Acrpost: A Project of the Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres

Event Description

Honesty is the fabric of all our interpersonal relationships. It’s the levelling light that removes us from concealment and obscurity. For Half Moon Run, it’s been crucial to every step they’ve taken together. They never laboured under the notion that they would be successful musicians in a touring band. Nevertheless, when they formed in Montreal in 2009, multi-instrumentalists Devon Portielje, Conner Molander and Dylan Phillips abandoned every backup plan because they weren’t prepared to sacrifice their uncommon chemistry. Instinct and faith led them to create their astonishingly accomplished debut album Dark Eyes, released in 2012 (2013 in the UK).

Its follow-up, Sun Leads Me On, is the process of coming into being in the quest for beauty and honesty. For the three founding members—and for fellow multi-instrumentalist Isaac Symonds, who joined the band during the early touring for Dark Eyes—it materialised after months of creative frustration. After two years of relentless gigging, they got back to Montreal in late 2014 only to realise they were “oversaturated with each other and the band,” says Isaac. It was only through brute force and determination that they ultimately overcame the mental challenge of effectively starting over.

“Sun Leads Me On came from a place that felt a little bit like being underwater,” says Dylan. “We kept powering through because ultimately we knew it was worth it. We had this beautiful thing, this wonderful chance, but we were also working our way through a lot of darkness, losing lots of friends, struggles at home, losing our sense of home, trying to let the music guide us but having trouble even finding that. There was a lot of strife in it all, but at the same time the sun just kept pulling us forward, and we just kept powering through and trying to find beauty in what we do.”