Over a year after his death, Mac Miller’s unfinished album Circles is being released. It arrives on January 17, according to a statement his family released on social media. Circles was originally conceived as a companion album for Swimming, Miller’s final release before his death. “Two different styles complementing each other, completing a circle — Swimming in Circles was the concept,†the statement reads. Miller had been well into work on the album with the musician Jon Brion, “who cleared his calendar to help Malcolm fine-tune.†After Miller’s unexpected death, Brion “dedicated himself to finishing Circles based on his time and conversations with Malcolm.†In order to communicate to fans “meaningfully†and pay respects to the late rapper, the family added that all new updates regarding Miller and his work will now be found at @92tilInfinity on Instagram.
Miller died in September 2018 from an accidental fentanyl overdose. Since then, two new features on other artists’ songs have been released: “Time,†by the Free Nationals, also featuring Kali Uchis, and “That’s Life†with 88-Keys and Sia. A few months after his death, Spotify released Miller’s cover of “Nothing From Nothing,†by Billy Preston, and a live version of “Dunno,†from Swimming, as part of his Spotify Singles EP. Circles will be Miller’s first new solo release since his death. “This is a complicated process that has no right answer,†his family wrote. “No clear path. We simply know that it was important to Malcolm for the world to hear it.â€