The last home-recorded and -produced releases we heard from Maps (aka James Chapman) were singles-only, “Start Something” and “To The Sky” (2005) and “Lost My Soul” and “Sparks In The Snow” (2006). Now, the Northamptonshire lad has released his debut full-length album, We Can Create, 11 tracks (including “To The Sky” and “Lost My Soul”) put together with participation from Valgeir Sigurdsson (production for Bjork) and Ken Thomas (mixing for Sigur Ros).
Breathy and throwback in style, the album reminds me of Electronic without the oompf and drive. (Some will scoff and laugh at that, coming up with much better musical roots for Maps. But, I don’t pretend to know about all kinds of music. I simply point out artists, albums, and songs you might want to know about and purchase.) This description of Maps is not, by any means, meant to bash the effort. We Can Create is smooth and easy to listen to. For some it will feature as a full album listen. For others it will serve as quality mix material or will be shuffled in with other music to change the tempo and feel.
All in all, well worth a sample and follow up.
Maps – So Low, So High
And, of course, you can check out MapSpace for more.
Filed under: Music, New Band Day
