MOJI is no stranger to the beach. Growing up in Australia, the Sydney native was enamoured by the club and party scenes of Sydney in his teens, and music went from irrelevant, to his entire life as he entered the world of DJ-ing. Ten years on playing gigs in the region and eventually, the world, and he’s developed a name for himself as the latest up-and-coming masked DJ, and now based in Bali where he DJs full-time.

Most recently, MOJI has spread his sound to Singapore, where he performed a gig in the country for the first time at new beach club Tipsy Unicorn on Sentosa last Saturday, giving the audience a midnight rave experience at the pool, complete with slick visuals, heavy beats, and a crowd of party people enjoying every second of it. We spoke to MOJI about his fast-rising career, how he got his start, and where he’s taking his music next.

“MOJI is a brand that was started in 2017, where I had a friend in Melbourne who was a booking agent, and we decided to come up with a masked DJ act, where the idea was to. I was the one who came up with the initial idea for the mask, which was originally yellow, and looked more like the 😎 Smiling Face with Sunglasses Emoji,” says MOJI. “We couldn’t use the word ’emoji’, but cut out the ‘e’ and it became just MOJI.”

“But as time went by, my music started to change and a fiercer, darker sound began to come out and no longer matched the initial branding. So we kept the name, but the brand itself began to evolve into something more unique,” he adds. “Sometimes that’s a struggle – I’m the kind of person who just goes with the flow and wants to keep changing my sound, and there are times it even changes genre, so much that my manager tells me ‘wait, this doesn’t sound like MOJI.’ So I’m very grateful that I have fans of the MOJI persona who are willing to stick with me throughout.”

MOJI may be known for his mask, but on days when the mask comes off, he’s still very much into music, working and playing music for ShiShi club in Bali, while putting on the mask for special occasions. He notes that unlike some masked DJs, he isn’t as concerned about keeping his identity completely hidden, and some club regulars have already noticed his numerous arm tattoos and connected the dots. That’s fine – after all, it’s about the creation of a perfect music environment and immersing his listeners in sound rather than the secret identity that’s most important to him.

“My own family was quite musical – my grandfather was part of a Bush band back in the ’70s, but I never took any interest till about a decade ago, when I started getting into the party scene, where a lot of bounce music was influencing my sound at the time and really got me into it,” says MOJI. “It was mostly just small resident DJ stuff, and always as a hobby rather than a career. But after the whole masked DJ thing came up, I started doing more gigs, in Melbourne, Victoria, and eventually, started heading to Thailand and Hong Kong and the rest of the world.”

“To me, MOJI is more of a full performance – I’m very passionate about visuals, with my background in marketing and design, and there’s this whole sci-fi inspired story about MOJI being this extraterrestrial being landing here and bringing music, with videos and an AI voice that ties the whole brand together,” he adds. “I load up about 100 songs, start off with three to four typical tracks, and then just feel the crowd and go with the flow from there, maybe hitting about 40 or 50 tracks by the end of the set. I do like to experiment – I’ve done things like play K-pop or Mandarin remixes in Hong Kong, or even Indonesian mixes in Bali to cater to the crowd, plus I do find it so interesting and refreshing to mix songs not in English.”

Basing himself in Bali has been a great personal decision for MOJI, with many of his touring gigs in the region, and finding fans and a niche for himself. “Big time artists are always coming through Bali, and it’s really cool to be part of that scene, always partying and living there,” he says. “It’s epic, always convenient, and very easy to get anything you want, with an affordable cost of living. And for a DJ, being on a party island means you can do shows everyday, even on Mondays and Tuesdays, so I always have work. Having only gone full-time for about two years, there’s been a lot of changes, like how I used to be a morning person, but my routine’s completely flipped when I go to bed around 4am. It’s an adjustment for sure, but I’m taking care of myself well.”

Despite being relatively early in his career, MOJI already boasts a string of chart‑topping hits and releases on renowned labels, sold-out performances; and collaborations with industry heavyweights, having shared stages with iconic frontrunners, like Timmy Trumpet, Kshmr, Steve Aoki and Will Sparks. What lies next for him then? “I don’t have a specific next goal in mind, whether it’s venues or festivals, but I do want the opportunities to keep growing as I stay on, mostly to get even more chances to be in the same lineup as artists that I could get to meet, and to be associated with a certain sound,” he says. “It’s really all about finding a careful balance of doing what I like while also catering to the market.”

At his gig at Tipsy Unicorn, MOJI was greeted with much fanfare, and while chill in the interview, showed what he was really capable of when he took to the stage and kept the energy going, the crowd all revved up and ready to party. His instrumental heavy set was filled with great drops, and he certainly knew how to appeal to the crowd, from playing mixes of hits like Alice Deejay’s ‘Better Off Alone’, Fred again… and Swedish House Mafia’s ‘Turn On The Lights again…’ and Avicii’s biggest songs. Suffice to say, MOJI’s certainly left his mark on Singapore.

“My hope is that I’ve left the crowd entertained and maybe surprised, because I’ve never played here before,” says MOJI. “I don’t have a big fanbase yet, but I hope that a few people enjoy the show, and next time I come, they’ll remember me and bring more friends along if they liked the music, and continue to follow my journey and support me.”

More information about MOJI available on his website, Instagram and YouTube channel

More information about Tipsy Unicorn and upcoming gigs and events available here