If you weren't able to catch Moontricks during the duo's previous Whistler Summer Concert Series appearance two years ago, fear not: Sean Rodman and Nathan Gurley are returning to Olympic Plaza on July 3.
The pair specializes in an uncommon fusion of genres: electro-folk.
"It's pretty different, which is fun and novel," Rodman says. "We've got instrumentation of banjos and harmonicas blending with electronic production, so it's kind of taking an older, familiar, traditional folk, blues and rock … and then blending them with a modern sound. We weren't sure [if it would work], it's the kind of thing that we just started trying and seeing where it went.
"You can pair anything with electronic music if you do it the right way. Our foothold is knowing that we can do a stomping banjo lick, have a big stomping baseline underneath it, and huge beats in production and you get those two worlds colliding."
Both the entertainment industry and the general public seem to appreciate Moontricks' approach. Their breakout single, "Home," has logged more than 10 million streaming plays, while some of their other content has been licensed for use in various television networks like Fox Sports and Netflix.
Not bad for two everyday guys with deep ties to the Kootenay mountains.
"We just had a song out on the Netflix show Ransom Canyon, and it was just cool having friends hitting us up over the week being like, 'we just heard you singing in a saloon on this TV show,'" comments Rodman. "It definitely feels good and nice to have a body of work that can kind of end up out on the airwaves that people resonate with."
Something for everyone
Rodman and Gurley first encountered one another in Argenta, a tiny settlement you'd have difficulty finding on most maps of British Columbia. They began collaborating on a range of instrumental tracks to fine-tune their sound, with plenty of time to experiment in their "pretty simple lives."
"We pull from a lot of different strengths that we have, and throw them all into a pool together," Rodman remarks. "It ends up being this concoction of our different tastes and flavours: the Moontricks sound. We both draw from where we came from, which is this rural place. There's a lot of campfire jam, mountain vibes … but out in the Kootenays, there was a lot of electronic music that influenced both of us growing up. We went to a lot of festivals and we both do production."
By no means confined to their grassroots origins, Moontricks has toured across the United States as well as overseas in Australia and Costa Rica. In their experience, it's a small world: fans from several countries know their lyrics and sing along.
Rodman and Gurley's "wild ride," which has already taken them to a number of memorable places, is only just beginning.
"We're so happy to come back to Whistler," says Rodman. "We love Whistler and the people up there in the mountains, obviously, so we always have a good time … played at GLC a couple times over the years. We're really lucky that our music can appeal to a wide range of people because we do try to incorporate a bit of everything.
"There's something for everyone, whether there's kids or some seniors. It's always a treat when you can do those kinds of events that are inclusive because a lot of the time we're playing too late for kids to come out, or not at an all-ages venue [which the Summer Concert Series is]."
If time allows, Rodman will bring his mountain bike and do some laps at the Whistler Bike Park over the course of his visit. He and Gurley are in the early stages of developing their next album to follow up on their debut full-length offering, Currents.
Mark Woodyard will get things going at 6:30 p.m. on July 3 before Moontricks takes the stage an hour later. For more details visit whistler.com/events/concerts.
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