mojo history
text: heinrich oehmsen
the entrance is imposing. the pavement opens and two gates weighing several tons featuring the serrated “m” logo slowly fold upwards. a slightly curved staircase leads down 46 steps into the heart of the mojo club. the curved balcony is reminiscent of the architecture of opera houses. there are no corners and edges. the raw concrete on the walls contrasts with the revolving wooden slat doors. the new mojo club is an architectural gem. “aesthetically, we take our cue from the 50s and 60s,” says leif nüske – a time when cool and innovative musicians like thelonious monk, john coltrane and sonny rollins revolutionised jazz.
when the mojo club reopened in february 2013, a years-long odyssey came to an end. in 1989, leif nüske and oliver korthals had founded the club as a mobile event series. “dancefloor jazz for cool cats” was the motto. nüske and korthals are men of conviction who believe in black music and are fascinated by its diversity. they are gold seekers of the groove. later they made their best finds available to every music aficionado on 13 mojo samplers. the first parties were hosted in the bad-galerie in holthusenbad; there were club nights in the kir, on the cap san diego and at the unendlich, which would later become the molotow.
the mojo club became one of hamburg’s most important dance clubs when it made regular guest appearances at the prinzenbar. the number of visitors grew and grew and the two programme makers and djs started looking for a bigger location. they found it in 1991 in an old bowling alley on the corner of reeperbahn/zirkusweg. every weekend, long queues formed outside the entrance door. “uncompromising turntables” was written above the entrance. the programme was and still is uncompromising. with its programme, the club had become the most important club in the city. a living room, a meeting place, a sociotope of urban nightlife.
in addition to the mojo dj collective and raphaël marionneau’s club series “café abstrait”, important djs from the uk scene played here, and bands like massive attack, moloko, faithless and the black eyed peas graced the stage. when dancefloor jazz dominated the clubs in london in the 90s, the mojo club was the extended arm and an outpost of what was hot in the british metropolis. hip-hop, jazz, soul, drum ‘n’ bass and dubstep made up the stylistic pentagon that ensured popularity far beyond hamburg.
but the old bowling alley was also like a rotten tooth that could no longer be saved. in 2003, the mojo club closed for the first time. nüske and korthals continued under the name mandarin kasino until the building was finally demolished in 2009 to make way for an office building called “the dancing towers”. for the mojo club, this meant taking a forced hiatus. but their patience paid off, now they were “going underground”. this huge grotto with its high dome is now one of the most spectacular and modern clubs in europe with a capacity of 800 spectators.
the music scene has changed tremendously over the past three decades, and the mojo club has also become more of a concert venue due to its size. when top jazz and soul artists come to hamburg, the club at reeperbahn 1 is their port of call. openness is important to the makers of the mojo. but nüske and his booking team pay very close attention to the content: “we get a lot of requests, but we also turn down a lot of things because they are not the right fit for us.” since the reopening, artists such as janelle monae, talib kweli, sons of kemet, nubya garcia, paul weller, rickie lee jones, nick waterhouse and ghostface killah have performed on the 74-square-metre stage.
“a club is a playground,” says nüske. for the mojo club, it means constantly thinking about new themes and event forms in addition to the concerts. which other club, for example, could conceivably host a roller-skating party? at the mojo, everything seems possible. when the mojo celebrated its first farewell in 2003, john coltrane’s “a love supreme” sounded; when the new mojo club reopened in 2013, trane’s anthem was again the first record to spin on the plate. the piece is part of jazz history, but it represents new beginnings. the mass entertainment on hamburg’s kiez district takes place on the reeperbahn – the mojo club stands for extravagance, warmth and social interaction. underground.
YOUNG FATHERS * LEE FIELDS * LADY BLACKBIRD * CHANNEL TRES * THE GASLAMP KILLER
KERALA DUST * RHYE * MEZERG * GUSGUS * ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT * HANIA RANI * JOY CROOKES * TROMBONE SHORTY & ORLEANS AVENUE * METRONOMY * NOGA EREZ * DURAND JONES & THE INDICATIONS * KAE TEMPEST * ALFA MIST * WET LEG * DJ KRUSH * DOPE LEMON * ALFA MIST * SOHN
KASSA OVERALL * SESSION VICTIM * DENGUE DENGUE DENGUE * NUBYA GARCIA * ALTIN GÜN
MANU KATCHÉ * KAISER CHIEFS * DIGITALISM * MABEL * THE MARCUS KING BAND
MARC REBILLET * TANK & THE BANGAS * MAGGIE ROGERS * D/TROIT * HOT CHIP * FLO MEGA * MINE * TORO Y MOI * THE SUGARHILL GANG & THE FURIOUS FIVE * JORDAN RAKEI * NOUVELLE VAGUE * ALLAH-LAS * KOKOROKO * BRANDT BRAUER FRICK * FIEH * GHOSTFACE KILLAH * INCOGNITO * OG KEEMO
WHOMADEWHO * DILLON * TOM MISCH * TOO MANY ZOOZ *AYO * NOSAJ THING * THE HERBALISER * MULATU ASTATKE * HYPNOTIC BRASS ENSEMBLE * SONS OF KEMET * SELAH SUE * DE-PHAZZ * JAZZANOVA * SOPHIE HUNGER * DANGER DAN * COSMO SHELDRAKE * NIGHTMARES ON WAX * STIMMING X LAMBERT
SOHN * IZZY BIZU * ODDISEE & GOOD COMPNY * THUNDERCAT * FABER * EN VOGUE * JUNGLE BROTHERS * HANNAH WILLIAMS & THE AFFIRMATIONS * LOYLE CARNER * AKUA NARU * KUTIMAN ORCHESTRA * BADBADNOTGOOD * LITTLE DRAGON * SEVDALIZA
EPHEMERALS * TRICKY * DJ KRUSH * GOGO PENGUIN * ALLEN STONE * COCOROSIE * DJ SHADOW * QUANTIC * JOSÉ JAMES * JAMES VINCENT MC MORROW * DUA LIPA * MAYER HAWTHORNE * KATE TEMPEST * ROBERT GLASPER & BAND * TALIB KWELI
HAFTBEFEHL * CURTIS HARDING * SYLVAN ESSO * KWABS * GHOSTPOET * OSAKA MONAURAIL * SNARKY PUPPY * GRAMATIK * THE CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA * MISS PLATNUM * DJ PREMIER * IBEYI
MALIA & BAND * TOSCA FEAT. ROBERT GALLAGHER & CATH COFFEY * SUZANNE VEGA * J ROCC * GERD JANSON, MOOMIN & SMALLPEOPLE * HOMEBOY SANDMAN * MOTOR CITY DRUM ENSEMBLE * NICK WATERHOUSE * THE INTERNET * ROBERT GLASPER EXPERIMENT * WHOMADEWHO * DIETER MEIER * CAMERON CARPENTER * HUNDREDS * PAUL WELLER * LILY ALLEN * TALIB KWELI * MEGALOH & AFROB * GUSGUS * SAMY DELUXE * FKA TWIGS
MR. SCRUFF * SAMÚEL JÓN SAMÚELSSON BIG BAND & BETTY STEELES * NDR BIGBAND meets THE ORIGINAL JAZZROCKER * BETTY FORD BOYS * THE HEAVY * JANELLE MONÁE * LADY * SEPALOT * ALICE RUSSELL * 2RAUMWOHNUNG * NIGHTMARES ON WAX * HIATUS KAIYOTE * SHANTEL & BUCOVINA CLUB ORKESTAR
EBO TAYLOR & AFROBEAT ACADEMY * URSULA RUCKER * LEE FIELDS & THE EXPRESSIONS
MO’HORIZONS FEAT. DENISE M’BAYE * NICOLA CONTE
TM JUKE, GIZELLE SMITH & THE MIGHTY MOCAMBOS * JAZZMAN GERALD * NICK RECORDKICKS
MARC HYPE * FLEUR EARTH EXPERIMENT * UGLY DUCKLING * MR. MONEYPENNY AND THE SOULAGENTS
MONSIEUR DUBOIS FT. JOSEPH BOWIE * STATE OF MONC * DJ FORMAT * DJ MAD * SOULOUNGE * SMUDO * THE SWEET VANDALS * JOSÉ JAMES * THE LEFTIES SOUL CONNECTION * UTAH JAZZ * OSAKA MONAURAIL * J-LIVE & MR. THING
EARL ZINGER * JOE BATAAN * SHARON JONES & THE DAP KINGS * TY * MASTA ACE * DJ FRICTION * DJ Z-TRIP * LUCASONIC * PIERRE FERDINAND ET LES CHARMEURS * UTAH JAZZ * BLOWFLY * DAWN PENN * RAUL MIDON * MÚM
DJ KRUSH * CUBEISM * RONNY JORDAN * LYN COLLINS * MARTHA HIGH * DJ MAD * HAUSMARKE * DJ THOMILLA * THE LEFTIES SOUL CONNECTION * NNEKA * NICOLE WILLIS * MICHAEL FRANTI * CLEVELAND WATKISS * SILLY WALKS * DJ Z-TRIP
GROOVE GALAXI * BUTCH * THORSTEN WEGNER * OLSKI * JAZZANOVA * BENNY SINGS * JOY DENALANE * THE DENYOS * DJ STORM * KETTCAR * NU:TONE * LONDON ELEKTRICITY * DIE GOLDENEN ZITRONEN * LEELA JAMES * FLASHDANCE
AMP FIDDLER * DUBLEX INC. * DJ JAZZY JEFF * ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT * EDDIE PILLER * TONKA * IAN POOLEY * HARRY ROWOHLT * KID ALEX * KOWE SIX
FREESTYLERS * U.F.O. – UNITED FUTURE ORGANIZATION * ALLEY CAT * MARK RAE & AIM (GRAND CENTRAL) * SUGARCHICKEN * DJ EASTENDERS * E-Z ROLLERS * SPACEK * STORM (METALHEADZ) * DYNAMITE MC
SILJE NERGAARD * KID LOCO * NORAH JONES * KOOP * RADIOBOY * NILS PETTER MOLVAER * EARL ZINGER * THE STREETS * VIKTER DUPLAIX * PESHAY * RAINER TRÜBY * DJ SHADOW * DJ RAVIN (BUDDHA BAR) * DJ KRUSH * EDDIE PILLER * LIGHTNING HEAD (ROCKERS HIFI) * JAZZANOVA * CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA
STEREO DELUXE * ZED BIAS * FAUNA FLASH * ETIENNE DE CRECY * IAN SIMMONDS * KING BRITT & MODAJI * RICHARD DORFMEISTER * KEB DARGE & LAN WRIGHT * DJ KRUSH * JAMES TAYLOR QUARTET * SPOOKS * SIDSEL ENDRESEN * MOUSE ON MARS * BADMARSH & SHRI * HERBERT * GROOVE ARMADA * ZERO 7 * BASEMENT JAXX
RICHARD DORFMEISTER * BIGGA BUSH * KID KOALA * DZIHAN & KAMIEN * IAN SIMMONDS * E-Z ROLLERS * JOSH PADILLA * ANDY SMITH * GUSH COLLECTIVE * DJ VADIM * PESHAY * IAN POOLEY * KID KOALA * CINEMATIC ORCHESTRA * DEICHKIND * COMMON * SHOLA AMA * ROB GALLAGER & VALERIE ETIENNE * ANGIE STONE * JILL SCOTT
FREDDIE FRESH * THIEVERY CORPORATION * MR. SCRUFF * DOC SCOTT * KRUSH * DJ KRUST * ROCKERS HIFI * BLACK EYED PEAS * NIGHTMARES ON WAX * THE HERBALISER * JIMI TENOR
GOLDIE * PESHAY (MO’WAX) * ANDREA PARKER * SOURCE DIRECT * PRESSURE DROP * DJ CAM * DJ FABIO * FREESTYLERS * KRUDER & DORFMEISTER * SHANTEL * 4HERO * E-Z ROLLERS * KEMISTRY & STORM * PROPELLERHEADS * UNDERWORLD * NILS PETTER MOLVAER * FÜNF STERNE DELUXE * SUGARHILL GANG
KEMISTRY & STORM * DOC SCOTT * PSYCHONAUTS * PESHAY * PEANUTBUTTER WOLF * PATRICK PULSINGER & ERDEM TUNAKAN * J. MAJIK * 4 HERO * DJ KRUST * GROOVERIDER * LTJ BUKEM
LAMB * JIMI TENOR * ROCKERS HIFI * FINLEY QUAYE * BRANFORD MARSALIS * ANDY SMITH * JON CARTER * KRUDER & DORFMEISTER * DIMITRI FROM PARIS * ROCKERS HIFI * PATRICK FORGE * RAW STYLUS * DE LA SOUL * WISEGUYS * PROPELLERHEADS * RED SNAPPER * ABSOLUTE BEGINNER * MORCHEEBA
TRICKY * MUSHROOM & DADDY G * RUSS DEWBERRY * TOWA TEI * JHELISA * JOYCE * PIZZICATO FIVE * WALKIN’ LARGE * MAYSA
DODGE & I.G. CULTURE * EDDIE PILLER * JAMES LAVELLE * INTO SOMETHIN’ * PETE ROCK & C.L. SMOOTH * DJ KRUSH * GILLES PETERSON * ME’SHELL N’DEGEOCELLO * CORDUROY * FETTES BROT * CARLEEN ANDERESON * MOTHER EARTH
JUNGLE BROTHERS * DIGABLE PLANETS * KEVIN BEADLE * JAMES LAVELLE * UFO * FEMI WILLIAMS * ROY AYERS * MC SOLAAR * RONNY JORDAN * SENS UNIK * DIS JAM * BRYAN POWELL * PUCHO&HIS LATIN SOUL BROTHERS
BRAND NEW HEAVIES * URBAN SPECIES * RAD * RAW STYLUS * PRESSURE DROP * JAMES LAVELLE * MC 900 FT. JESUS
JAMES TAYLOR QUARTET * CASSANDRA WILSON
A MAN CALLED ADAM * JAMES TAYLOR QUARTETT * EDDIE PILLER * SIMON BOOTH