US / THEM: NYC heavy-psych band Sleep Maps premiere new single, release remix EP

Thursday, July 19, 2012

NYC heavy-psych band Sleep Maps premiere new single, release remix EP

Click image above to watch video

"Much of the best art comes from visionary individuals following their instincts into strange and dark places, and that's certainly the case with Sleep Maps, whose Fiction Makes The Future debut is an unexpected treat. These are definitely ones to watch." -- Rock A Rolla

New York City heavy-psych band Sleep Maps premiere a new single today via RCRD LBL. The epic, pummeling song "Horror In The Telescope" is available HERE. In addition to the new track, an EP of remix versions of "Men Against The Stars" from the band's debut, Fiction Makes The Future is now available via Bandcamp.

East Coast tour dates beginning in late October will be announced soon.

Consequence of Sound recently premiered the video for album closer "Last Future" which makes a powerful statement on the impact of organized revolt. Watch video HERE.

The Onion AV Club profiled the band in their June Loud column with the album track "Men Against The Stars" which originally premiered via Prefix Mag: stream/download HERE. Stream/download the full album HERE.

Sleep Maps is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist Ben Kaplan, who performed all of the instruments on Fiction Makes The Future. The band has since expanded to a full 4-piece lineup, playing its aggressive yet atmospheric songs live with poignant visual projections. The band first formed in Los Angeles, before Kaplan picked up a moved to NYC, recording the album on his own prior to finding musicians suited to the task.

A reaction to the present world and a vision of a lost future, Fiction Makes the Future brings the listener back in time to imagine a reality that might have been. Set against a backdrop of ambient synthscapes, crushing guitar builds and explosive drumming, the album tries to make sense of man's deep seated desire to know his future. Disembodied voices from luminaries of many ages intermingle with echoing guitar leads, soaked in the reverb of outer space, and distorted bass lines that rumble in the low end like the jets of an Apollo spacecraft, blurring the line between traditional post-rock and a new kind of sci-fi instrumental rock.

Fiction Makes The Future was recorded in the woods of Delaware over 3 weeks in October 2011. The 5-song, 40-plus minute album was produced, performed and mixed by Ben Kaplan. It is available on limited edition CD and download via Lost Future Music as of May 1st, 2012.