Maps – aka James Chapman – has shared the first single, ‘Heya Yaha’ alongside four new tracks from his fifth studio album release, Counter Melodies. The new album, due out on Mute on 10 February 2023, features the fastest, most intensely euphoric pieces that Chapman has ever produced.
“I've always used music as a way of escape,” explains Chapman, “When I sit down and put my headphones on, I am able to go somewhere else.” The new 10-track album, the follow up to 2019’s Colours. Reflect. Time. Loss., is an upbeat and uplifting escape from the dystopian news flow.
Maps’ fastest and most rhythmic release launches today with first single, ‘Heya Yaha’, where, after a brief burst of rapturous vocal, the joyous groove takes over.
From the opening chiming bell of ‘Witchy Feel’, the first five tracks frame the album with a nod towards club music that was never fully evident before. “My early days of soaking up club culture obviously stayed with me,” reminisces Chapman.
Initial ideas for Counter Melodies began to form in the wake of Colours. Reflect. Time. Loss. Chapman chose not to tour the album beyond a few shows, instead he found himself DJing a lot towards the end of 2019 “I was enjoying making my own tracks and playing them in my DJ sets,” he says. “It’s like a comedian trying out new material. I really liked the idea of tracks flowing into one another, like a continuous DJ set. As soon as that idea was in my head, I just worked really hard to make it happen.”
