Vanessa Moodley, a musician formerly from Durban and now residing in Canada, has release her latest single, Work Things Out.
As a child, Moodley lived in Kharwastan and then Glenwood around her high school years before her family moved to British Columbia, Canada.
She said she started getting actively involved with music in church as a teenager.
“I sang in the youth band and then the church choir. There were a number of musicians at church that went through the music programme at UKZN. When it came time to choose a direction after school, my mum encouraged me to try it for a year and then make a decision. My dad passed away around trials in matric and so music came about for me at a unique time.”
Moodley said when she first started, she loved everything about music.
“I couldn’t stop listening and so I wanted to be the best I could at writing and performing. But now that I’m older, it is a reflection of how this journey in music has continued that keeps me in it,” she said.
“What I mean is, although slow at times, I can see the building blocks of a career in music in my journey, whether through the people I have met along the way or opportunities that have come my way without me seeking them out. This keeps my passion alive. The affirmations of my walk that I’m where I’m supposed to be, is what helps me keep going during the tough times.”
Moodley is a graduate from UKZN with a Bachelor of Music degree in jazz performance, composition and arranging. Her music is a blend of jazz and soul.
In 2016, Moodley toured South Africa with her EP titled Loved in association with Concerts SA and iSupport Music Business. The EP was written and produced by Moodley herself.
“Producing was different to writing and performing. It started later in my journey - simply out of necessity as I couldn’t afford a producer and it became difficult to express my point of view. There were also no female producers to work with or examples of female music producers around, which was a challenge we now see in many industries; a lack of female leadership and decision makers,” she said.
“So my sister and business partner, Jessica Chaz, and I have decided to start learning and forging a path for ourselves in music production, even though we have a lot to learn. As far as legacy goes, we think it’s important for the next generation of female producers. To see the possibility of it, to ignite their fire to be better than us.”
Moodley said she wrote her new release, Work Things Out, in 2017.
“I was going through a difficult situation in a relationship. It wasn’t specific to a romantic relationship but rather someone I cared about deeply. I couldn’t see how to move forward and I couldn’t see having a life without them … mostly months had passed and I missed them. Jessica and I had also started producing at that time and so we started building the track then.
“Years passed, the Covid-19 pandemic happened and I sent the track to a few collaborators during that period because we weren't shown how to clean it up. We didn’t hear anything back. We received a hiring grant in 2021, so we were able to hire an audio engineer intern, Julian Telfer-Wan. He responded creatively to the track in our sessions and we were finally able to finish it before his internship was up.”
Moodley said in her heart, this song said the words she wished she could say instead of her anger or frustration.
“Because these words are what’s permanent in my heart, the other feelings are temporary. There are relationships that are unhealthy, that we need to walk away from but then there are those few that we get in this life that are valuable beyond our knowledge. It is for those that these words were written for. I pray for all of us that we would all have the wisdom to know the difference.”
Work Things Out is available on all digital music platforms Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and Youtube.
“We have a lot of new music in the works for 2023, a whole new EP from Jessica and my first music video. We would also like to hear from the community. If you have a story about healing from a break-up or reconciling with a loved one, we'd love to read it and with your permission. We'd love to share it with the world. We want to share the positive outcomes of relationships, no matter how challenging, so that we can all see the testimony of healing and believe it for our lives,” said Moodley.
To share your stories, email [email protected]
To follow Moodley and Chaz sign up for their newsletter up by visiting www.moodlabmusic.ca, www.vanessamood.com or www.jessicachaz.ca or follow them on Instagram.
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