ex~po

EX~PO (now renamed Papermaps) is the musical vision of Dean Marino, a Toronto-based songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Dean describes EX~PO as: ?well-crafted indie pop, filtered through sunny vocal arrangements, fuzz-guitar, punchy rhythms with psychedelic ?studio-head' tendencies.? Like most kids, Dean grew up listening to his parent's record collection. These stacks of vinyl and 8-tracks contained typical British invasion and West-Coast pop but his folks also had a penchant for oddities, like the VU, obscure soul and jazz.

Like most kids, Dean grew up listening to his parent's record collection. These stacks of vinyl and 8-tracks contained typical British invasion and West-Coast pop but his folks also had a penchant for oddities, like the VU, obscure soul and jazz. Also, unlike most kids, music completely saturated Dean's life. His father played in several Brit influenced garage bands with names like ?the NYC Teens? and ?the Spiders,? while his grandfather was a prominent jazz bassist. Inevitably, Dean started his first band (Lucid Dream, which became Smile) in high school with his brother Pete and current collaborator Jay Sad. Influenced by the local indie and punk scene, Pete and Dean went on to form Knacker, a pop-via-punk outfit, which after a string of minor successes and two albums went on hiatus in 2004. In that same year, Dean recorded Harsh Lenses Point Homeward under the EX~PO moniker. This limited-run release garnered critical acclaim, with wide-ranging comparisons to Belle and Sebastian, Mark Bolan, Sonic Youth, Wilco, Elliot Smith and Sloan. After a few life-disasters, the purchase of a recording studio (Chemical Sound) and months spent experimenting with sounds, Dean recorded a full-length follow up to Harsh Lenses and called it, Central Meaner Street. In July of 2008, he quietly released the album (available as a limited edition Vinyl LP and digital download) and with the help of four close friends brought the album to life through a series of select shows. Through these live shows and meagre record sales, EX~PO has garnered both praise and support from the Canadian music scene.

Upon listening Central Meaner, one will notice that Dean has expanded his influences beyond his inherited and teenage roots and while one can undoubtedly hear George Harrison and Brian Wilson in his work, one can also find heavy traces of Sid Barrett, Wayne Coyne, Kevin Shields, Jason Pierce, John McEntire and Elvis Costello.

Now that Dean and company have lived with Central Meaner Street for a few months, they have decided to embark on a new musical journey together and are currently working on new material using the name PAPERMAPS. Their self-titled album is slated for release in February 2011.

In addition to fronting PAPERMAPS, Dean also provides electric guitar for the Toronto-based band, Tin Star Orphans and is a well-known studio engineer and record producer. He co-owns Chemical Sound Recording Studio with long-time collaborator Jay Sad.