JP Maurice scoured the depths of his heart, mind and soul to come up with not one, but two collections of evocative songs. The first was the EP Girls, which came out late last year. The more recent release is the full-length album Boys, which came out on May 18.
The Victoria. British Columbia native, now living in Vancouver, is young in years, but has a broad and deep experience in the music industry, and has expanded his repertoire from singer, guitarist and songwriter to that of an expert behind the mixing board as a producer and engineer.
Maurice’s music is somewhat indefinable, as it encompasses a range of genres, but what wraps it all together into a coherent whole is his emotive presentation and his unmistakably infections and groove-oriented pop hooks.
The process for crafting the songs that would come to be laid down for both Girls and Boys actually began in 2014 in Toronto. But longing for the comfort of his west coast surroundings, Maurice moved back to British Columbia and soon became once again an integral part of the local music community, including participating in the now defunct Peak Performance music contest, which took place in both B.C. and Alberta for seven years, ending in 2015.
The Peak Performance music contest in British Columbia proved to be a significant watershed moment in Maurice’s career. Finishing second in the prestigious and highly competitive event, it garnered the young singer/songwriter a great deal of attention, acclaim and credibility within the music industry. The significant prize money he won was also used to invest in a recording facility, Blue Light Studio in Vancouver, which allowed Maurice to have a place to base his writing and recording out of, but also earn a living as an in-demand producer and engineer.
“It worked out great because I had just moved back to B.C. and decided to participate in the Peak Performance program. When I moved back to Vancouver my roommate owned a studio in town. They had a small location but were building a bigger facility and asked me at the beginning of the year if I would invest in it. I wanted to but didn’t really have the capital to do so. We decided as part of my marketing plan for the Peak Performance project to add in that I would co-own a studio if I won the $100,000 top prize,” he said.
“I talked to some of the people involved in the project and they said to go for it. So, I was lucky enough to come second and I was able to put in the investment in the studio. Having access to this high-level studio was a better space for me to hone in on the record and finish it.”
For one aspect of the Peak Performance program, Maurice found himself paired with mentor Russell Broom, a noted producer/musician/songwriter based in Calgary and known for his work with Jann Arden, Ian Tyson, Brian Doerksen and many others. The partnership was fruitful and prolific during the contest and when it came to looking for someone to produce what would become Girls and later Boys, Broom was the obvious choice.
“He just has a really great personality and really open energy. I remember when he walked in, because the recording process at The Peak was collaborative with another band, Russell got into the room and said, ‘are you guys nervous?’ And he just seemed really good at diffusing tension and was super positive and laid back. So, I really hit it off with him,” Maurice said.
“And instead of being like, ‘nope, we’re going to do it this way; we’re going to tune all the guitar strings one at a time, chord by chord,’ he is kind of the opposite of that. And to boot he is just an amazing musician and one of the best guitar players or bass players I have ever met. So, having that kind of musical prowess alongside me was something I really dug, and he contributed a lot. He pretty much did all the bass and electric guitar on Boys too.”
The recording process was completed by the end of 2016, but the first EP did not come out until the fall of 2017, while Boys came out in late May of 2018.
This delay was due to the fact that Maurice was involved in another, significantly higher profile, music-related reality show, CTV’s The Launch. He didn’t win or place in the event but having national exposure and a chance again to be around top industry professionals from all aspects of the music industry was nothing but a beneficial and educational experience.
“I really enjoyed the process. I flew out to Toronto to do my bit and was there for four days, so it was a bit of a whirlwind. Everyone involved was super nice and supportive and they created an atmosphere where they were letting you know that they weren’t there to exploit you, trap you or make you look silly. You are there because they think you are really talented and it’s a platform to be great,” he said.
Boys is essentially the second portion of a burst of creative energy that began to wash over Maurice in early 2016. It led to the creation of a catalogue of new material that seemed to be filtering down into two distinct tones and styles. One was infused with a darker, more mournful energy. The other had a lighter and more hopeful milieu.
Therefore, he chose to release them as two separate entities – two sides of the same coin if you will. The first was the Girls EP release last year, with Boys being the completion of the process.
“A lot of the stuff on this new album is more alt-country, acoustic driven material. And then there were some that were a little darker and piano based and leaned a little more into the pop realm. So, we though the best thing to do was just package one as an EP. I also had a Factor commitment to live up to as well, where I had to release product by a certain deadline. Girls fit both criteria. I also ended up reworking slightly two of the songs from Girls and adding them to Boys, which ended up becoming a full-length album,” Maurice said.
Material for both albums came during a time of emotional tumult and turmoil in Maurice’s life, including the death of his mother in early 2016.
“I lost my mom to cancer in January so that was a big thing. Before I moved to Vancouver I was back living in Victoria and went through a lot of personal stuff and not really making the best life choices and just not being very happy. My old band was signed to Warner Brothers in the States and the record deal went kind of sideways, so there was a series of things that kind of led me to spiral into a darker place, with the biggest one losing my mom,” he said.
“But music is definitely my therapy and how I get my emotions out. I have been in my happy place pretty much for the past couple of years and I found I haven’t been writing as much, which is strange. Even still, when I am feeling low, or get into a fight with my girlfriend for example, I will write a song for her and that usually makes both of us feel better. With creating music, you get that relief of being able to express yourself with words and lyrics and even just being able to sing and emote that way is such a release, because you either have to cry, to laugh or sing.”
Fans listening to the songs on Boy, including the compelling and infectious lead-off single Rocket, can’t help but be impressed with Maurice as a composer and interpreter of his own creations.
“Rocket was a song that came together right around my birthday. I picked up the guitar and wrote it in about five minutes. It was one of those songs where you don’t really feel like you’re writing it, it’s like all you’re doing is pulling it down from the ether,” he said, adding that the song Shapeshifter began as a composition by a couple of songwriting pal, Brandon DeLyzer and his collaborator David Burris.
“Brandon had this piece of music where he really only had the production vibe of the song and a verse. I sat down at the piano and started to figure out some chords for the chorus. And I got a call from my parents and that was actually the day that my mom got her terminal diagnosis. The song really isn’t about that, but that emotional experience definitely influences the mood of the song. The lyrical content is not necessarily my personal story, but it’s more about wanting someone to really like you or love you and wanting to be anything for them just so they will acknowledge that.”
Another powerfully poignant song from Boys, and arguably one of it’s strongest tracks, is The Answer.
“It’s pretty literal. I think that song comes from a lot of what I took from my mom passing away and the sense that it really made no sense because she was a very healthy person. She was into the vegan thing and very obsessed with health and wellness. And in the end, she got cancer and it took her down really young and really fast. Not that it made me feel like ‘well f***, nothing matters.’ But just that we can’t really worry about the little things in life or those things we sometimes think are important. You really just have to let it all go and be happy and free.”
Maurice said he spends most of his time in the studio either working on his own material or acting as producer, mixer and engineer for other artists, but that he will perform songs from Girls and Boys whenever the opportunity presents itself. In the meantime, he is compiling a collection of new songs that are already pushing him into an even more ambitious creative direction.
“I think I want this new stuff to be a little less poppy. From my experience with being on a major label and even being part of the Peak program, there’s a lot of people in the industry who are always telling you that you need to be really accessible to be successful. And my pop leanings are definitely something that comes naturally to me. But the music I am into lately is not so much like that,” he explained.
“I am not as concerned about making something that is commercially accessible. I just want to do something interesting that other musicians, songwriters and music lovers will really like. That’s my focus: to challenge myself to be as creative as possible, as creatively motivated as possible.”
For more information on JP Maurice and both Boys and Girls, visit http://jpthemaurice.com.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
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