With enormous blue-green hair that’s already visible from a great distance, South Africa’s Moonchild Sanelly is set on becoming known worldwide this year.
You might already have spotted that memorable stage name on two of the most interesting releases of 2019. The Johannesburg resident, also known as Sanelisiwe Twisha, popped up on The Lion King: The Gift, a set of collaborations between American and African stars curated by Beyoncé for the Disney film remake.
Meanwhile she was all over EGOLI, the most recent collection from Damon Albarn’s Africa Express project, which was made in South Africa to showcase the nation’s dynamic dance music sub-genres, from gqom to kwaito.
Having shared album space there with members of Blur, Bombay Bicycle Club and Super Furry Animals, she’s just announced a new record deal with UK label Transgressive, so will now be a noisy neighbour to Foals and Two Door Cinema Club as well. The first release of that partnership is a new single called Bashiri, a racing electronic riot about corrupt church ministers. “We’re going for the mother-F-in’ Grammys,” she said in her announcement last week. Don’t put it past her.
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