Clearing the Archives
Cole Chalifoux on His New George Mooring Album
Clearing the Archives
Cole Chalifoux on His New George Mooring Album
Over the past several years, Cole Chalifoux has become a steady presence in Halifax's music community. He's now preparing to release his second solo record under the name George Mooring, titled Demos, a collection of stripped-down songs built around voice and acoustic guitar.
Songs Across Years
For Chalifoux, the album isn't meant to feel polished. It's closer to a clearing-out, a way of putting years of writing behind him. "The whole point is just to unload everything," he says. "Get it out so I can move forward."
The songs span years and places, from his upbringing in BC, to time spent writing on a boat in Yarmouth when he first moved east, to the last five years in Halifax. They don't form a tidy narrative; instead, they move like memory itself, loosely connected moments circling familiar emotional ground.
"It's snapshots," he says. Recurring themes run throughout: home, relationships, past trauma. Some songs are new, others he's carried for years.
“The whole point is just to unload everything. Get it out so I can move forward.”
His writing process is instinctive. "It's mostly in bathrooms… I take a guitar into a new bathroom and just voice memo it. Something about the sound in there just works." Melodies come first, words later. But finishing a song doesn't necessarily bring clarity. "It's not like an eye opener… I'm already very well aware of what I'm singing about. It's more about getting something out."
One of the most immediate examples is I'll Try, which came together in a single uninterrupted burst. He freestyled the entire thing from start to finish, something he admits rarely happens. "It hit really hard when I wrote it," he says. "But after you play a song enough times, it changes. The newest one always feels the most intense."
Musically, the record reflects a subtle shift. Earlier songs, in his 2024 debut album Songs for Her, leaned heavily on delicate fingerpicking, while the new material introduces more rhythmic strumming. "It's not that the songwriting changed," he says. "It's just how I play guitar now. Once I figured out how to make it sound the way I wanted, it opened things up."
One early glimpse of the album is already out: a live video for Pull Me to the Ground, recorded inside St. George's Round Church. The performance captures what defines the record: just voice, guitar, and the room. Another live video, for I'll Try, will be released in the coming weeks.
“It's mostly in bathrooms… I take a guitar into a new bathroom and just voice memo it. Something about the sound in there just works.”
Finding a Home in Halifax
Chalifoux didn't begin singing until after he moved east, a transition that also gave him perspective. "I moved away from home and… I just wasn't angry anymore." Over time, Halifax became more than a change of scenery. "You find your people… it's sick. I can walk into Cafe Cempoal, and Chris asks me to do a show… there's a sense of community."
That connection has made him a familiar figure locally, whether playing with his band, performing as George Mooring, or appearing at local events like Rankin's Winter Warmers and Big Shiny Tunes at the Marquee.
“All I'm asking for is just pay attention. Sit down, shut up, and listen.”
This week he'll celebrate the album's release on February 27 with a show at 2 Crows Brewing—one of the last performances before the beloved venue sadly closes on March 7. It's a fitting space for his music: a place where audiences tend to listen closely. "All I'm asking for is just pay attention," he says. "Sit down, shut up, and listen."
After that, he plans to take the songs on the road.
Liked this story?
Get more like it — plus the week's best events, music, and local culture. Every Thursday.