MAPS announces Counter Mixes – 6 reworkings of tracks from latest album
MAPS
ANNOUNCES COUNTER MIXES
6 REWORKINGS OF TRACKS FROM LATEST ALBUM, COUNTER MELODIES
OUT 9 JUNE 2023
MAPS – aka James Chapman – has announced details of 6-track companion piece to Counter Melodies, his fifth studio album. Counter Mixes sees Maps reworking tracks taken from his acclaimed album from earlier this year, one of the fastest, most intensely euphoric pieces that he has ever produced.
Listen to the first three tracks: ‘Witchy Feel (Counter Mix)’, ‘Heya Yaha (Counter Mix)’ and ‘Fever Dream (Counter Mix)’ HERE.
Chapman explains, “The idea for Counter Mixes formed in my mind soon after I had finished making the Counter Melodies album. I initially wanted to explore the tracks on the album further by creating some extended mixes, but that idea developed even more as I started reworking them. It became a real exploration of the sounds, structures and (in some cases) tempos of the originals.”
The original album, Counter Melodies, gravitates towards club music more than any other Maps album, allowing a new adventure through the familiar emotional terrain of the Maps sound, but on Counter Mixes Chapman takes things into new and undiscovered areas. He elaborates, “I bent things into new shapes, extended things into further territory, reversed entire sections (or sometimes the entire track!) to create new melodic hooks, moulding completely new rhythmic grooves along the way.”
The finished piece becomes a deep ‘behind-the-scenes’ exploration of the sonic elements and structures of the originals.
Listen to two recent remixes from Counter Melodies, the infectious remix of ‘Witchy Feel’ by GLOK (Ride’s Andy Bell), and Pye Corner Audio’s take on ‘Lack of Sleep’.
COUNTER MIXES TRACKLISTING
Transmission (Counter Mix)
Witchy Feel (Over The Counter Mix)
Psyche Valentine (Counter Mix)
Pre-order Counter Mixes: https://mute.ffm.to/maps_countermixes
Counter Melodies is out now: https://mute.ffm.to/maps_cm
RECENT PRAISE FOR COUNTER MELODIES
“Insistently upbeat, immersive return” – Uncut 8/10
“… invites immersion” – Record Collector
“… there is little doubt the whole would go down an absolute storm on dancefloors all over the globe, and yet there is a sense the record is “more” than “just” an immaculate series of club bangers.” – The Vinyl District
“… a mystical journey to the frontier of reality” – Sound Of Violence
“Counter Melodies, with its textured electro-pop sounds and DJ mix-style format, slots right into Mute’s eclectic vibe and adds an exciting new dimension to Maps’ own discography.” – AllMusic
‘James Chapman has taken Maps to a new dimension that essentially opens the door to even more exciting horizons in the future.’ – Under The Radar