PHOTO: Drew Reynolds

Groovemine contributor and musician Benjamin Marx had the pleasure of connecting with one of his favorite bands, Maps & Atlases, on the eve of their much awaited LP release, Perch Patchwork. Due out June 29, 2010, they’ve been touring much of the spring in support of the LP and will continue to bring the show on the road to a city near you throughout the summer. Don't miss them!

[*Make sure to catch our review of M&A’s Perch Patchwork after your read the interview below]


Groovemine: How do you guys go about writing songs? How much of it is collaborative vs. how much is written by one or two members and brought to the others?

MAPS & ATLASES: Our writing process has been all over the board. It’s been different for each release. Early on the songs came from us all getting together and jamming. Lately its been more of a layering process. A lot of the time, (guitarist) Dave (Davison) will bring in a song idea and we will start adding and subtracting layers. It’s a lot of constructing and deconstructing.

Groovemine: Your music certainly does have that layered quality, each voice pretty melodically active yet still in sync with the others. How much of the music is thought with the live show in mind vs. the record? I know there are a bunch of string parts throughout the record, and a wonderful reed section in the title track. Are these decisions you made in-studio? Do you plan on reproducing it live?

MAPS & ATLASES: With Perch Patchwork, the concern was always just the recording. We went into it knowing that the live show and the record were going to be two different things. Before we started tracking we broke down each song and made a list of different sounds we wanted in each part of each song. We are working on transposing some of the string and reed parts with other instruments. Although, the songs are going to have a little more of a raw feel live.





Groovemine: When you do have new song ideas, do you plan out what you’re going to do with it or do you just jam on it until it feels right?

MAPS & ATLASES: We often have a general idea of what kind of mood the song should have. There are certain rhythms that we latch onto or certain chords that seem to resonate and we just go from there.





Groovemine: Which comes first, lyrics or melody? Do they lend themselves each other? Do they inspire each other?

MAPS & ATLASES: I think each song is different. It’s a process understand that relationship to try an intertwine them. Sometimes the lyrics and vocal melody can float above the song or sometimes its deeply wrapped up in the song. As songwriters its something we are always exploring





Groovemine: How do you think, if at all, Chicago has influenced your style? Chicago is home to a very diverse and deep catalog of bands, do you find it to be stimulating to the process or not?

MAPS & ATLASES: Chicago has such a long history of housing great artists. It has definitely influenced us, but it’s something that is ingrained in us. It’s not an immediate influence. Living here and creating here and having to endure the winters is something that finds its way into the small cracks of our music. It’s also wonderful to play music in Chicago because you are able to play shows with so many different kinds of musicians. We have been so lucky to perform alongside such wonderful bands who have become dear friends.





Groovemine: How is new material churned out while you’re on the road? Or is there a very specific time and place for songwriting?

MAPS & ATLASES: Touring is a different beast. Sometimes its hard to be creative on the road. The focus becomes the show. It is about producing an energy each night and allowing the songs to come alive. Recently, though, we have been bringing some acoustic guitars along to work on song ideas in the down time. That, usually, just results in a campfire-like Van Morrison sing-a-long though.





Groovemine: You’re stranded on a desert island with 20,000 screaming women (the good kind) and electricity. You have your choice of one instrument, one effect pedal, and one amplifier to be used to woo the maidens. Go.

MAPS & ATLASES: Some sort of rescue ship summoning a horn played through the biggest amp we could get our hands on.

Groovemine: Good answer. Favorite record of the past year?

MAPS & ATLASES: I feel like this past year was a lot of catching up on older music. I recently discovered Nick Cave’s music (terribly late on this one i know...) but we have been listening to a lot of that in the van. We, also, listened to the most recent Flaming Lips on repeat for a good month straight.





Groovemine: Best-sounding venue you guys have played at?

MAPS & ATLASES: Well, on this past tour, we were very lucky to have the chance to play at some really amazing venues. It’s a three-way tie between the Fillmore in San Francisco, Webster Hall in NYC and the Henry Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles. But, Schubas in Chicago will always have a special place in our hearts.





Groovemine: Weirdest on-tour moment?

MAPS & ATLASES: On this last tour we woke up to a hostage situation in our hotel. Apparently, a guy had his girlfriend held hostage on the floor above us. I think the SWAT team tear gassed him.





Groovemine: Favorite in-studio moment?

MAPS & ATLASES: Tracking the drums for Perch Patchwork at Electrical Audio in Chicago. It was a really exciting moment.

Groovemine: The drums on Perch Patchwork are a lot more varied then on previous efforts, especially on tracks like “The Charm,” where it’s almost just voice and percussion, how did this change come about?

MAPS & ATLASES: Like the guitar tracks, we really wanted the drums to have a different feel for each song. With our previous recordings, we did all the drums first so they ended up sounding the same for each song. We really wanted to loosen up the drum feel and allow them to breath a little bit. We, actually, set up two different kits for the initial recording and then were doing overdubs throughout the rest of the process.





Groovemine: On the new record, you achieve a lovely blend of tones between each instrument. How much of that is planned, if any?

MAPS & ATLASES: That is all from producer, Jason Cupp (producer whose credits include The Elected, Nurses and Cast Spells). We went into the recording process wanting to break the songs down part by part, tonally. But it was Jason who really brought that to life.

Groovemine: Jason also helped out with Cast Spells. Do you think the prior experience with him allowed for easier creative collaboration? I know a lot of bands are either very against or very in favor of bringing in someone who isn’t a member of the band to produce. Any say on that?

MAPS & ATLASES: We were really excited about the idea of working with an outside producer. The album was a pretty ambitious project and working with Jason in the past, made us confident that we could get some of the sounds we were hoping for. We had a general idea, but it wasn’t until Jason came on board that the album started to come to life.





Groovemine: Seeing as M&A is more or less known for your technical prowess in a ”˜pop’ setting, do your effects inform what you write, or does what you write determine which effects you use?

MAPS & ATLASES: We’ve actually never used any effects in the past. I had a reverb pedal for a few months but ended up getting an amp that had built in reverb. We are figuring out how to play the new record right now so who knows what’s going to happen. We might dive into the world of pedals.

Groovemine: It’s a wondrous and expensive world. What amps are you guys using?

MAPS & ATLASES: Dave and I both play Fender Deville 4x10 combo amps and Shiraz plays an Acoustic 1x15. We might all try to go smaller though. The longer we are a band the smaller our amps get.




**Read the Groovemine review of Perch Patchwork.