Maps Interview October 2009
By: Matt Tomiak
One recent afternoon, James Chapman of Maps sat in his Northampton home as the phone rang. On the other end of it was Matt Tomiak of Rockfeedback. He had these questions for him, to which James offered the following answers.
Rockfeedback: Your new album, Turning The Mind has a more aggressive, darker feel than (2007 debut) the largely euphoric We Can Create, lyrically more pugnacious, and perhaps more dance-floor ready?
James Chapman: “On the first album the lyrics were a lot more abstract, a lot more dreamy. What you’ve mentioned there was what I was hoping to achieve. It was a real blast making the album.”
RFB: This one also has a more of an eighties House feel; a track like ‘Everything is Shattering’ is a bit New Order-y, there’s a spoken word monologue on ‘I Dream Of Crystals’ that’s very Pet Shop Boys. Were you drawing on this sort of stuff for inspiration?
JC: “I was listening to a whole lot of different things. I got a lot off Beatport – that’s kind of like iTunes for electronic stuff. Tim Holmes (from Death In Vegas) was the guy I was working with on this record, he was fantastic, he introduced me to a lot – he’s an amazing guy, we were completely on the same wavelength... we just clicked straight away. I’ve always listened to a lot of Spirtualized, and Kevin Shields’ stuff, and that rubs off. I got pigeonholed into the whole shoegaze thing which I wasn’t that comfortable with, but whatever you’re listening to will come out in what you write. “
RFB: So you’re looking forward to taking this one on the road, playing live, seeing people’s reactions?
JC: “We’ve done a few festivals, just been out and put our toes in the water really. We didn’t get booed off so that was good!”
RFB: Are you interested in/aware of/feel any kinship the “nu-gaze” revival? Have you, for example, heard The Big Pink’s album yet?
JC: “To be honest I’ve not heard The Big Pink’s record. ...I’ve been a bit cut off really! Being underground making our record for the last eight months, I remember emerging and being totally stunned by the world. Like, "some girl is at number one with a Jeff Buckley cover"?! Really, I don’t follow what’s going on, I just go out and listen to electronic and techno stuff and download things I like. If I like a tune, I’ll check the album out. There is a band called It Hugs Back, they’re quite shoegazey. But I don’t want to pigeonhole them. See, I’m doing it myself now! But they’ve got washy guitars, breathy vocals. But I haven’t really got my finger on the pulse of the “nu gaze revival.”
RFB: But I guess it’s good that the younger generation are going back and discovering records like Loveless and Nowhere, right? If trends in popular music are indeed inevitably cyclical, it’s got to be a positive thing that inspiration is being derived from the more interesting and dynamic corners of the past?
JC: “Definitely, it was a great period for music. A lot of bands from that era, they get, well...if not exactly taken the piss out of, but...Ride were a great band! The ones that are remembered are worth it.”
RFB: So will you be attending the (Spirtualized’s 1997 love and loss themed magnum opus) Lades & Gentleman We Are Floating In Space retrospective at London Barbican later in the month?
JC: “I’m not actually, but I was at the original one (when said album’s performance at the Royal Albert Hall was immortalized on record) Where you there?”
RFB: I think I was about 12 years old at the time. It was a school night, I wasn’t allowed out!
JC: “Oh man, I’m showing my age! It was amazing, for a while it was the best gig I’ve ever been to. Probably still in my top three. There was a full gospel choir, the orchestra. It was a really special event, people were hugging each other. At the end of that CD you can hear all these popping sounds; they let thousands of balloons to the ceiling at the Royal Albert Hall and it’s people jumping on them. I think it’s a timeless album, it could come out now and it would still sound amazing, the production still feels fresh. Tim actually mixed the Spiritualized Songs in A&E record.”
Maps starts a UK tour today. Catch him here, there, everywhere that’s listed below:
OCTOBER
26th – London – Cargo - £9.50 - www.seetickets.com
28th – Bristol - Start The Bus - £7.00 - www.bristolticketshop.co.uk
29th – Cambridge – Portland – £8.00 - www.seetickets.com
30th – Brighton – Digital - £7.75 – www.yourfutureisdigital.com
31st – Nottingham - Bodega Social - £7.50 - www.seetickets.com
NOVEMBER
1st – Norwich - Arts Centre - £7.50 - www.seetickets.com
4th – Sheffield - Fusion at the University - £7.50 - www.seetickets.com
5th – Newcastle - Other Rooms - £7.50 - www.ticketweb.co.uk
6th – Glasgow - Nice & Sleazy’s - £8.00 - www.ticketmaster.co.uk
7th – Liverpool - Music Week at Masque (free show)
Artists in this article: Maps