Blackmoonchild: 2025 Movement Festival preview
The Blueprint co-founder talks techno roots, crowd energy, and debuting new tracks at Hart Plaza
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Blackmoonchild is the pseudonym of DJ and producer Janisa Nelson, who will touch down at Movement festival for her first time on the lineup this year. She is a co-founder and resident of Blueprint, a party series that seeks to honor the lineage of Detroit techno by amplifying the sound of the future. We caught up with her ahead of her upcoming set at the Detroit Stage, where she’ll be part of the Underground Music Academy (UMA) showcase.
Metro Times: In your own words and experience, what is so special about Detroit techno?
Blackmoonchild: Detroit Techno is unique. Since it was created by Black artists, I find that records from here have a certain groove that only makes sense to us. I can hear a track without knowing who made it and hear that melodic influence. Growing up here has really trained my ears to recognize that sound. Once you hear it, you understand that there’s truly nothing like it.
Metro Times: I was once lucky to catch you at Temple Bar for an all-night set, where your crowd control was on full display. Over multiple hours, you had us diving deep into your techno and house roots and coming up for air with hard drum and bass flips. Your taste has layers, but have you been gravitating toward a certain sound, genre, or era of music lately?
Blackmoonchild: I remember that set! I truly am a fan of many genres and the longer the set, the more likely I am to show that range. At the moment I feel like I go back and forth between techno and footwork/jit. Those are probably my favorite genres to spin and experiment with. I’m a big fan of DJ Rashad, DJ Deeon, Jana Rush, Suzi Analog, RP Boo, all Juke Bounce Werk affiliates, and of course DJ Assault.
Metro Times: How might an one-ish hour set during the daytime or early evening at Movement differ vs. peak time at the club? Do you pull any different levers?
Blackmoonchild: It really depends. A daytime set from me would probably be very similar to a peak time set in terms of energy to be honest. I always try to build my sets up to a peak energy wise then taper off (maybe) toward the end. Only things I might do differently during a daytime set is maybe start off with some house or garage to warm up the dancers but I’ll always try to build up the energy. I like to get the people dancing and the energy flowing immediately. I feel like if you’ve spent money to come and party I have to deliver. Especially If I only have an hour, I’m making the best of that time.
Metro Times: Are you cooking up anything special for your festival set? You’re equally talented at production as you are DJing, any new material to debut on the big stage?
Blackmoonchild: Yes! Thank you! I definitely have some tracks I’ve been working on that I plan to debut. Some techno and one drum and bass track. Also I’ll probably be mixing in tracks I’ve made and released in the past.
Metro Times: What is your go-to food or beverage item to help get you through a full day at the festival?
Blackmoonchild: I’m huge on coffee. Will definitely be caffeinated and drinking tons of water. As far as food, I’m not sure but something light so I’m not compelled to fall asleep. You’ll most likely catch me walking around, coffee in hand while snacking on fruit or something just to keep me going.
Metro Times: If you could curate your dream Movement stage line-up, who are some of the acts you’d book?
Blackmoonchild: Such a tough question! Depends on where I’m at. Main stage? Blueprint girlies plus Whodat, Ash Lauryn, DJ Cent, and DJ Minx. My dream is to play the Underground Stage one day, though. For that I specifically need AMX, AK, AKUA, Doula, Daiyah, and Erika.
Metro Times: What’s the best thing to do post-Movement weekend to detox and reset?
Blackmoonchild: Sleep! It’s mandatory that I catch up on my rest after! I also find it helpful to take a little music break. Indulge in other passions and activities.
Metro Times: What is one (or a couple) of your favorite Memorial Day Weekend memories?
Blackmoonchild: So many! Jeff Mills is a huge inspiration to me and the first time I ever saw him play was at Movement in 2022. That same year they also had Goldie playing at the exact same time. Me and AK tried our hardest to run back and forth to hear both lol. Another is throwing our first Blueprint all-night rave in 2023. We’d done Movement parties before that but what made this one so memorable was that it felt like the culmination of everything we’d worked hard to accomplish finally coming to fruition. It took a lot of collaboration and love to make that happen. We’ve learned a lot since that first time but it’ll always be a special memory for me.
Blackmoonchild performs at 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 25 at Movement Festival (Detroit Stage); Hart Plaza, Detroit; movementfestival.com.
