Zandari 2018 Hungary band exudes magnetism in Hongdae

Hungary-based band Mongooz and the Magnet walk the streets of Seoul during their visit for Zandari Festa, Oct. 4 to 7. / Courtesy of Rami Moon

This is the sixth and final article in a series on Zandari Festa 2018, held Oct. 4 to 7.

By Anastasia Traynin

It's the first Thursday night of October and the Zandari Festa 2018 crowd, full of musicians, organizers, music industry delegates from around the world and dedicated fans, is gathered outside The Convent, transformed earlier this year from the legendary Freebird Cosmic Live, previously known as 500.

Downstairs in the dimly lit basement,

blues rock trio Mongooz and the Magnet

have the packed venue up and dancing, with a rockabilly vibe bolstered by the double bass. The band is the opener for Hungary Night, the first time Zandari highlights this country's eclectic and diverse music scene.

After their set, I sat down with lead vocalist and guitarist Magnus Maloy who hails from Norway, double bassist and vocalist Ian O'Sullivan from Ireland, and native Hungarian drummer Halo Gergo, two of three names that are much more compelling before removing all the accents and symbols The Korea Times style guide can't publish.

The name Mongooz and the Magnet doesn't have any particular origin story, just a name that stuck and is hard to forget. Since their formation in the town of Pecs in 2014, they have played for audiences of 2,000 or more. As international students in Hungary, Maloy and O'Sullivan experienced their band's songs in heavy rotation on the radio, keeping them going in their adopted country. Mongooz and the Magnet arrived in Korea earlier in the week, their first time in Asia.

“We're part of the first wave coming out of Hungary and trying to show what's going on,” said O'Sullivan, whose choice of instrument is influenced by Hungarian music and traditional gypsy culture. He credits their manager Denes Pecsi-Szabo at Up Music Budapest with their broadening horizons. “Once we had an opportunity, we decided to do it. Now we're eating noodles and drinking soju.”

While the Hungarian underground scene is going strong locally, they are still taking baby steps to get heard around Europe as well.

“No one is selling out in a place in London or Berlin from Hungary,” Maloy said.

Speaking about their upcoming new recording, O'Sullivan half-jokingly talked about creating something between an LP and EP, to hold people's attention and channel their own creative energy.

“Nowadays people don't buy records or sit down and listen to an entire album anymore. You can become a huge band by just releasing three singles. But we have a certain inspiration to create something. We're going to create an MP (medium play?), with an indescribable number of songs. Life is long and has many chapters and we definitely have a couple more albums in us.”

Little did anyone know on the first night that Mongooz and the Magnet would also be closing out Zandari with their final performance at MUV Hall's closing night party Sunday, with Korean musicians joining them up on stage.

After a short whirlwind week in Korea after heading back to Hungary, hopefully the trio will be back in this part of the world before we know it.