MAKAYA MCCRAVEN - Universal Beings (IA11 Edition) - 2LP - Vinyl [DEC 5]

2LP - Black 140-gram vinyl 2xLP inside a heavyweight reverse-board jacket, with a 16-page 11x11" insert booklet, IARC 2025 obi strip and printed poly-lined inner-sleeves. Pressed at Pallas in Germany, with lacquers cut by Daniel K at SST. 

The 2018 release of Universal Beings, in many ways, feels like the moment that the dam broke for both Makaya McCraven and International Anthem. On one hand, it's a four-sided communal showcase of the inter-city exchange that had started to develop in the “new jazz” hubs, collecting group improvisations from New York, London, Chicago, and Los Angeles. On the other, it is an editing and post-production masterclass – the MVP of McCraven’s “organic beat music” concept – and a landmark moment where his cut-splice-reassembly chops shine as brightly as the players themselves.

The musicians on the album were a combined who’s-who and who’s-gonna-be-who of their respective scenes: Brandee Younger (harp), Joel Ross (vibraphone), Tomeka Reid (cello), Dezron Douglas (double bass), Shabaka Hutchings (tenor saxophone), Junius Paul (double bass), Nubya Garcia (tenor saxophone), Ashley Henry (Rhodes piano), Daniel Casimir (double bass), Josh Johnson (alto saxophone), Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (violin), Jeff Parker (guitar), Anna Butterss (double bass), and Carlos Niño (percussion). In our original press release, we called it “an inspiring display of the organic global inter-connectedness of the Black American music tradition in 2018.” Not in the press release, in our off-the-record conversations at the time, we said it was ‘like Dr. Dre’s The Chronic, but for jazz’.

The IA11 Edition of Universal Beings comes on classic black 140-gram vinyl 2xLP inside a heavyweight reverse-board jacket, with a 16-page 11x11" insert booklet (with unpublished photos and four conversations between IARC co-founder Scott McNiece and musicians Joel Ross, Junius Paul, Nubia Garcia, and Anna Butterss), IARC 2025 obi strip and printed poly-lined inner-sleeves. Pressed at Pallas in Germany, with lacquers cut by Daniel K at SST.

Tracklist: 

New York Side    
A1        A Queen's Intro
A2        Holy Lands
A3        Young Genius
A4        Black Lion
A5        Tall Tales
A6        Mantra

Chicago Side    
B1        Pharaoh's Intro
B2        Atlantic Black
B3        Inner Flight
B4        Wise Man, Wiser Woman
B5        Prosperity's Fear

London Side    
C1        Flipped Out
C2        Voila
C3        Suite Haus
C4        The Newbies Lift Off
C5        The Royal Outro

Los Angeles Side    
D1        The Count Off
D2        Butterss's
D3        Turtle Tricks
D4        The Fifth Monk
D5        Brighter Days Beginning
D6        Universal Beings