Makaya McCraven – Universal Beings (Vinyl)
Makaya McCraven’s second album of ‘organic beats music’, Universal Beings, finds the percussionist and producer playing with some of the best talent in creative music across four cities and two continents. The material from these meetings was then treated to McCraven's considerable post-production skills.
That McCraven was able to work with such a diverse cast and have the resulting record sound as cohesive as it does is testament to his vision as much as his talent behind the mixing board. The album progresses linearly across four sides, marked by changes in locale and personnel which impart their distinct flavors to McCraven's vision of ‘organic beat music’.
The first two sides (New York and Chicago Sides, respectively) draw their material from live dates, while the second two (London and Los Angeles) are derived from studio sessions.
The key to what makes this all so compelling is the concise minimalist hip hop style underlying the entire effort and the understated recording technique, finding McCraven using only a couple of room mics to capture the performances. The way he and then slices and dices the results to mold it into his signature sound is a unique approach that works marvelously. That the improvisations are augmented in the studio is an obvious nod to dub and to modern studio magicians like Jeff Parker and Tortoise and it makes McCraven’s music unique in that the overall effort is a group one, even if the maestro still has the final say.
It's an exciting and innovative time for Chicago jazz and International Anthem is doing a phenomenal job of getting it recorded and out to the people, highly recommended.
Tracklist:
New York Side
A Queen's Intro
Holy Land
Young Genius
Black Lion
Tall Tales
Mantra
Chicago Side
Pharaoh's Intro
Atlantic Black
Inner Flight
Wise Man, Wiser Woman
Prosperity's Fear
London Side
Flipped OUT
Voila
Suite Haus
The Newbies Lift Off
The Royal Outro
Los Angeles Side
The Count Off
Butterss's
Turtle Tricks
The Fifth Monk
Brighter Days Beginning
Universal Beings
Makaya McCraven’s second album of ‘organic beats music’, Universal Beings, finds the percussionist and producer playing with some of the best talent in creative music across four cities and two continents. The material from these meetings was then treated to McCraven's considerable post-production skills.
That McCraven was able to work with such a diverse cast and have the resulting record sound as cohesive as it does is testament to his vision as much as his talent behind the mixing board. The album progresses linearly across four sides, marked by changes in locale and personnel which impart their distinct flavors to McCraven's vision of ‘organic beat music’.
The first two sides (New York and Chicago Sides, respectively) draw their material from live dates, while the second two (London and Los Angeles) are derived from studio sessions.
The key to what makes this all so compelling is the concise minimalist hip hop style underlying the entire effort and the understated recording technique, finding McCraven using only a couple of room mics to capture the performances. The way he and then slices and dices the results to mold it into his signature sound is a unique approach that works marvelously. That the improvisations are augmented in the studio is an obvious nod to dub and to modern studio magicians like Jeff Parker and Tortoise and it makes McCraven’s music unique in that the overall effort is a group one, even if the maestro still has the final say.
It's an exciting and innovative time for Chicago jazz and International Anthem is doing a phenomenal job of getting it recorded and out to the people, highly recommended.
Tracklist:
New York Side
A Queen's Intro
Holy Land
Young Genius
Black Lion
Tall Tales
Mantra
Chicago Side
Pharaoh's Intro
Atlantic Black
Inner Flight
Wise Man, Wiser Woman
Prosperity's Fear
London Side
Flipped OUT
Voila
Suite Haus
The Newbies Lift Off
The Royal Outro
Los Angeles Side
The Count Off
Butterss's
Turtle Tricks
The Fifth Monk
Brighter Days Beginning
Universal Beings
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