The adventurous jazz drummer and producer Makaya McCraven released his album In These Times in 2022, and it was one of our favorites of the year, topping our list of the best jazz albums. McCraven has been busy since then; he reinterpreted Interpol's "Big Shot City" in 2023. Still, McCraven hasn't made a major project since In These Times. On Halloween, he'll follow that record not with a new album but with a series of four new EPs.
Later this year, Makaya McCraven will release his EPs Techno Logic, The People’s Mixtape, Hidden Out!, and PopUp Shop, all on the same day. All four of them will be available in one double-LP or double-CD physical package called Off The Record. Today, McCraven has shared one song apiece from all four EPs, so we may as well get into all of them below.
First up, there's Techno Logic. Makaya McCraven recorded it with Ben LaMar Gay and Theon Cross, and it pulls from three performances spread over eight years -- London in 2017, Berlin in 2024, New York in 2025. Lead single "Technology" features frantic electronic squiggles and end-times chanting.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Gnu Blue"
02 "Technology"
03 "Boom Bapped"
04 "Prime"
05 "Strikes Again"
Next up, we've got The People's Mixtape. This one is built on a 2025 live recording from Public Records in Brooklyn, staged to commemorate the 10th anniversary of McCraven's 2015 album In The Moment. For that one, McCraven performed with bassist Junius Paul, trumpeter Marquis Hill, vibraphonist Joel Ross, and synth player Jeremiah Chu. Lead single "Choo Choo" is an itchy, bleepy instrumental.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Choo Choo"
02 "The Beat UP"
03 "What A Life"
04 "Lake Shore Drive Five"
McCraven recorded the Hidden Out! EP in a 2017 residence at the Hideout, the great Chicago venue. This time, his band once again featured Junius Paul, as well as alto saxophonist Josh Johnson and Tortoise member Jeff Parker, a solo jazz star in his own right. The single "Away" is beatific and blissed-out.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Battleships"
02 "Away"
03 "Dark Parks"
04 "Awaze"
05 "News Feed"
06 "Braddas"
Finally, there's the decade-old live recording PopUp Shop, recorded at LA's Del Monte Speakeasy. Jeff Parker was a part of that record, too, as were vibraphonist Justefan and bassist Benjamin J. Shepherd. This time, the single is a funky seven-minute excursion called "Imafan."
TRACKLIST:
01 "YoYoYo Intro"
02 "Venice"
03 "Imafan"
04 "Los Gatos"
05 "Sweet stuff"
And because I haven't already done enough formatting for this blog post, here's Makaya McCraven's list of upcoming tour dates.
TOUR DATES:
9/25 - Minneapolis, MN @ Icehouse
9/26 - Milwaukee, WI @ Vivarium
10/01 - Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *
10/02 - Somerville, MA @ Arts at the Armory
10/03 - Woodstock, NY @ Bearsville Theater
10/04-06 - 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 Room
10/23-24 - Denver, CO @ Dazzle
10/25 - Portland, OR @ The Get Down
10/26 - Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou's
10/31 - Berlin. Germany @ Jazzfest Berlin
11/01 - Rome, Italy @ Auditorium Parco della Musica
11/03 - Prague, Czech Republic @ Palác Akropolis
11/04 - Brno, Czech Republic @ Cabaret des Pêchés
11/05 - Katowice, Poland @ Ars Camerails / Jazz Club Hipnoza
11/06 - Mannheim, Germany @ Enjoy Jazz / Alte Feuerwache
11/07 - Bremen, Germany @ Theater Bremen
11/08 - Groningen, Netherlands @ Rockit / Oosterport Kleine Zaal
11/10 - Utrecht, Netherlands @ TivoliVredenburg
11/12 - Lisbon, Portugal @ Teatro Sao Luiz
11/13 - Madrid, Spain @ Madrid Jazz Festival / Teatro Fernan Go
11/14 - Namur, Germany @ Le Delta
11/15 - Den Bosch, Netherlands @ November Music / Willem Twee Poppo
11/17 - Lille, France @ Aéronef
11/18 - Paris, France @ New Morning
11/19 - London, UK @ EFG London Jazz Festival / Koko
11/20 - Cenon, France @ Le Rocher de Palmer
11/22 - Athens, Greece @ Gazarte
11/23 - Oslo, Norway @ Cosmopolite
* with Tom Skinner
The new EPs Techno Logic, The People’s Mixtape, Hidden Out!, and PopUp Shop are out 10/31 on XL, along with the Off The Record set.
