Daily Dose — Nelson Musical Duo Moontricks Releases Album
By Ari Lord
Moontricks' duo Nathan Gurley and Sean Rodman have a new album on the music streams.
The Kootenay-based duo’s music — Rodman, originally from Nelson, met Argenta native Gurley during a music festival in rural BC — mixes organic folk, roots rock, and old-time blues with modern electronic production.
In the new album, Moontricks looks to the cycles of nature for inspiration.
“The solace found in reaching past our personal confines into the vastness beyond them is something we return to again and again — in nature and in our music,” says Rodman. Gurley views the album as a series of paths leading into unknown territory.
According to Rodman, playing to a hometown crowd during the summer’s Kaslo Jazz Etc Music Festival had many memorable moments.
“Looking out into the crowd and seeing our family and friends and all kinds of people that we haven’t been able to catch up with or see in a long time, all celebrating again and hearing us play, was amazing.”
The performance was also unique as the duo played as a full band.
“It was the second time we ever had a five-piece band. We were on stage with close friends that we’ve done all kinds of music with over the years, but we’d never done this configuration until this summer. That was really special. The nice part is that they’re all locals and good friends and mega-talented,” says Rodman.
At the end of the show, the band performed a song written about close friend, Nick Fuss, who passed away suddenly earlier this year.
“It was a big singalong with a lot of people in the crowd. He was a legend for lots of people and an amazing songwriter. It was an incredibly special moment of the evening,” says Rodman.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the course for Moontricks, like many other musicians.
“As far as it went for most artists, we were super fortunate. We still got to play a lot. We miraculously missed certain pivotal moments when things shut down. And we were also able to tour in the States a fair bit, but for the most part, we were pretty locked down and isolated, just working on music, which was how we got an album together. The pandemic was fuel for us to make that happen.”
Rodman and Gurley are excited about the album release.
“The album that’s coming up is the big piece of news. It’s our debut album. It’s the biggest body of work that we’ve ever put out. So that’s pretty huge,” says Rodman.
The duo has been busy with summer show dates and has a few more weeks of festivals before launching into their album release tour starting this month. The band’s touring schedule is changing slightly due to Rodman’s shifting life circumstances.
“I’ve got a three-month-old now. We generally fly out on the weekends, so we’ve been doing two or three festivals a weekend and heading home through the weekdays. It’s not your typical tour of being away for weeks.”
Rodman recently moved back to Nelson and is rooting in the place he loves best.
“I grew up in Nelson and did the music program at Selkirk straight out of high school. I was away for a few years in Vancouver, but I’m back in Nelson with the baby, and my partner, to be with all our family. It’s been great.”
Gurley is living in Vancouver currently.
Beyond the album release and tour, the duo will keep doing what they do best: making music.
“We’re going to keep writing and recording,” says Rodman. “We’ll hopefully have a follow-up album. We love touring, love the travel. Our circuits are getting further and further afield. We were up in Alaska a month ago, California and Florida. We love it. We’re not going to stop playing.”
The album release party will be in Vancouver, but fans can catch Moontricks on their album release tour at Spiritbar at the Hume Hotel on Saturday, October 22nd.
Listen to Animals on all digital platforms: https://wstwd.io/animals
Moontricks performed a song written about close friend, Nick Fuss, during the summer at the Kaslo Jazz Festival.
