There's no doubt Mojo Juju loves a challenge. Just as the Australian songwriter's band, the Snakeoil Merchants, were hitting their stride, she went solo. She then released two records vastly different from each other and now has a third that, yes, takes the soulful singer down a new path. Oh, and she has a whole new live band line-up, too.
"I'm keeping it interesting for myself as much as anyone else," she says. "It's like a compulsion â every time I make something new I have to do it differently. I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing but it's definitely a lot of fun. I'm enjoying it."
![Mojo Juju says that in regularly changing musically, it's "keeping it interesting for myself as much as anyone else".](http://web.archive.org./web/20170802130037im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/n/4/l/3/c/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gxjdp7.png/1501320047452.jpg)
And her new material may surprise even those used to the artist â real name Mojo Ruiz de Luzuriaga â switching things up. The groove-laden, electronics-heavy first single Think Twice from her coming set is a far cry from the soulful blues of her well-received 2015 second album, Seeing Red/Feeling Blue.
She'll table some of these tunes on this coming tour with her new band â her brother, drummer Steve "T-Bone" Ruiz de Luzuriaga and newly acquired synth player Abbey Howlett â before the record sees the light of day early next year.
"I've worked with several producers on making this album and I think they each brought something unique to what I do," the Melburnian says. "And they drew out different parts of my personality and what I can offer as a songwriter. So yes, it's kind of a hybrid thing, electronic and live, and there are so many ways to do that."
One of those producers â and who features on Think Twice â is Newcastle native Jamieson Shaw, who has most recently found a new home in New York as music programmer on now-defunct Netflix series The Get Down. The pair, whose friendship harks back to Ruiz de Luzuriaga's time spent making music in the NSW coastal city, found a happy synergy in the studio that was a blessing for an artist so often working solo.
"It's important to have someone to bounce ideas off. One thing I often say I miss about being in a band is having people to argue with! If there's no one there to challenge your ideas, how do you know if they're really any good?" she says. "So we don't really argue in the studio, but you're throwing a lot of ideas out there and if someone agrees with you, someone 100 per cent backing that idea and you both believe in it, it reinforces that instinct."
Despite her ever-evolving sound, front and centre is Ruiz de Luzuriaga's strong storytelling. Her characters and tales leave their impression as much as her impassioned delivery â and, yes, this time she's pushed those boundaries here, too.
"I have more confidence in my storytelling now than I used to. Because it doesn't matter how many times someone tells you you're good at something, you have to learn it for yourself. And there are so many great storytellers out there that I aspire to or am inspired by, so I'm always challenging myself to be better at it. I think I still have plenty to learn.
"But I've gotten to a point now where the storytelling is becoming much closer to home and much more raw and honest. This next record is probably as intimate as I've been with my storytelling," she adds, reflecting on the adage that with age comes wisdom. "I also think it takes time to get to know yourself, to know what the story is you're telling. Well, maybe."
Think Twice is out August 1. Mojo Juju plays Oxford Arts Factory, Sydney, on August 26; $28.90. For other dates, see mojojuju.net.