Caturday with Moonchild Sanelly

Moonchild Sanelly is a South African music powerhouse known for her electrifying energy, bold style, and genre-defying sound. In this exclusive interview, Moonchild tells us about her journey from a music-filled childhood to international acclaim, the inspiration behind her signature blue mop, and her highly anticipated album, Full Moon, which is out now! Keep reading to dive deeper into her world of fearless creativity and independence.

Photographed by Grace Pickering

Photographed by Grace Pickering

Amber Backhouse: Growing up in South Africa, what or who inspired you to start making music?
Moonchild Sanelly: I think it was probably my brother, alongside being surrounded by it [music] and growing up around it. My brother’s influence was quite strong, despite him being a distinction student in Logistics, he discovered his passion for music soon after his dad died. When I was young, my mother often said to me ‘don’t even waste your time [on music], continue your studies in art and fashion’ as she had seen how successful a close family friend became after pursuing a career in fashion and becoming a fashion buyer. My mum soon realised it was more than just selling church garments, she had huge clients and got great exposure in the world of fashion. After my brother bought his studio, my mum was kind of like ‘my son has wasted all of these years getting a degree, only to go and spend his money on a studio’. So then when it came to me she was like ‘don’t waste your time, go and do exactly what you want, I know that there’s a future in all of that.’ I was always surrounded by music across a variety of genres including Jazz, Gospel and Kwaito, but my brother having a studio was just another addition to being exposed to music.

AB: Your new album ‘Full Moon’ is out now! What can fans expect from your new album?
MS: The fans can really expect a full moon! The last one was titled Phases, because I was in all different phases, but with this one [Full Moon], I feel whole and settled, so they get introduced to my softer side, before everyone saw the different dark scenarios and sacrifices that led me to knowing exactly what my purpose is today. So Phases was definitely an introduction of the fears that I had to deal with. Often people ask me how I’m so confident… For me confidence is something I choose, I’m my biggest inspiration, with this project you get to see the softer side of the Moon.

AB: Your recent single ‘Do My Dance’ features your ambitious and distinctive vocals? What was the message you wanted to convey in this song?
MS: The thing is I really do have my own house now, so I really don’t want no head in my house, I live on my own terms, on my own time. It’s my real life, I even have it tattooed on me. I go into the story of ‘we don’t need no boys’, because it’s true, my friendship circle is a very successful group of ladies with their property and their own things. So we literally don’t need any boys, however it doesn’t mean we don’t need them, we just don’t want them, we just need them between our legs and our thighs. I feel like it’s a typical independent girls record.

AB: The ‘Do My Dance’ music video features an amalgamation of colours, funfair, and artistic freedom! How did you think of such a brilliant idea for a music video?
MS: The idea initially came from Lauren [Roth de Wolf] and Ash [Bosman] – my management team – and was just based on the idea of having fun and being cute. Just about us having fun, getting the whole theme park shutdown was definitely a big flex especially because we weren’t flexing anything flashy, like diamonds or Gucci, it was just me enjoying life’s simple pleasures and having fun with it.

AB: You are a pioneer of ‘future ghetto funk’! Have you always been interested in this genre of music?
MS: The term ‘future ghetto funk’ definitely originated from the various articles that describe my music in that way. This is one of the phrases that resonated with me most… When I first started making music, I never really had a description, I just had this idea in my head and then when I executed my music, that’s when this phrase in particular stuck with me. It really made sense to me because the future is who I am, the ghetto is where I’ve come from, in terms of the hip-hop and kwaito that was there… And the funk comes from my dad who played a lot of jazz. The ghetto is where I come from and the future is me. I feel like my music is a representation of what I’ve been exposed to and how I’ve created my own thing from the ingredients.

AB: Your signature teal blue mop is iconic! Your unique self-expression and confidence are admirable. What is the meaning behind the Moon Mop? Tell us where it originated?
MS: There’s a real story to my hair! I used to be a redhead, I even have a tattoo of myself with my red hair on my arm, it was that colour for 7 years. During this period of time I constantly felt misunderstood and realised how ignorant people can be, because that didn’t get my style. I vividly remember creating my own storyboard, around art and the styling and I had a specific personal brand at that time…

Then in 2011, I remember seeing an artist from America who had red hair, Rihanna… First of all I love Rihanna! But I just want to say that whoever her stylist was at the time, they were definitely watching me and my style! It made me realise that as Africans we won’t appreciate our own thing until other people give it the stamp of approval, even if we’ve had it the whole time. And that’s when I knew I didn’t want to match with anybody ever again… I knew the people I was surrounded by didn’t think the way I was thinking and they definitely wouldn’t believe me, but I know my art and I was like this is never going to let that happen to me again…

So I shaved my head and after I shaved my head I decided that the next time I would have hair, I would protect it with my everything, they will not steal it again. I’m going to be great and I’m going to shine bright. I didn’t necessarily go through the process of looking for colour, my friend had this colour and I took it home and I dyed my head, before I knew it I had this “Moon Mop”. I instantly called my lawyer and said David, I’m going to be great again, I don’t have the spotlight on me right now, but when I do they will never let anyone steal my art again and then before I knew it all the tabloids were sharing stories about Moonchild’s Moon Mop and that’s how I protected my hair… The managers I had during this time were like, who do you think you are? And I was like “I’m Moonchild f*cking Sanelly, you’ve just met my music, you haven’t met my art and creativity!”

Photographed by Chantelle KP

Photographed by Phatstoki

AB: Your new album includes South African homegrown genres from Amapiano and Gqomto, were these genres a big part of your childhood?
MS: I don’t directly have Amapiano on this album but I would say I have traits of Gqomto in songs like ‘Gwara Gwara’. When I first started out in South Africa and before my commercial success, my sound leaned more into the electronic spaces. When I broke out on a global scale Gqmoto is what continued with the wider audience… That’s why you have DJ’s like DJ LAG, who has been touring the world for years with this music. Even though it’s not the biggest genre in the world right now, it’s still very notable, that bass really gives me something. I don’t think I’ll ever have an album that doesn’t have Gqmoto, I just love it. I don’t think I’ll have an album that doesn’t have a Gqmoto remix. Gqmoto is the genre that broke me out in the spaces in South Africa, it’s also the genre that broke me out into the world.

AB: You have an extensive discography of collaborations! What was it like teaming up with Beyonce, Gorillaz, Self Esteem, Ghetts and many more?
MS: I love working with different artists and just tapping into their world, it also helps me grow and learn how to cooperate with other musicians in the studio. Ckay [Nigerian singer-songwriter and record producer] for example, likes to write the melody before he writes the lyrics. Even though I came in as a songwriter it showed me an alternative way to make music. Working with Beyoncé, you never really heard the vocals until the very end, as they never want anything of hers to be leaked, so you get to write your parts separately but it’s still so exciting. Working with Gorillaz was such an experience, I love Damon Albarn to bits! Working with him is also very free, we literally just rock and vibe together. Working with Self Esteem is something I would call elite energy, because we both respect bad b*tches and we stood together. When we were working together on Big Man we clicked so effortlessly, we have a lot of similar shared experiences so it made making music together so much easier. I just love tapping into people’s world’s and bouncing off each other.

AB: You recently performed at Glastonbury festival that must have been such a monumental experience! [Moonchild performed 10 times across the weekend] Did you feel pressure performing at a world-famous festival?
MS: I think the only pressure I had was to not lose my voice, other than that I’m not scared of anything, I was so ready for it!

AB: From listening to your new single, I understand your writing is underpinned by personal experiences. Do you feel that your music acts as an outlet for your raw emotions?
MS: Absolutely, I tell anyone that has made an impact in my life that everyone is a song, my whole life is a song. I’ve even dated people who have said ‘don’t write about me’, but of course I will, my music is literally my diary. I have to live in order to tell stories and make music, otherwise I would have nothing to write about. I am a very liberated person and I feel like I can translate that into my music and that’s how I connect with my listeners.

AB: With your new album releasing on January 10 2025, can fans expect more touring and concert dates from you? What can they expect from Moonchild Sanelly this year?
MS: The fans can expect a banging ass album, energy galore and I expect them to buy tickets so they can get the full Moonchild experience! Until you’ve been in the room you will never meet the freedom demon and I can tell you, you do! There’s a lot of shaking ass. Lastly, I would like to say that it doesn’t matter who you are or what your background is, just be in the moment and go to moonchildsanelly.com and that’s where you will get the plug!

Click to check out Moonchild Sanelly’s playlist