'Seeing Red / Feeling Blue' is Mojo Juju's second album, which takes on an electronic element while throwing back some pop, R&B and soul sounds.
Mojo Juju teamed up with with long-time friend and producer Ptero Stylus (Diafrix/ Mantra), who has predominately worked in hip hop, to create fun, uptempo, poppy tunes with definite soul and R&B throwbacks. “We used a lot of soul and funk musicians who are amazing, incredible musicians and I guess that brought the kind of soul and R&B flavour to a lot of the songs,” Mojo Juju explains.
“The title itself comes from a conversation I had with Ptero Stylus … we were talking about having to tie all the songs together because they kind of existed in two halves. There was the live element and the very studio, almost electronic, element. We were talking about this and he was like, 'you know ... half of them are really angry songs about the one percent and stuff, like, the bigger picture. Then half of them are very intimate, personal, kind of sad songs'.
"I think I'm a really visual person and started thinking about that idea and how they existed in these two halves like that. So I guess the title just came out of that and I think it's quite apt really.”
'Seeing Red / Feeling Blue' was an extensive and time-consuming project. “It took us 18 months to make the record and now I want to just take the songs on the road and perform with them – that's my main priority right now.”
But when asked “What next?”, Mojo Juju says she almost has another album written. “I think I've got almost a whole other album written and out of the way. I have no doubt that I'll probably want to do something entirely different by then. I don't know, at the moment I'm just enjoying the work that we've created.”
Mojo Juju has been working on the live shows to accompany the record to ensure she is doing the music justice. “I have really concentrated on making the live experience as lush and as full as I possibly can to do justice to the songs. So it's really about hearing these songs in a live environment.”
Mojo Juju will be bringing along a variety of talent with her on tour, including Sunshine Coast act The Flumes and Brisbane musician Robbie Miller. “We've got a lot of really great support acts. I've been very hands-on trying to select people that I think are interesting and that I want to work with on this tour. I always find that to be one of the most fun things – going through and finding different supports that appeal to my tastes.”
Mojo Juju doesn’t try to find acts with music similar to hers, she just tries to select bands and artists that she personally likes. “I just try and find acts that I like and my taste is really broad. I always find it really hard to find acts that are similar, stylistically, to what I do.”In addition to support acts, Mojo Juju, has also put together a new band to accompany her on tour. “I've got together a band for the tour who are, man, they're just absolute guns! We did a show in Melbourne for the single launch and that was our first show together. I'm so excited about the musicians I'm bringing.”
Mojo Juju is ready to show everyone what she's got. “I consider myself an entertainer as much as a songwriter. I don't want people to be bored; we're going to give them all we've got.”
'Seeing Red / Feeling Blue’ is out now.
Mojo Juju Tour Dates
Sat 30 May - Vivid Live Festival (Sydney)Fri 5 Jun - Solbar (Sunshine Coast)
Sat 6 Jun - Woolly Mammoth (Brisbane)
Sat 13 Jun - Transit Bar (Canberra)
Thu 18 Jun - Clarendon Guesthouse (Katoomba)
Fri 19 Jun - Cambridge Hotel (Newcastle)
Sat 20 Jun - Newtown Social Club (Sydney)
Sun 21 Jun - Heritage Hall (Bulli)
Fri 26 Jun - Pirie & Co Social Club (Adelaide)
Sat 27 Jun - Corner Hotel (Melbourne)
Fri 3 Jul - Spirit Bar & Lounge (Traralgon)
Sat 4 Jul - Caravan Music Club (Melbourne)
Sat 8 Aug - Darwin Festival
2-5 Oct - Caloundra Music Festival (Sunshine Coast)
