Trust your Mojo Sista

The best way to appreciate the music of Bluebird and Skoko is to sit back and listen. Struggling to compose a review of this surrealist partnership, describing the juxtaposition of blues, pop, and rock can only sound in words a cacophony, but in their music, the combination of styles forms something harmonious, dynamic, irresistible, and quite unique.

This is much the same way as Bluebird and Elena view themselves and the creation process they advocate. Elena, an ex–punk rock frontgirl with a voice reminiscent of Peggy Lee, describes their inevitable give-and-take of style as a byproduct of the Mojo. The Mojo is the driving force behind the partnership, the indescribable and uncontrollable energy that seeks to inspire and connect, the force that calls for harmony but with an added bite. The album and title single both owe their names to the Mojo, as both agree, ‘Trust your Mojo, Sista’ is the golden rule to making good music, and to living a good life. No critics, no expectation, no careful effort to make sure all styles are represented equally. Instead, the mixture of classic blues and rock mesh precisely because there is no effort; the songs are easy listening with a punch, a Surrealist painter working with a spray paint can.

The spirituality of the album is undeniable, a product of the Bali streets the musicians call home. From Chicago, Bluebird in particular has worked his way through an unorthodox and extensive musical education, working at first under the great Chicago bluesmen like Eddie Taylor, Sammy Lowhorn, and Phil Guy. Both him and Elena spent time in Italy, working in fashion where their effortless style may have been cultivated.

Presently, they reside in Bali, a new center for music appreciation, which Bluebird describes as a place where people ‘love music unconditionally’. Bali, the magic island, was the inspiration for the video of ‘Trust your Mojo Sista’, a homage to all the Bali people ‘who have the fire inside’. The incredible energy of Bali is reflected in the music of Bluebird and Skoko, which although relaxed, is not soft, and has a clear point of view that is definitely, whether Mojo, or magic, or fire, brimming with something that people will want to listen to.

The band has musical influences ranging from Tom Waits to the Sex Pistols, Billie Holiday to Miles Davis. Trust your Mojo Sista has it all, from the anthem of Trust your Mojo Sista to get you up in the morning, to the soft lyrics in Elena’s deep-throated I’m an Angel to send you to sleep at night. They aren’t many bands who can so successfully integrate such diverse styles, but clearly, trusting your Mojo has its kickbacks.

Short URL: http://newbeatsmedia.com/?p=1646

Writen by Dizz

Posted on Thu 25th March 2010 and filed under Albums, E-CD Artists, Reviews.

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