It’s ‘Circles’ weekend for fans of Mac Miller
“Good News” was a great taste of the new Mac Miller album, especially with the trippy and fantastical video created by Eric Tilford and Anthony Gaddis.
This weekend, Mac lovers can go full “Circles” with what his estate is calling the sixth and final studio album from the Pittsburgh rap star.
“Circles,” which will be released Friday, is being called a companion piece to “Swimming,” the contemplative album he dropped in August 2018, a month before his death. Deemed by Rolling Stone to be “the most impactful album of his career,” “Swimming,” released in the aftermath of his split with Ariana Grande, debuted at No. 3 on Billboard and earned a posthumous Grammy nomination for best rap album.
As for “Circles,” his family wrote on his Instagram, “He had been working with [producer] Jon Brion, who after hearing some early versions of songs, cleared his calendar to help Malcolm fine-tune them. After his passing, Jon dedicated himself to finishing ‘Circles’ based on his time and conversations with Malcolm. We are eternally grateful to Jon and to those who gave their best to the difficult and emotional task of putting out this body of work.
“This is a complicated process that has no right answer,” they added. “No clear path. We simply know that it was important to Malcolm for the world to hear it. One of the most difficult decisions in the process is how best to let people know about it — how to communicate meaningfully while keeping sacred what should be kept sacred. So this will be the only post on any of his channels. Information regarding this release, his charity and Malcolm himself will be found at @92tilinfinity.”
Pittsburgh will be one of three cities, along with New York and Los Angeles, to host pop-up exhibitions celebrating the music and legacy of the rapper, launched in partnership with Amazon Music. They will feature intimate front-to-back listenings of “Circles” in Ultra HD audio, as well as a multimedia fan art exhibition and exclusive new “Circles” merchandise offerings.
Listenings will be conducted on a firstcome, first-served basis. Entry is free, and all net proceeds from pop-up merch sales will go to The Mac Miller Fund, which has been set up to help emerging artists.
The exhibition will be at 424 Suismon St., North Side, and the listening room at 900 Middle St., North Side, both from noon to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
According to a news release, “Listeners will hear shades of some of ‘Circles’’ influences in its songs, from the T-Rex guitar tone of ‘Surf’ to the Plastic Ono Band-era John Lennon feel of its production and the inspired cover of Arthur Lee’s 1972 single ‘Everybody’s Gotta Live.’”
Also on Friday, which is two days before the rapper would have turned 28, The Mac Miller Memoir and the fan page small.w0rlds — independent of the Miller family — are holding a Mac Miller Birthday Celebration at The Club at Stage AE, North Shore, with music by DJ Spillz. Doors open at 5 p.m., and admission is free.
“Thank you to all the fans who’ve supported him unconditionally through the years,” the family wrote. “We miss him. We are left to imagine where Malcolm was going and to appreciate where he was. We hope you take the time to listen. The look on his face when everyone was listening said it all.”