How imagining fictional landscapes helped Mappe Of create his epic new concept album The Isle of Ailynn

It's one thing to write an album, but to have that album be the starting point for a much grander artistic story — complete with its own lore, characters and history — is another thing entirely.

That's the tall task that multi-instrumentalist Tom Meikle, who goes by the name Mappe Of, took on for his sophomore album, The Isle of Ailynn. The epic concept album is situated in a multi-layered world of his own creation, with mythic characters, history and, in some cases, its very own language.

Mappe Of dropped by the q music studio with his band to chat with host Tom Power and perform some songs from the album, which is out everywhere now.

Watch Mappe Of perform his song Icovallavna off his new album The Isle of Ailynn above. He was joined by bandmembers Will Crann, Amelia Fraser, Jason Brum, Zach Cockburn, Kory Ross, Amanda Lowry and Jillian Sauerteig.

Below, check out some of the artwork that accompanies the album and each of its songs.

Download our podcast or click the 'Listen' link near the top of this page to hear the full live session and conversation with Mappe Of.

— Produced by ​Mitch Pollock