Vanessa Mood (Vanessa Moodley) is a South African born singer, international award winning songwriter, producer and entrepreneur. A newcomer to Canada, her music is soulful, passionate – often telling stories of intimacy that leave you feeling less alone in this world. Her life kicking off at the tail end of apartheid, Vanessa had no idea that a career in music was something that was available to someone of her skin color or gender. It was only after completing a degree in music, a degree that started as an escape from the pain of her father’s death, that she realized that she needed music.
And so, without examples of success, in an industry fearfully unknown to herself and her culture, she looked to the love of music forged in her by her parents by the sounds of Elvis, Cliff Richard, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Boyz II Men, Israel Houghton, Kirk Franklin & Chuck Berry.
She completed a degree in Jazz Performance, Composition & Arranging in 2008. She was named winner of the Jazz category and a finalist in the World Music category in the 2009 U.S.A Songwriting Competition and was honored to perform on one of the most important stages in the world to her – the stage that held one of the first multi-racial live music performances in the face of Apartheid under the lead of renowned jazz pianist Darius Brubeck, the stage at the Center for Jazz & Popular Music. She was featured as a young top achiever on South Africa’s leading lifestyle show Top Billing (S20/E53 – aired 25 November 2010) in celebration of 150 years of Indian culture in South Africa and participated as a regional judge for the televised Mzanzi Magic Young Star Competition 2010-2012.
It was only after her move to Canada that she was able to believe that music was not just something that she needed but something she could contribute to in a valuable way. She started to hope for more than her early learnings of jazz and began by exploring her love for pop music, writing and releasing her own music, completing her 1st national tour and starting her own business. Now with a new found freedom in knowing her value… she’s dead set on reaching for the stars.