Call me selfish, but when the news broke of the Roadmender closing that fateful afternoon last December, only one thought hit me. It wasn’t the fact that the town was about to lose out on its biggest music venue; that would come later. It was that The Weekender Social’s grand finale wouldn’t now take place. Allow me to explain… Following our six month stint at Roadmender hosting our ‘youth club for adults’ the biggest and most anticipated night was our final Christmas special in December; hosting Maps’ debut live performance. The cogs had been set in motion, the ‘secret’ warm-up show had taken place, the buzz was reaching critical point – then the rug was pulled from under us at the eleventh hour. We all agree the Northants’ music scene has seen an unprecedented rise of talent in recent years. And at the helm is one man. Voted Best Solo Musician for two years running and picking up Best Song at last year’s Weekender Awards, it’s proof if proof were needed, people love Maps. And while he might not have been in the public eye much over recent months, things have really started to happen. The decision was taken last Easter to turn Short Break Operator into Maps; a name change but still very much the brainchild of James Chapman. As James had already written plenty of tracks, all produced from the home comforts of his bedroom, the process began to start playing in a live arena. Over the next few months, the band was assembled – gaining members as the weeks went on. The main task has been trying to translate songs from their original state on a laptop. Rehearsals have proven testing but fruitful. The songs have now gained their own live feel with the contribution from the band adding a new-found depth. When Maps has emerged into the public eye it’s caused a storm. The release of the first double A-side, Start Something / To The Sky sold-out within days. The 500 limited-edition 10 inch vinyl copies went on sale across the country and picked up Record Of The Week in prestigious record stores, Rough Trade in London and Piccadilly in Manchester. So now with a stuttered start, the first public live performance of Maps is about to take place. His headline show at The Soundhaus on 24th February will be the start of something special. The next EP release, Lost My Soul / Sparks In The Snow is due on 6th March and the album is being worked on over the next few months. James has spent some time in Iceland working on tracks. He been telling me about his time away and getting the band together. | 
