Drummer, producer, and beat maker Makaya McCraven has announced his first recorded music since 2022's In These Times. McCraven will release four new EP's under the title OFF THE RECORD (Techno Logic, The People’s Mixtape, Hidden Out!, and PopUp Shop), all of them made with different collaborators at different locations, interconnected into a bigger sonic vision.

Listen to the first four singles – "Technology" (off of Techno Logic), "Choo Choo" (off of The People's Mixtape), "Away" (off of Hidden Out!) and "Imafan" (off of PopUp Shop) – below.

Techno Logic features music performed by McCraven, Theon Cross (of Sons of Kemet infamy), and Ben LaMar Gay back in 2017.

The People's Mixtape has more recent music from this year, featuring an ensemble of McCraven (drums), Junius Paul (bass guitar), Joel Ross (vibraphone), Jeremiah Chiu (modular synthesizer, percussion), and Marquis Hill (trumpet, percussion, electronics).

Hidden Out! features McCraven (drums), Junius Paul (double bass), and Jeff Parker (guitar), with music performed and played at The Hideout in Chicago between 2017 and 2025.

And PopUp Shop features music composed during McCraven's Los Angeles debut at Del Monte Speakeasy. McCraven 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.

Speaking on the OFF THE RECORD project, McCraven says: 

“In a time where we’re increasingly connected through phones, in a virtual world where you can’t really tell what’s real or what’s fake, there’s something special where we come together and share space, there is something special where we are sharing music, art. I want to create an energy that amplifies the magic in the underground moments where we come together and we experience something wild, different, off the cuff, human. What I’m trying to present is a dreamlike alteration of that energy, which only exists in the recorded realm. But to actually have been there, in real life, is the special thing.”

With the announcement of the OFF THE RECORD project, Makaya McCraven and his band will embark on a big world tour. You can check out the complete list of dates below:

OFF THE RECORD is out October 10 physically, and later on October 31st on all digital platforms. Preorder here. Full tracklist:

Techno Logic:

1. Gnu Blue
2. Technology
3. Boom Bapped
4. Prime
5. Strikes Again

The Peoples's Mixtape:

1. Choo Choo
2. The Beat Up
3. What a Life
4. Lake Shore Drive Five

Hidden Out!:

1. Battleships
2. Away
3. Dark Parks
4. Awaze
5. News Feed
6. Braddas

PopUp Shop:

1. YoYoYoIntro
2. Venice
3. Imafan
4. Los Gatos
5. Sweet Stuff
   

US dates:

09/25 Minneapolis, MN @ Icehouse
09/26 Milwaukee, WI @ Vivarium
10/01 Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall (w/ Tom Skinner)
10/02 Somerville, MA @ Arts at the Armory
10/03 Woodstock, NY @ Bearsville Theater
10/04 Philadelphia, PA @ Solar Myth (3 night residency)
10/05 Philadelphia, PA @ Solar Myth (3 night residency)
10/06 Philadelphia, PA @ Solar Myth (3 night residency)
10/08 New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
10/09 Springfield, MA @ HOPE Theatre
10/10 Ann Arbor, MI @ UMS @ Michigan Theater
10/18 San Diego, CA @ Artpower at UC San Diego Price Center East Ballroom
10/21 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
10/22 Los Angeles, CA @ Jazz Is Dead @ Lodge Rooom
10/23 Denver, CO @ Dazzle early / late shows
10/24 Denver, CO @ Dazzle early / late shows
10/25 Portland, OR @ The Get Down
10/26 Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou's [early / late shows]

Europe dates:

10/31 Berlin, DE @ Jazzfest Berlin
11/01 Roma, IT @ Auditorium Parco della Musica
11/03 Prague, CZ @ Palác Akropolis
11/04 Brno, CZ @ Cabaret des Pêchés
11/05 Katowice, PL @ Ars Camerails / Jazz Club Hipnoza
11/06 Mannheim, DE @ Enjoy Jazz / Alte Feuerwache
11/07 Bremen, DE @ Theater Bremen
11/08 Groningen, NL @ Rockit / Oosterpoort Kleine Zaal
11/10 Utrecht, NL @ TivoliVredenburg
11/12 Lisboa, PT @ Teatro Sao Luiz
11/13 Madrid, ES @ Madrid Jazz Festival / Teatro Fernan Go
11/14 Namur, BE @ Le Delta
11/15 Den Bosch, NL @ November Music / Willem Twee
11/17 Lille, FR @ Aéronef
11/18 Paris, FR @ New Morning
11/19 London, UK @ EFG London Jazz Festival / Koko
11/20 Cenon, FR @ Le Rocher de Palmer
11/22 Athens, GR @ Gazarte
11/23 Oslo, NO @ Cosmopolite

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