Papermaps in the Studio

Hi,
Here’s some photographic proof that we have begun work on our second album. These are shots taken by Jay Sad of “Session Day 1″  at Vespa Studios.  Betty, Bobby and myself recorded the bed tracks for 3 new songs. Pictures from our Chemical Sound sessions are forthcoming. To be fair, dear reader, it takes months for us to record an album because we do it in short song-spurts so expect delays between posts … but it’s nice to be finally off and running! :)

I’ll be posting more studio photos in the future.

-d

Complicate Things Video

Back in September we filmed a performance music video for our second single, Complicate Things (as remixed by Harry Hess) under the direction of filmmaker, Sammy Ray Welch. Well, after the burning of many midnight oils we are glad to finally present to you the final cut of this video. The video features all five members of PAPERMAPS jamming live to the track (yes, we had the amps going during the performance and it was LOUD in that shipping hanger).

We hope you enjoy it.  Expect some “behind the scenes” photos soon!
If you like the remix of this song, you can get it on iTunes here:
http://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/complicate-things-remix-single/id462444048

-d

Merry Holiday! – 2011 In Summary – Recording a New Album!!

Hi,

In typical Dean fashion, this post is about multiple things and we would probably be better served making it 3 distinct posts instead one massive novel-length post. Oh well…

Dean’s Year End Record List!

The year is not over yet (I know, I know) but I thought I would list the albums I purchased that carry the stamp “2011” (in no particular order).  Since I did a similar post in late 2010 (link) this is now formally an annual tradition here at p’maps dot net!

Now, as with last year’s post, I will only list records purchased on vinyl and pressed or first made available in 2011.  This list does not include the many CDs I’ve purchased or received from other bands or my iTunes downloads or the numerous (read hideously copious) back catalogue purchases I make for reasons of musicological research. Also, as with last year’s post I will not indicate whether said records were awesome or bust (but you can safely assume I am very careful about vinyl record purchases).

Also, my musical taste only accounts for 1/5th of the band and does not represent the views and opinions of PAPERMAPS as a whole.

OK,
Without Further adieu:
Belong — The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
Eureka — Mother Mother
Deformer — Dog Day
Mountain Tops — Mates of State
King of Limbs (Newspaper Edition) — Radiohead
E.S.P — Love Inks
Native Speaker — Braids
Intae Woe — Heartbeat Hotel
Hurry Up We’re Dreaming — M83
Gloss Drop — Battles

The following records get honourable mention because although they are stamped “2010” they were not available on vinyl until 2011.

A Balloon Called Moaning — The Joy Formidable
Innerspeaker — Tame Impala

~*~

OH ALSO: The Year in Review

It’s been a great first year for PAPERMAPS!  We got to release our debut album (available in good record stores across Canada) and played a bunch of gigs all over the place including showcases for some great festivals like NXNE, CMJ Music Marathon and Halifax Pop Explosion.  Our songs got played on campus and community radio stations all across the nation as well as the on the Verge and XM Radio, CBC Radio 3 and CBC Radio1 and a few forward-thinking commercial stations (Yo! we charted nationally!).  We got to make live appearances on several of these stations as well as do on air interviews.  The music blog community embraced us with their support, interviews, videotaping and positive reviews.   We made our own music video (with the help of our fans, thanks!) and have a yet unseen video  in the can.  We expanded our ranks adding a 5th member to the team.  We owe all this to our supporters and fans! Thank You!

~*~

AND ALSO: Heading into the studio to make the next album!

We are currently in preproduction for our next album and will be heading into the studio(s) on December 18th (wow, this Sunday!) to begin work on it, proper (due August/September of 2012).  I know this is going to sound weird, but we are starting the album at a different studio than usual.  Instead of Chemical Sound, we are going to record some of the bed tracks (those are the bass/drums/rhythm guitar tracks) at Vespa Studios here in Toronto.  Why?  Mostly,  we want to experiment with a different sonic palate on a few select songs.  Vespa has a very different feel and sound from Chemical.  Putting the band in a new environment might yield some interesting results.  Rest assured, 80%-90% of the new album will be cut at Chemical, I’m pretty confident about that, but I thought I’d mention this as I plan to blog about the process  (and take pictures).

Have a Happy Holiday Season and New Year’s Celebration,

-dean

VISTAVISION

This is s record by a band called VISTAVISION that I produced.  I’m very proud of this album.  Perhaps my finest work (to date) as an engineer/producer.

I had a strong vision going into this project. I wanted to make a naturalistic rock record. I wanted the listener to hear how a live rock band interacts within a space. Instead of throwing the amps in isolation boxes or in far off corners of the studio I had the band set up as if they were playing live on stage, in a line with the amps adjacent to the drums. I did some very minimal baffling between the drums and the amps. About 15 feet away I set up a an array of microphones facing the drums and amps (one stereo pair and a mono centre) and had the band adjust the levels of their amps until everything sounded balanced in the array. I then placed close mics on the amps and certain drums, but the array remained the foundation for the sound of each track. I believe that the VISTAVISION record is the most representative of the inherent sound of Chemical — you can really hear the space in the music. It’s almost like a 5th instrument. It is only by chance that this particular space works so well with this particular band — that was a risk — but it really was a match made in heaven. I feel the realness of the sound enhances the eerie vibe of the performances and compliments some outstanding and evocative songwriting.

Photos I took of the session can be seen here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chemicalsound/sets/72157626105983965/with/5511998225/

I want to thank Dave and JM for letting me share this with you.  Consider it a Holiday gift from us to you.  Thinking about this project and sharing it with the world puts me into the right frame of mind in terms of working on our own album!

-dean