PAPERMAPS

Echoes From a Dimly Lit Studio Pt. 1

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 22:13:54 -0500

Hello,

This is the first of what I hope to be a series of blog posts documenting the making of our forthcoming album. This week we recorded some bed tracks for three songs. We did this in our new studio, Echo Valley. Here’s the photographic proof:

I went into the studio on my own for a few hours last Wednesday to lay down some guide tracks (voice, guitar and metronome) for Bobby and Betty to play along to. On Monday night we all got together, along with engineer Nathan Vanderweilen, and discovered that I got the tempos all wrong – so we ditched those guide tracks and the three of us ended up just playing together which worked out splendidly. We worked until around midnight, about 7 hours, and got the drums and baritone guitar tracked for three songs. We are hoping to have this new album finished in time for a late Summer or early Autumn release. The working titles of these three songs are “Shadow Theatre,” “Edge of Chinatown” and “The Hedonist (Feels Right).” Those of you who came out to our last show at the Horseshoe Tavern got to hear all three songs. We’ll be sure to play them again at our next show.

Cheers,

-dean

PS
Here’s more photographic evidence from Bobby’s phone:

Bobby’s drums are mic’ed and ready…

More drum set-up photos…This is as much a reference for us than it is entertainment for you…
The Drummer’s Perspective …

One last ingredient to a good bed-tracks session is the ever-watching eye who tells you when you’ve screwed up …

Thanks for tuning in!

A Place Called Echo Valley and Our Next Record...

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 12:03:33 -0500

Hi,
Some of you may have already noticed – we are not that band any more. In my opinion, this is a good thing. Bobby, Betty and myself have been working on new material as a three-piece for a few months now. It’s been a slow, and at times awkward, but very rewarding process. I know this sounds funny coming from the main songwriter but I finally feel like we are making the music I’ve always wanted to make – it’s just much more focused. That doesn’t mean we won’t be expanding our ranks - in fact we have plans to add a new member very soon but meanwhile we have established a great vibe that we want to continue nurturing.

Way back in June 2012, while I was finishing up the final mixes for Inferior Ghost, we moved all our stuff out of what was once Chemical Sound and into a new space. At first the space was an empty white-washed shell with no electrical outlets, harsh lighting and a big chaotic mountain of gear in the centre – a quite daunting scene actually – but eventually with the help of some friends (namely Cameron Harding and Owen Norquay of Mesa Mesa, Jay Sad and Nathan Vanderwielen) we began building our new headquarters and named the studio/workspace, Echo Valley. Unlike Chemical Sound, Echo Valley is not a commercial studio but rather a shared facility where cool producers work and cool bands rehearse and record. Now that the studio is fully functional I am cheerfully looking forward to committing our new songs and vibe to tape. I intend to document the process here at papermaps.net, so look for more updates about the new album – things like pictures, video clips, lyric scans, etc.

The upcoming show at the Horseshoe Tavern (Thursday Feb 7) will be the three of us and we are going to play at least three (maybe four) new songs that we plan to record shortly after that show. The rest of the set will be comprised of back catalogue songs that we still enjoy playing and work best in our new configuration. One song we will not play is “Reunion.”

What else??? Oh, we’ve moved our mailing list to a new mail service. If you want to subscribe to our mailing list just look at our previous post here on tumblr.

I want to thank everyone who supported these past 3 years, especially those who continue to support us – and all you newcomers!

cheers,

-dean

We Have a Mailing List...

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 11:58:00 -0500

It’s on mailchimp now. You can subscribe by clicking this link below. We send out newsletters about shows, releases and videos every 2 months or so. Subscribe to our newsletter

Thanks,

-dean

We will be making some noise on Thursday February 7 at the...

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 11:26:33 -0500

We will be making some noise on Thursday February 7 at the Horseshoe Tavern (Toronto ON).

FB Event: http://www.facebook.com/events/547064551972239/
The AMAZING Showgopher: http://showgopher.com/#!Toronto/2013-02-07/HorseshoeTavern

Holiday Sabbatical and Dean’s Year End List

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 23:35:53 -0500

Hi,

It’s the Holiday Season and while most bands work feverishly during these weeks, we here in PAPERMAPS have decided to take a 3-week sabbatical. We’ll be reconvening in January and plan to play our hometown February 7 at one of our favorite venues in town (hint, it has the word “shoe” in its name – more details and to come). Since distilling the lineup down to Betty, Bobby and myself, we’ve been working on new material with hopes of a summertime 2013 release and tour(s). Our secondary hope is to preview much of that new material at our February 7 show. Let’s keep the fingers crossed…

Every year I do a little “year end” list of vinyl albums that I purchased that year – not counting records from previous years, oldies or classic albums, etc., which I shamefully buy a lot of…As always, some of these records were the soundtrack of my year, while others collected dust…but something convinced me to buy them…Here they are in no particular order:

Tender New Signs – Tamaryn

Crayon Wars – Wendy Versus (ok, I played on this album, but it did come out on vinyl)

Self-Titled – Paper Beat Scissors

Clear Moon – Mount Eerie

Lowbanks – From East to Exit (ok, I produced this…but it came out on vinyl)

The Only Place – Best Coast

Worship - A Place to Bury Strangers

Wild Peace – Echo Lake

Self-Titled – Metz

And there you have it…the 4th annual “Dean’s Year End List.”

Not counted here, but given honorable mention is the seminal post-rock/neo-jazz band, Talk Talk and their 2012 reissued/remastered Spirit of Eden.

Cheers and Happy Holidays,

-dean

A new video for you, Tumblr-rs… Directed by Kerry Shaw and...

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 10:26:21 -0500

A new video for you, Tumblr-rs…

Directed by Kerry Shaw and edited by Chris Minns.

Photo

Sat, 06 Oct 2012 22:52:10 -0400

CHANGES // GREAT HALL NOVEMBER 29

Sat, 06 Oct 2012 22:47:15 -0400

Hello,

There really is no “best” way to say this, so here goes: as of September 30, 2012 Todd Harrison and Wendy Leung will no longer be making music in PAPERMAPS. That doesn’t mean that we won’t be making music together in the future, it just won’t be in the context of PAPERMAPS. Todd and Wendy’s reasons for leaving the group are their own and so I won’t discuss them here (or anywhere) but I want everyone to know that it’s been great making records and playing live shows with them. Both Todd and Wendy’s contribution to the self-titled album (2011) and especially our latest, Inferior Ghost (2012) were great in all respects (Inferior Ghost being our most collaborative work). That music has taken on a life of it’s own and will always exist with or without the five of us playing it live. That doesn’t mean I won’t play some of those songs anymore – but I am forced, by circumstance, to look forward now and not back.

The next step (for me and PAPERMAPS) is to continue writing new songs – songs that are (hopefully) just as exciting or better than our previous material and to develop a new, more concrete and minimalist sound. It’s a tall order to fill, but I’m up for the challenge. I’m quite excited by it, actually. Even in the EX~PO days (when it was just me and the studio) I was keen on “layering up” my songs with oodles of parts/instrumentation. The subsequent formation of the 4 piece (and then 5-piece) band was in reaction to the fact that the previous records were so sonically complex. It was natural to continue in that vein on subsequent records having access to such great players and ideas but now I’m excited by the idea of working within the context of a 3-piece, just Bobby Lee, Betty Dimo and myself.

On Thursday November 29 at The Great Hall we will debut the 3-person version of PAPERMAPS as part of a great Rockin’ Stache Movember event sponsored by Top Shelf. We hope to see you there.

Tickets are available here: http://www.ticketbreak.com/event_details/5541

Facebook it here: https://www.facebook.com/events/212606552203732/

Cheers,

-dean

Happy Times! The limited edition vinyl are...

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 23:28:10 -0400

Happy Times! The limited edition vinyl are here!
http://papermaps.bandcamp.com/album/inferior-ghost-limited-edition-vinyl

Audio

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 15:45:24 -0400

Audio

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 12:40:05 -0400

Audio

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 12:39:11 -0400

Did I actually post this yet? It’s our new video for our...

Tue, 21 Aug 2012 12:41:27 -0400

Did I actually post this yet? It’s our new video for our latest single, “There Are Wolves.” It’s from our new EP, Inferior Ghost, which is coming out (vinyl / CD) on August 28th (in Canada). It’s already available world-wide through iTunes.

shellygrrl: Papermaps’ new video for “There Are Wolves”.

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 21:28:42 -0400

shellygrrl:

Papermaps’ new video for “There Are Wolves”.

We have a big show coming up in Toronto accompanied by this...

Sun, 19 Aug 2012 21:26:00 -0400

We have a big show coming up in Toronto accompanied by this awesome poster designed by the awesome David Kleiser.

Inferior Ghost - Out August 28th (Download/CD/Vinyl) . Pre order...

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:47:21 -0400

Inferior Ghost - Out August 28th (Download/CD/Vinyl) .

Pre order here: http://papermaps.bandcamp.com/album/inferior-ghost-limited-edition-vinyl

Inferior Ghost - Out August 28 - Pre-Order Vinyl

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:44:56 -0400

Hello Tumblr’ers,

** This news bulletin was ripped from the PAPERMAPS blog **

I’d like to officially announce the release of our new record, Inferior Ghost!
This is an EP with six tracks weighing in at just over 23 minutes. We decided to release an EP instead of a full-length because, regrettably, these are the last songs we wrote and/or recorded at our studio, Chemical Sound (R.I.P.). That studio is gone now, but you can certainly hear its ambiance and magic in this record – especially on the tracks “Break,” and “Inferior Ghost” which were both recorded entirely there, from top to bottom. Those were the last songs to have benefited from the mystic combination of the studio’s amazing live room, vintage API console, tape machines and EMT plate reverb. Regarding the other tracks: “There Are Wolves,” “Nobody Gets It” and “Reaction Formation” were half-recorded at Chemical and half-recorded at Vespa Studios – a 20-plus-years old establishment owned by Harry Hess with it’s own special ghosts. The song, “Wait for Me,” was written at Chemical but entirely recorded at the new Central Audio, which now occupies the space where Chemical Sound was. The record was engineered mostly by me with help from Jay Sadlowski, Harry Hess and Todd Harrison. The whole EP was mixed at Central Audio by me and was mastered by Noah Mintz at the venerable Lacquer Channel. This is the first PAPERMAPS record to feature our newest member, Betty Dimo on bass throughout the EP. She played “Wait for Me” with a broken right hand, taking off her temporary cast so she could play properly- what a trooper! Bobby Lee played the drums. Wendy Leung played her Nord Stage 2 (and my Baldwin piano) and doubled my vocals in the choruses when she’s wasn’t singing harmonies. Todd Harrison played second guitar, his Korg Poly6 synthesizer and shouted a lot in the choruses. I played lead guitar and sang the songs. I would describe the production techniques as minimal - there are very few “embellishments” beyond the usual studio techniques I like to employ. OK, I admit there is one backwards piano arpeggio in “Nobody Gets It” that was written by me and played beautifully by Jay Sadlowski. Beyond that, there is very little “double tracking,” or “extra overdubs,” etc. This is the sound of five people making music.

To continue working on a full-length would have caused a creative schism in the body of work – so this new record not only documents where we are as a band right now, but it also represents a fresh start. Autumn seems like a natural time for fresh starts, doesn’t it?

Inferior Ghost will be available digitally (worldwide) and on CD (Canada) as well as a limited edition 12-inch vinyl record.

Inferior Ghost will be released by Sparks Music and will be distributed throughUniversal Music Group.

The virtual “drop date” for the digital version (iTunes/etc.) is August 14th.
The street “drop date” for the physical version (CD/LP) is August 28th.

We are offering PRE-ORDERS at a discount pricefor the first 50 copies of the limited edition vinyl through http://papermaps.bandcamp.com.

And (because we are old-school) we will be celebrating the release of our new baby into the world with a nice little tour:

August 11 – Montreal QC – Divan Orange w/ Philémon and Ohara
August 16 – Halifax NS – Gus’ Pub w/ Wendy Versus and TBD
August 17 – Ottawa – Zaphods w/ Wendy Versus and TBD
August 28 – Toronto – Horseshoe Tavern w/ Little Barrie

Please join us and celebrate! CD’s will be available at these shows (vinyl will be available via pre-order and at our Toronto show).

If you are a radio host or music journalist, please contact Sparks Music orAudioblood Media to get your promotional materials.

Cheers,

-Dean

coffee, tea or papermaps

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 22:09:55 -0400

Hi!

We love coffee and we love sharing our music – so why not combine the two?
Our friends at audiobloodmedia made this happen:

These cards have a free download link to our newest track, There are Wolves. These cards will be valid for the month of July and can be found at:

Lit Expresso Bar (810 College St., Toronto) (221 Roncesvalles Ave., Toronto)

http://www.litespressobar.com/

Jimmy’s Coffee (107 Portland St., Toronto)

http://www.jimmyscoffee.ca/

Saving Gigi (859 Bloor St. W, Toronto)

http://www.blogto.com/cafes/savinggigi

Capital Espresso (1349 Queen St. W, Toronto)

http://www.blogto.com/cafes/capital-espresso-toronto

Cafe Pamenar (307 Augusta Ave., Toronto)

http://cafepamenar.ca/

Ideal Coffee (84 Nassau St., Toronto) (162 Ossington Ave., Toronto)

http://www.idealcoffees.com

Niche Coffee and Tea Company (626 Queen St. W, Toronto)

http://www.nichecoffee.com/

Bisogno Espresso Bar (61 Sherbourne St. Toronto)

http://twitter.com/bisognoespress

7th Sister Bakery (53 Rocesvalles Ave. Toronto)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seventh-Sister-Bakery/123396704390513

Tequila Bookworm (512 Queen St. W, Toronto)

http://www.tequilabookworm.com/

Arepa Cafe (490 Queen St. W. Toronto)

http://www.arepacafe.ca/

Toronto Coffee Company (685 Lansdowne Ave. Toronto)

http://www.torontocoffeecompany.com/

And maybe some more shops to be added (check back)

ENJOY!

-d

ps.

Our music goes down nicely with a nice cup of tea as well.

It’s been a while, TUMBLR. What better way to say...

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 09:18:06 -0400

It’s been a while, TUMBLR. What better way to say “Hi” than with some brand new artwork and a brand new song? Go now: http://exclaim.ca/MusicVideo/ClickHear/papermaps-there_are_wolves

In this interview I show Raina how to make vegan grill cheese...

Tue, 15 May 2012 23:20:50 -0400

In this interview I show Raina how to make vegan grill cheese sandwiches.