Not Many Experts

Despite the Liverpool Sound City line up that just kept on delivering day after day, we found some time to catch up with Mercury Prize nominated Maps, aka James Chapman, and chat about the new album, Northampton Town FC and an exclusive piece of news of a collaboration with arguably the biggest DJ in the world! You can download the full audio file of the interview here, unfortunately I had to edit loads of great stuff out, just look how long it is!

Interview by George Mills & Niall Robinson:

So we’re back at Sound City today with Maps! So Maps… why aren’t you called Map? There’s only one of you! Or why not James Chapman?

Oh… I’ll change it. God, you’ve convinced me.

Got any favourite Maps?

I like the shape of Italy, kicking Sicily. That’s not really a map though is it… That was a rubbish answer wunnit. Good first question!

Icebreaker that one!!

(laughing)

So, you’ve been in Amsterdam, how did that go for you?

Yeah, it was good!

Did you get up to some mischief in Amsterdam?

Yeah… I got really drunk!

Anything illegal happen, or should you not say?

No! Nothing illegal; because I was in Amsterdam!

Cracking answer! So, we’ve listened to “We Can Create” your first album…

Yeah, I’m sick of it now! I’m bored of it, I can’t listen to it, I hate it.

So, the chilled out vibe you had on that one…

It sucks!

I quite enjoyed it! But on this album you’ve said you want to go for a darker and more aggressive vibe on turning the mind, so what’s brought about this need for darkness??

Well it wasn’t a sort of fickle decision to do something different, it was just sort of what I’d been listening to. Do you like my sunglasses by the way?

Yes I do, I like looking at myself in them!

Vain bastard… no, what was I saying? This album was a lot more personal and a lot more aggressive and upfront and the beats are harder, it’s a lot more clubby. And the live show, you know, we’re just finding our feet really, we’re kind of getting there, we’ve only played four shows now, literally had three rehearsals, the three of us, and we’re still kind of jamming on stage. It’s quite fun, but you know it took two years to get the first band together, but I felt we were turning towards a bit of a meat and potatoes indie band, and we’ve steered a bit away from Sigur Ros and a bit towards Underworld or something.

You mentioned the live band. Do you have more fun playing with the live band than you do making music on your own?

Err, I like it all. What I love most is creating, you know, starting from scratch and just creating something and building it up and having it finished!

And do the live band have any input into the tracks, or is it all just you?

Well for the recording it’s just me, that’s always how it’s been. Yeah I write and record on my own, and then for the live performances I get in other people to help me out. But when we rehearse they have ideas for riffs and stuff, and you know, I’m not a dictator.

We’ve been on your MySpace, had a little perve and a gander, and on your Wikipedia it says that you personally reply to all the comments that you get, do you still do that?

I don’t know who wrote that! Well, I try to, but I don’t get as many people writing at the moment. At the moment, I only get like 6 messages a day, but when I got nominated for the Mercury’s I just thought “fuck this”, you know, because I was getting 200 messages a day! So yeah, it’s bollocks!

What’s the strangest comment you’ve ever had?

Ok, I was in Berlin and this Austrian journalist came over and said: “So when I hear the song “Don’t Fear” it makes me think of a small child in a jail cell who has not seen the sun for his whole life, and yet he feels the sun, but he does not want to see the sun, how does that make you feel?”

Did you slap him?

I can’t remember what I did… I think we ran out of time. That was probably the weirdest!

You’re also from Northamptonshire, what other famous things have come out of Northamptonshire apart from you?

Kinky Boots (the film)! Yeah, it was kind of like, bigger than Titanic! But, it was based in my village!

Ever think of making a cameo?

No, I went to the premiere

Did you not think, I am an icon of this county, I deserve a place!

No, they were kind of saying how shit Northamptonshire was in the film!

Oh, have you got any beef with them now?

Well, the film’s called Kinky Boots… so, how much beef is there to be had with a film called Kinky Boots?

What hobbies do you have? Just chill out and watch Kinky Boots?

I don’t really, just music really! Occasionally surfing for porn! I actually woke up once and I had written a song! I had written it in my head, woke up singing it, that’s happened a couple of times, with “Dont Fit It” and this song called “Shoot Your Gun” which, by the way, Not Many Experts, this is an exclusive for you! I’m doing a collaboration with Tiesto. The superstar DJ! Yeah, me and Tiesto!

Are you going to be making an appearance with Tiesto at Creamfields?

He’s going to be doing a show at Victoria Park, and I’m hoping to hop on stage. Because, when we talked on the phone, you know, as you do, me and “T”, he talked about playing that song at that show, and you know, we’ve been emailing and stuff and it’s really exciting because he’s like the biggest DJ in the world.

Do you ever think there’s a line between being sociable and work… do you ever think “back up Tiesto!”

(Laughs) Yeah, you know, sometimes I just wanna chill out and he’s constantly ringing up . Haha, no, I’m lying, we’re not really that close!

Any other shows you are going to be doing in the UK?

Yeah well these shows at the moment are just to get back on the road and play the new stuff. I’m just really excited about getting the new album out, it just got mastered yesterday and it’s about 100 times better than the old one. The first one was just a load of old songs… I’m a lot more pleased with this one now because it shows where Maps is right now, rather than… because a lot of those songs I’d written on the first album when I was like 18; I felt like if I’d had another stab now, I would have done a lot better. But this time, I feel like it’s more a statement of where Maps is right now, so I feel a lot more proud of it and it’s a lot more personal so…

And what about the festivals, are you going to be hitting up Reading/Leeds?

No, not this time. Well we’re doing Latitude and Bestival this year, but that’s about it. But next year, we’ll be doing everything! From late September, October we’ll be doing everything!

I hear there’s a good festival in Poland called Open Air, I expect to see you there next year!

Alright, let’s hook up and go over!

Maybe Tiesto can come!

(laughs) Maybe, but you know, he’s a bit clingy!

Who’s the best band you’ve played with?

Probably Maps, they’re good.

Yeah they’re quite good, shocking first album though, looking forward to the second one!

(laughs)

Your Wikipedia, which we know now is riddled with lies, says that Spiritualized is a big influence, is this true?

It’s an influence, yeah.

It says that you “love them”!

Does it? Man… This is getting out of control! Well I like Spiritualized, but I like loads of stuff, you know! And I did an interview and they were like, “how do you feel about being personally responsible for bringing back shoe-gaze?” and I’m sick of that now! I just want to progress from that and get onto what I’m into now, you know? Constantly do something fresh! I think there are a lot of great bands from that period, but why do the same album twice? You know, just because it works the first time, been there done that!

Like the Horrors!

Is it? I dunno! Their album is supposed to be really good. The Independent gave it 1/5, but my mate said it was amazing. Then the Independent gave Lily Allen 5/5, so I was like hmmmm…

Do you take a lot of notice if someone gives you a bad review in the media?

Nah… Well, it hurts your feelings, but it’s one person’s opinion! And they might have had a bad day, might have had an argument with their wife and thought I can’t be arsed to write this review, and I’m going to make it shit! Probably the worst thing that’s been said was: “James Chapman has as much confidence on stage as the elephant man speed dating down the local pub”. And my mate was in the tour bus like, “Alright elephant man!” and I was like, “What??” and he said, “Did you not read the NME?!”

(A lot of banter! Listen to the mp3 file that you can download below)

Lastly, when’s your new album out, what’s the date?

Er, late summer. I got into trouble for saying August the other day, because I don’t know if it will be August.

Thank you to James! Check out a couple of tracks from “We Can Create” below and pencil the new album into August! Buy his fantastically dark new single “Let Go Of The Fear” here.

Full Maps Interview