HOW MUSIC MOVED MO’JU TO TEARS
WHEN Mojo Ruiz de Luzuriaga first heard their songs performed by an orchestra, they broke down in tears.
Nominated for three ARIA awards following the release of their album Native Tongue in 2018, Ruiz de Luzuriaga, known as Mo’Ju, is set to perform with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra at the Federation Concert Hall in Hobart as part of this year’s Mona Foma festival.
It comes after they were asked at the beginning of last year to collaborate with Orchestra Victoria for its summer program at Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Ruiz de Luzuriaga said they were asked to observe the orchestra’s first reading of their songs.
“I got really emotional because a lot of those songs, particularly the stuff off my last album, Native Tongue, are about family,” they said.
“They’re really personal.”
The genre-hopping Filipino-Wiradjuri artist, whose music incorporates rock, soul, jazz and pop elements, said they were looking forward to taking the
stage in Hobart and playing alongside Mona Foma curator and Violent Femmes bassist Brian Ritchie in Launceston.
“I grew up being a big Violent Femmes fan so … it’s a bit of a dream-come-true scenario for my teenage self,” they said.
Mo’Ju will play at Mofo Sessions at Royal Park in Launceston on Saturday, January 22, before putting on an improvisatory show with Ritchie at Riverbend Park at Invermay on Monday, January 24.
“I’m kind of getting to flex a whole different range of aspects of what I do, which is really cool,” Ruiz de Luzuriaga said.
Tickets to Mo’Ju + TSO + Orchestra Victoria range from $47-$57 and are available for purchase on the Mona Foma website.