Montreal songstress and poetess June Moon, also known as Forever, recently released a beautiful EP, which was carved after a painful heartbreak. Following on from the low-key dance cut “Make It Happen” and the sizzling “Blur,” she has now unveiled a video for “Devotion,” a trippy offering in which she reclaims her freedom and self-confidence. “I don’t need to give you answers / I don’t owe you anything at all / Dominance / Water witch,” she sings in this Ouri-produced romantic exorcism.

In the accompanying visuals, directed by Matt Power and Desiree Deleau, the artist takes the centre of the stage to offer an intimate dance, a ritual illuminated with candlelights. “Matt and I talked about our love for improvisation, and movement,” she detailed. “I wanted to explore filming my body language without using traditional music video structures. We really trusted each other, and we made something supremely intimate together.”

Montreal-based creative June Moon, better known as Forever, is no stranger to grief. In fact, it’s fair to say that she’s – unfortunately – well acquainted with the feeling. After the passing of her father in 2013, she briefly succumbed and quit music entirely. Yet she found the healing power that comes from music, the ability to process her loss through a creative outlet. From this, her debut EP, Forever, was self-released in 2016 and now she returns fresh off the back of another loss, this time the end of a relationship.

Despite the forlorn way in which Close to the Flame was created, the EP is free from despair. The record as a whole taught Forever to alchemise heartache by turning sad songs into dance tracks. This was displayed with roaring intent with the first single “Make It Happen“, and is also reflected in her Ouri-produced new offering, “Blur”. Lush with a downtempo yet sultry beat, co-mingled with delicate chimes and a warping synth, the track simmers with passion and a clear-mindedness.

What’s most striking about “Blur” however, is Moon’s ethereal vocals. Though it possesses an undeniable sweetness in tone that comes from her dreamy falsetto, there’s an inherent control to it. The subject of the song itself only serves to enhance the power of her vocals. As Forever explains: “I was in a relationship that was killing me, and I had to plan an escape to save my life. The record is haunted by a ghost. I sing about her murder on the first track “Blur”.

Juxtaposing the topic of murder and death with Moon’s honey-soaked voice creates a glorious sharpness. For a song born from heartbreak, the craftsmanship behind “Blur” shows that there’s more to a break-up song than sorrow and defeat; there can be elements of the seductive and delightful darkness. The track also comes with a self-directed video oscillating between an exorcism ritual and a horror movie. Watch and pre-order the EP via Bandcamp below.

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Born on a remote island in Canada and now based in Montreal, June Moon, aka Forever, grabbed our attention back in 2017 with the ethereal and bittersweet singles “Falling” and “Stolen Car”. The artist, who is also the co-founder of the feminist art collective Girls Club, will release a new EP on Valentine’s Day. Paradoxically, the 6-track project was created after a difficult heartbreak.

“I was in a relationship that was killing me, and I had to plan an escape to save my life,” June explains. “The record is haunted by a ghost. I sing about her murder on the first track, ‘Blur,’ but then she turns into a angel on the last song ‘Adonis.’ I channeled her one night when I was writing because I was so scared to talk about what happened to me; I didn’t know how to tell my story. She came to me and told me to use her story as a channel for my own pain. This release is dedicated to her.”

Close To The Flame was crafted with regular collaborators Michael Brock (Mind Bath) and Patrick Holland (Project Pablo), as well as with her Montreal fellas Ouri, Cecile Believe, and David Carriere of TOPS. The first single, “Make It Happen,” also features a guest verse by Just John. Watch the video and pre-order the EP via Bancdcamp below.

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