Maps Share 'Counter Continuo Pt. 1'

MAPS, aka James Chapman, has shared the first half of his new release, Counter Continuo, which is due out January 16, 2024 on Mute. 

Counter Continuo is the final piece of a series of releases that started earlier this year with album Counter Melodies, before continuing throughout 2023 with remixes from Plaid, GLOK (Ride’s Andy Bell), Pye Corner Audio and Counter Mixes, a collection of tracks reworked by Chapman from his original release.

Counter Continuo is a six-track collection of work originally recorded during the Counter Melodies sessions, later revisited and reworked as a companion piece. Chapman explains, "When I was making the Counter Melodies album, I actually worked on around 30 or so tracks, but for the final album I chose the 10 tracks that I felt flowed best overall as an LP, meaning I had to leave out some music that I loved very much.”

Six of these tracks became Counter Continuo, mixing upbeat grooves and widescreen euphoria, alongside moments of darker, stranger and grittier production. Chapman goes on to say, “I am very proud of it as a collection and thrilled that people will finally hear these tracks.”

The original album, Counter Melodies, is one of the fastest, most intensely euphoric pieces Maps has ever produced, gravitating towards club music, allowing a new adventure through the familiar emotional terrain of the Maps sound. Each release in the series has continued to move the music in new and unexpected directions, culminating in this fresh and invigorated sonic journey.