Originally published September 2022
By Zoey Ross and Leah Morrow
MOONBEAN is going international! Toronto-based queer artist Valentina Morelli and partner Colin Harrington are taking off on their first European tour. The duo is better known by their band name, MOONBEAN. MOONBEAN describes their music style as feel good dance music. The synth-hardware electronic dance music created by the duo is the kind of music that demands your body to get moving.
“It’s all the things I hold near and dear to my heart. I would love nothing more than to connect with people who love to dance, people who love music, other artists, and really just, build a community,” said Morelli.
The two split their time between Guelph and Toronto and play shows in both cities. Guelph, being the cultural artist hub that it is, seemed a natural fit for MOONBEAN to rehearse and have a studio.
“Guelph is such a beautiful hub for music and community. It has been a real privilege to be a part of that. And then Toronto is, just being a cultural hub in Canada. I’m just grateful to be a part of the two spheres and feel super supported.”
As the dynamic duo hits the metaphorical road they have promised to keep everyone here updated on their three month journey across Europe.
“It’s going to be so much fun and we just want to take you all with us,” said Morelli
The release of MOONBEAN’s EP and now tour is only the beginning for this vibey pair. They began their Eurotrip by performing their first show in Germany on Sept.16, 2022.
Exhibitionist Magazine was invited to the secret EP release house show on Friday, September 2. A dreamy electronic wave of sound flowed across the audience as the crowd swirled and moved through the fog in a 80’s lit rec room turned studio. Performing with the gear they are travelling Europe with, all in attendance were granted the gift of a wonderfully low-fi set. MOONBEAN graciously allowed Exhibitionist Magazine to make a cassette bootleg of this iconic performance for a future fundraiser.
An overview of the evening would not be complete without acknowledging a surprise performance for Megan Arnold. After taking some time away from music while continuing to complete her Master of Fine Art degree from the University of Guelph, Arnold returned to the stage with her previously released, original pop songs, and some new, political yet endearing tracks that the audience got to hear first.
“[The new song] is called There’s Nothing More”, said Arnold. “A couple of years ago [...] I put together this manifesto using sentences from different books that I was reading and so that is a kind of patchwork manifesto from quotes pulled from different sources”.
“The lyric “There is nothing more” is a note I had made in undergrad. “Abandon the pursuit of immortality” is Boris Groys.”
Megan Arnold will be performing at the University of Guelph with Not a Band and Bodice on October 28th in collaboration with Exhibitionist Magazine and the U of G Central Student Association. The first 10 people to post a picture of themselves hugging the Begging Bear Instagram and following and mentioning @exhibitionistmagazine in the post get two tickets to the show (contest ended September 2022).