Maps – aka James Chapman – releases his brand new album Vicissitude on 8 July 2013. This week the album is streaming exclusively on Spotify.
Vicissitude follows the recent single release, A.M.A., out now on limited edition hand stamped 12” exclusively via Rough Trade Shops, and digital download – with remixes from the Norwegian songwriter Susanne Sundfør (who collaborated previously with Maps and recently featured on the M83 soundtrack for the film ‘Oblivion’) as well as Dutch electronic artists Legowelt, fellow Mercury nominees The Invisible and Maps himself.
While previous album Turning The Mind swung like a hedonistic after-party held after Maps’ debut We Can Create’s Mercury Prize nomination, Vicissitude has the distinct feeling of digging deep and confronting reality head on. And in each of those cases, with Chapman the sole creative force behind the music, any Maps album is defined entirely by where his head was at during the recording process.
Vicissitude focuses, tightens and sharpens Maps’ expansive sound. The album might have been born from a long period of self-contemplation, but maybe you do need a while to get simple answers to the difficult questions. Time to face the light.
Photo credit: Phil Sharp
Vicissitude links:
Rough Trade 12”: http://www.roughtrade.com/albums/73825
A.M.A.: http://snd.sc/12U3pPk
A.M.A. remixed by The Invisible – http://snd.sc/10uI1Tz
MAPS ONLINE
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