Off the Record

Internationally acclaimed drummer, producer, and sonic collagist Makaya McCraven returns to announce four distinct yet interconnected EPs - Techno Logic, The People’s Mixtape, Hidden Out!, and PopUp Shop -  on a 2xLP and 2xCD physical release titled Off the Record, available for preorder now and in stores October 10th. Together they mark McCraven’s first recorded offerings since 2022’s In These Times.

The source material from 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. The Off The Record vinyl LP and CD compilation is not just a collection of these recordings, but a tactile document celebrating creative, communal, IRL moments of musical gathering.

Speaking on the record, 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.”

Released: October 2025
Cat: XL1588LP
Label: XL Recordings

Listen

Tracklist

PopUp Shop EP
1. YoYoYo Intro
2. Venice
3. Imafan
4. Los Gatos
5. Sweet stuff

Hidden Out! EP
1. Battleships
2. Away
3. Dark Parks
4. Awaze
5. News Feed
6. Braddas

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

The People’s Mixtape EP
1. Choo Choo
2. The Beat UP
3. What A Life
4. Lake Shore Drive Five