Drummer, producer, and sonic collagist Makaya McCraven's four distinct yet interconnected EPs – »Techno Logic«, »The People’s Mixtape«, »Hidden Out!«, and »PopUp Shop« – collected in on compilation. Together they mark McCraven’s first recorded offerings since 2022’s »In These Times« (»McCraven’s most ambitious set of music« – GRAMMY) and a deep return to the signature »organic beat music« approach that Makaya first debuted on his 2015 album »In the Moment« and further developed across subsequent releases »Highly Rare« (2017), »Where We Come From« (2018), and »Universal Beings« (2018). Built from live recordings, the music is later reshaped by McCraven via extensive editing, overdubs, and post-production at his home studio in Chicago.

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.«