Music / Reviews
Review: Moonchild Sanelly, Rough Trade – ‘Brought the audience alive’
On a cold winter evening, a truly diverse crowd gathered in front of Rough Trade to be let in to see Moonchild Sanelly. I was surprised by the intersection of race, age and gender in the crowd, and excited to see how her music made this diverse group fans of her.
But first off Paige Kennedy played a few tracks, armed with a guitar, beret and a loop pedal. Her tracks were fun and frantic, layering different sounds together in a cacophony of noise, coupled with smart lyricism and a shining personality.
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With the crowd suitably warmed up Moonchild took the stage in a frenzy of energy, her bright blue hair and unique sense of style clearly showing we were in for something special.
She started the set by weaving a story together through music, starting with a track championing her resistance to someone trying to dump her, moving onto a banger about getting over an ex, and finishing the arc with a song about her ex’s friends being involved in her business. The lyrics “She’s a heffer, a demon, I don’t want to deal” will truly stick in my mind for weeks to come.
Moonchild appeared on Later With Jools Holland for the first time at the beginning of the month – photo: Moonchild Sanelly
Sanelly has described her genre as ‘future ghetto funk’ online, and this is a fairly accurate description. Elements from hyper-pop to rap to soul fusing together into this unique blend of music, which brought the audience alive with its strong beats and sharp lyricism.
Her new album Full Moon releases on January 10, with attention-grabbing track names such as Scrambled Eggs and Big Booty, which we got to hear a great selection of. As well as this we heard some of her classics, with a highlight being her recent collaboration with Self Esteem, Big Man.
The overall word I would use to describe the set is fun. Her infectious energy during the preamble of the songs, club beats and even inviting ladies up onstage to twerk with her brought smiles to everyone’s faces throughout the hour-long set.
If you’re planning on attending a Moonchild Sanelly show in the future, you’re be in for a treat!
Main image: Hauke Moxon-Riedlin
Read next:
- Review: Bellowhead, Bristol Beacon – ‘An unhinged party on a sinking galleon’
- Worming their way up
- Review: Gina Larner, The Louisiana – ‘Firebrand fusion of country-pop and rock’
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