PRESALE - Expected Soon

Tracklist:

A Queen's Intro (New York Side)

Holy Lands

Young Genius

Black Lion

Tall Tales

Mantra

Pharaoh's Intro (Chicago Side)

Atlantic Black

Inner Flight

Wise Man, Wiser Woman

Prosperity's Fear

Flipped OUT (London Side)

Voila

Suite Haus

The Newbies Lift Off

The Royal Outro

The Count Off (Los Angeles Side)

Butterss's

Turtle Tricks

The Fifth Monk

Brighter Days Beginning

Universal Beings

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.

“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 IARC 2025 obi strip and printed poly-lined inner-sleeves.