Determinedly doing things her own way and standing up for what she believes in has long been ingrained in the psyche of trailblazing South African musician Moonchild Sanelly, whose drive to succeed has been fuelled by personal pain and trauma.
Growing up in Port Elizabeth with a hip-hop producer brother and a mum who would put her onstage from a young age to compete in dance competitions, Sanelisiwe Twisha’s music-filled childhood was full of creativity. Whether it was self-choreographing dance routines to Spice Girls tracks, teaching herself to play the piano, singing at church with her family, or starting to write poetry, expression and being artistically free was always encouraged.
It didn’t take long until she established her own signature sound: self-described as ‘future-ghetto-funk’, it would catapult Moonchild Sanelly to become South Africa’s most unique performer. Having crafted an electrifying live show – and designed flamboyant outfits to perform in – she became a superstar on her home turf. But she soon felt as though she had “reached my ceiling; my style of music was being ostracised – because I wasn’t being understood with what I was doing”.
Instead of limiting her reach, however, she took a commercialised approach to unapologetically spreading her message – one of female sexual empowerment: “liberation for women, in the bedroom, in the boardroom, knowing your power… I needed to be heard by a lot of people”. In line with her manifested vision, she found a global audience that gravitated towards her and began spreading her ethos to women around the world, performing at festivals such as SXSW, Primavera, Glastonbury, Boardmasters,
This mentally-empowered upbringing arguably made her the outspoken artist she would become: since her award-winning first album ‘Rabulpha!’ put her on the global map, she has collaborated with local favourites Maphorisa, Sho Madjozi and Thandiswa Mazwai. In the years that followed, she caught the attention of a host of international superstars, leading to high-profile collaborations with artists including Wizkid and Beyonce (featuring on ‘… MY POWER’, as part of ‘The Lion King: The Gift’ soundtrack, in 2019) and Gorillaz (on ‘With Love To An Ex’, in 2020).
Then, following her statement-making debut and a stream of South African hits, she signed to Transgressive records (partnered with Gallo in South Africa) in 2020, kicking off with diverse mini-LP ‘Nüdes’. Now, she returns to the international label, which has achieved success in multiple genres (Arlo Parks, Mykki Blanco, Flume) with her genre-crossing second album, ‘Phases’. It’s a highly collaborative record, too, with production and guest features from Sad Night Dynamite (their track ‘Demon’ is already a huge hit), Ghetts, Wesley Joseph, Xavier Thomas (Débruit), TOKiMONSTA, HOLLY and Aramboa.