesist Jeremiah Chiu. Each brings distinctive voice to McCraven's vision while submitting to his transformative production approach.