One of our very favourite local artists, Mojo Juju recently released her incredible debut record Seeing Red/Feeling Blue, and to celebrate its release, she’s on the road for a huge national tour.
Beginning in the most grandiose of manners, Mojo Juju performed at the Sydney Opera House a part of Vivid Live 2015 at the end of May, before traversing the rest of Australia on an 11-date tour including major cities and regional towns, ending in August at Darwin Festival.
Citing influence from an eclectic range of artists on her new album, including Stevie Wonder, Betty Davis some more contemporary artists such as Andre 3000, Seeing Red/Feeling Blue is an electric mix of blues, rock, soul, roots and everything that is good in this world.
To celebrate the album release tour we caught up with Mojo to chat about some of the records that have moulded her into the artist she is today, check them out below, and be sure to catch Mojo and crew on tour.
The Slits – Cut
1979, Island Records
This album had a similar effect on me as Violent Femmes’ Self titled. I had to choose between the two here. I’ve chosen the Slits, despite the fact that Violent Femmes were hands down one of my favourite bands growing up.
The Slits, in particular this one album, were very important to me because, not only did the blow my mind musically but because they were women. Women who had challenged everything and everyone, by making music that sounded like nothing else.
I can’t remember how I came across this record, but I’d never heard music like it. It’s hard to describe… kind of like a blend of ’70s punk, ska and just absolute weirdness. Finding female musicians who were making music this wild was a big deal for me as a teenager. It felt dangerous… It was fierce, exciting and super cool. It still is.
It opened my eyes and ears to the possibilities of music. That it can be confronting and powerful and completely wild at the same time as being catchy, melodic and uplifting. There is also a lot going on percussively, even in the lyrics, which I always find really interesting.
I wanted very badly to be in a band that sounded like this. I don’t think I realised at the time how deliberate and calculated the arrangements were. To me it just sounded like beautiful chaos. Like sheer madness just falling into place. But it’s much more clever than that. And possibly because of that. When I hear it now I still enjoy it as much as ever, not just in a nostalgic way, but with genuine appreciation of the music.
Tom Waits – Blue Valentine
1978, Asylum
I found Tom Waits courtesy of my high school art teacher and that in itself was life changing, but it wasn’t till I was 23 that I delved into this album.
I was travelling with my brother (who plays trumpet and drums in my bands), we were kind of doing this pilgrimage to this little town in the Basque region where our family name (Ruiz de Luzuriaga) originates from.
I guess at the time I was feeling this strange isolation. Like you’re an observer and witness to all these things, but we couldn’t really communicate with anyone beyond a superficial level.
My brother and I had stopped talking because all of our experiences were shared, so we had nothing much new to say to one another. We both kind of immersed ourselves in this Waitsian story telling via an iRiver (we’re talking pre iPod/Iphone era haha) and a headphone splitter, whilst sitting on a bus.
It was the soundtrack to our journey… I felt like I was a character in one of his stories, and I guess often I still do. Or I like to imagine that I am. I fell in love with his lyricism and poetry. I guess being 23 I was pretty romantic about the world and everything in it.
In my opinion, there are very few songwriters more romantic than Tom Waits… in a really broken, hungover kinda way. So this album moved me.
I think Waits once again was a lesson in how the artists that make the most impact are the ones who are innovators. The ones who learn from the music they love and then reshape it, reinvent it and create something unique out of the spare parts.
There is something about Waits that is instantly so familiar, but really when you think about it, he doesn’t reside in any genre… He just kind of is unto himself.
Blue Valentine was one of his last true piano/balladeer albums. From there he moved into a more industrial experimental sound, which is how I think most people think of his work.
I love all of his albums, but I love the romantic in him most of all. I love the characters and the places and the obscure detail that he goes into. They are like these film noir vignettes.
I guess since then, I’ve always wanted to write lyrics that are immersive. This album inspired me to create these alternate universes that people can get lost in. They are so close to your reality but just a little more cinematic. Where the mundane is beautiful. And alone is not lonely.
The Squirrel Nut Zippers – Hot
1996, Mammoth/PolyGram
I grew up listening to jazz. I was raised on the greats. Billie Holiday was the Matriarch and Louis Armstrong the Patriarch of my musical upbringing. And I loved them… I LOVE them, like mother and father of my creative self. Everything I do has it’s foundation in jazz.
Growing up I listened to everything I could get my hands on. From Boys II Men to the Violent Femmes. From Destiny’s Child to Patti Smith. And then this amazing thing happened. There was a swing revival.
My older brother discovered The Royal Crown Revue whilst working as an Ambulance Officer on Vans Warped Tour in 1997. This blew my mind. It was music that our grandparents loved and had raised us on. All of a sudden it had new life. It was cool and it was being played by young people at a punk festival.
Upon further investigation into this movement I discovered The Squirrel Nut Zippers. Their style was different. It wasn’t this Big Band Vegas Swing that was on the verging on the edge of cheese ball. It was ‘hot’ jazz. It was more authentic to me, wild and raw. The musicianship of this band was phenomenal.
They moved between swing, ragtime, klezmer and almost every way you could bend a tune and call it ‘JAZZ’. Their lyrics were playful, intelligent, humorous. The tones they used were rich and real. No production tricks. Just amazing musicians playing incredible music.
Their arrangements were so tight and clever and perfect. This was one of the major inspirations for starting The Snake Oil Merchants. And whilst we never played ‘jazz’ as such, the spirit of the Squirrel Nut Zippers was a definite benchmark for TSOM.
Frank Ocean – Channel Orange
2012, Def Jam
This album helped me to rediscover my love of RnB, Pop and Hip Hop. I think for a few years I had buried myself in old records. Listening to Country, Blues, Jazz, Soul. Lots of stuff. But not a lot of new music. I hadn’t heard anything new that had excited me for a while. This album reminded me the importance of contemporary music. The need to innovate, evolve, reinvent.
It took me a few listens to adjust my ears, but once I let myself fall into this album I was addicted. I started revisiting older pop artists like OutKast, whom I have always loved – Andre 3000’s rap on ‘Pink Matter’ was one of my highlights on Channel Orange. And also I think eventually was responsible for me opening my ears to fresh sounds and being excited my new music again.
Artists like Kendrick Lamar, who is definitely my favourite rapper out right now, I don’t think I would have even bothered to listen to if I had been so excited by Frank Ocean. It just completely jolted me out of this little rut I’d dug for myself. Don’t get me wrong. I love my old school records, but it’s important as a musician to stay in touch with what’s happening around you.
Ocean’s voice is heartbreaking, his melodies are divine. The production is lush and incredibly beautiful. The songwriting is so emotional. It’s just an incredible album. I love it.
Dr John – Locked Down
2012, Nonesuch Records
“I’ve been a Dr. John fan for a long time but I think this is one of his best albums and probably one of the best he’s made since the ’70s. Dan Auerbach from the Black Keys produced it and I think that’s got something to do with it.
This album is just so incredibly cool. It’s dark, it’s moody. But it’s also fun and spirited. The record somehow manages to be playful at the same time as deadly serious. It’s got that whole Dr. John / New Orleans Funk thing going at the same time as it almost has a hip hop feel to it.
Auerbach brings his classic washed out psych blues guitar thing. And the horns are killer. This is one of the biggest stand out albums for me in years. I heard the opening bar of the first song and immediately knew the whole album was going to be a classic. When I heard it and my most overwhelming feeling was joy. My most overwhelming thought was “I wish I’d done that”.
Billie Holiday – Lady In Satin
1958, Columbia
Billie Holiday can do no wrong. She breaks my heart every time. Lady In Satin is a great album but really a place holder for just about any record she ever made, because it’s not just about this album it’s about her.
The opening track ‘I’m A Fool To Want You’ is hands down the best Love Song/Heartbreak song that there is. And Billie’s voice is the only voice to sing it.
This woman may have only had barely just over a one octave range but it was much, much more more than that. It had feeling of immeasurable quantities. She had more conviction in one single note than some people manage in an entire song.
In one song she can move you more than some people manage in an entire lifetime of making music. Her timing, her phrasing, her absolute heart & soul poured into every song. She can take the most twee lyrics and when she sings them all of a sudden you feel a depth that is seemingly endless. If you’re not moved and not inspired by Billie Holiday, then you may not have a heart.
National Tour Dates
Fri 19 Jun – Cambridge Hotel | Newcastle NSW
www.bigtix.com.au
Sat 20 Jun – Newtown Social Club | Sydney NSW
www.newtownsocialclub.com
Sun 21 Jun – Heritage Hotel | Bulli NSW
www.heritagehotel.com.au
Fri 26 Jun – Pirie & Co. Social Club | Adelaide SA
www.moshtix.com.au
Sat 27 Jun – Corner Hotel | Melbourne VIC
www.cornerhotel.com
Fri 3 Jul – Spirit Bar | Traralgon VIC
www.oztix.com.au
Sat 4 Jul – Caravan Music Club | Oakleigh VIC
www.caravanmusic.com.au
Sat 8 Aug – Darwin Festival | Darwin NT
www.darwinfestival.org.au
