The New Thing Interview with Mojo Juju: “I Think I’ve Arrived”

Mojo Juju is a Melbourne-based artist who has been present within the Australian music scene for well over a decade. She created music that harked to more bluesy, jazz-influenced traditions; which gained her a respectable fan base and an highly coveted record deal with ABC Music.

But with the release of Mojo’s riveting third solo album ‘Native Tongue’, the swell of support and attention has increased significantly. And on her own terms.

I start this interview by sharing my thoughts: that I think Mojo has possibly made one of the best albums of the year. A bold statement to some, but in my mind – this album is a powerful combination of important, personal stories that relate to often marginalised human beings; mixed with the unequivocally unique production and swagger of Mojo Juju’s sound.

Mojo recently dropped by Eastside Radio to chat with Chelsea Deeley (The New Thing, Mondays 9-10:30am) in-depth about this album.

There are stories told from the perspectives of Mojo’s great-grandparents and grandmother, which touches on her great-grandmother Pearl concealing the identity of Mojo’s grandmother’s biological father: an Indigenous man of the Wiradjuri people named Jackson.

There are stories from Mojo’s own experiences as a queer person and as a person of colour.

There are stories in which Mojo longs for a connection to her ancestry; stories that criticise those who hold political power in our world and stories that highlight the social detachment that human beings currently face, largely in part due to technology.

But that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface.