In our latest band spotlight, we chat to alternative metallers, I, The Mapmaker.
[like_to_read][/like_to_read]
What motivates the band outside of music – think people, places and movies for example?
Completely away from music we are motivated by family and friends, sharing precious time with them making memories and cherishing that time spent. As a band we are extremely close but each have interests in different areas, Nathan has recently been inspired and delved into the world of stargazing which is rad. Often though theres nothing better than coming together with friends simply catching up and having some good food, wings being a band favourite, veggie wings for perry!
I think each one of us is motivated in so many different ways and that’s part of what brings us all together so closely, there is a real creative spine throughout the five of us whether its Ash designing new items for his label ‘Wanderlust’ or Perry sourcing out his next pair of limited edition creps, you’d struggle to find anyone with a larger collection of shoes than Perry or a larger collection of hats in Josh’s case! We love travelling and experiencing new places Jonny has covered half the globe visiting Fiji and Australia recently to name a few and of course hit up New Zealand because he is the ultimate Lord of the Rings fan boy!
What would you say that the biggest challenges that you face as a band are?
One of the biggest challenges for us and so many of our friends is trying to juggle time and day jobs in order to put the very best back into the band, we never want to cut corners and compromise on quality of anything be it a video production or the quality of t-shirt but it is a challenge to find the healthy balance as moving forward we don’t want to go huge chunks of time without being able to put any new content out.
I feel one of the biggest challenges is linked with one of the best opportunities for artists in the current industry and that is the platform of social media. It’s never been easier to connect and engage with your audience and that’s why through our social posts we try and connect in an unusual way, speaking in first person and maintaining the element of a story to try and stand out from the crowd, but it’s a big challenge turning that online engagement into real world support of people buying tickets to shows, picking up the new t-shirt design or buying our record. Whilst social media is an incredible opportunity it can blur the actual reality, for us as a band we try and bring a unique experience to our live show so that it’s something different for the audience to take away, we strive on every gig being different so that the audience can feel something new whether it’s the first time watching Mapmaker or their tenth time.
How was it working with Lewis Johns?
Working with Lewis was a real pleasure and a fantastic opportunity for us as a new band. His level of experience and attention to detail is truly so impressive whether its pulling apart an entire drum fill or changing bass halfway through tracking to find that perfect tone. One of the biggest things that we found with Lewis was the trust we had in him, his ability to lead the sessions was invaluable to us, acting almost as a new member to bring an alternative view to many sections. We happily returned to Lewis over two sessions to complete the recording of our EP as what he has helped build at the Ranch Production House is truly any musicians dream and presents endless opportunity for creativity with the abundance of tools at Lewis’s disposal. His end product is of the highest quality and the level of consistency which he has shown throughout some our personal favourite records is what initially highlighted him as the man we wanted to help craft our EP. Also anyone who has had the pleasure of recording with Lewis will know that the MVP is his cracking dog Olive.
What would you say your mission statement is as a band?
Our vision is to continually produce and bring to life songs that are infused with emotion and passion, songs that form part of a wider story yet invite listeners in touching on real life experiences that as a community we can all relate. Our aim is creating a unique live experience, an intimate environment for everyone that evokes a sense of belonging through honesty and feeling, that changes with every show. Music is something that to each one of us has provided an escape and been our saviour, we aspire to bring that feeling to every listener and everyone that give us their attention.
What about your goals for the future, before the end of the year?
Our debut EP, ‘Searching’ is coming out on May 18th and we couldn’t be happier and more excited to finally reveal it to everyone. We’re so excited that we’re even throwing our release show celebration five days earlier on May 13th to give those at the show the chance to own a copy before anyone else. Throughout the rest of the year we hope to take the record to brand new places and share it with as many new people as possible. It’s been a long journey writing and putting the record together but we’re ecstatic to be starting an even longer journey with its release and we already have brand new material behind the scenes! Looking ahead fans can expect to see a brand new video in support of the EP and we would love to get out on the road, if we were able to get overseas before the end of the year that would mark an incredible achievement for us. As a dream venue I think we would be overwhelmed to play at Camden Underworld as we all have witnessed incredible shows in that venue and it’s just such an iconic venue to add our name to its ranks would be insane!
