One half of On Dead Waves is James Chapman, better known as Maps, whose critically acclaimed debut "We Can Create" was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, and whose latest album "Vicissitude", came out on Mute. The other is Polly Scattergood, the electrically charged artist who has released two solo albums on Mute. The seeds of Chapman and Scattergood's creative partnership were sown in 2011, at Mute’s Short Circuit festival, a special event at London's Roundhouse.