Mongooz and the Magnet / Papírkutya

The band draw together their influences to make groove-heavy Hendrix-pop.. that flows from gritty guitar lead lines to catchy rhythms, and is sure to leave the audience tapping their feet, grinding their bodies, and throwing things out of the window...

Señorita SINGLE (Released May 15th 2020)
Suffering from a few mood swings and the darkness of isolation, Mongooz and the Magnet has etched their feelings about the last months of isolation onto mp3. Reeling from cancelled tours to Asia and Russia, and the great uncertainty that is the current global pandemic, they set out to complete some unfinished songs and in May released the fatalistic jump around-the-room end-of-the world energy-rush that is ‘señorita’.

This year saw them working once more with producer Dani Castelar (Paolo Nutini, Snow Patrol). This is their latest release after their Fall 2019 EP “people ═ people”, off of which the first single ‘Hey Boy’ has seen over 1000 radioplays across Europe, predominantly in Norway and Germany.

People ═ People EP (Released November 15th 2019)

In 2019 The band have emerged from a cocoon of touring & decimating introspection to return with a bang.. still circling around the blues, with groove and guitars evoking the sound of a crunchy Black Keys riffs, but not afraid to stick their fingers into pop, rock, and well…anything they can,if it helps them get the sounds they need to deliver their message. It’s a roots inspired movement where groove and honesty are king.

With a busy summer behind them and their biggest festival season to date including Sziget festival (Europe Stage), Exit festival - Fusion Stage and being invited to play on the border of North and South Korea at the DMZ Peace Train festival (alongside Iceage & Last Train), they have poured all that inspiration into their newest offering, the EP entitled ‘people ═ people’ (pronounced "people bridge people”).

Working with producer Dani Castelar (Paolo Nutini, Snow Patrol) and co-producer Gavin Fitzjohn (Manic Street Preachers) they have combined sounds to bring everything from samples to stomps to bedroom guitar amps, in their search for the next wave of roots music.

The EP packs an energetic punch but is more than skin-deep - textured with the tiny but universal nuances of life we have all felt: words of a father, being a father, about our relationships with those that came before us and those that come after us, those who touched our lives, and those who have become untouchable.

MAGNUS Maloy:

Born and raised in Nittedal, Norway, Magnus learned to play some chords on his father's acoustic guitar while growing up, but it was only after he bought his first electric guitar at 19, that he really got into playing. While still in Norway, he was mostly playing guitar and writing music for himself, but after moving to Hungary to study medicine, he met Ian in the underground music scene, and formed the band Mongooz and the Magnet. A passionate but often lonely character, he has a deep instinctive connection with music which courses through the music.

IAN O’Sullivan:

Ian is an Irishman who moved to Hungary 10 years ago. He grew up on the southern edge of Dublin, learning the acoustic guitar from a local musician. He came to Pécs, a small city in South Hungary with plans to be a doctor, but ended up meeting Magnus in university and starting a band. After seeing local Hungarian bands playing double bass he bought a 60-year old instrument formerly owned by a jazz musician from Budapest - the owner had passed away and the instrument was lying in a garage for 2 years unused. Ian then started teaching himself the instrument and after just 3 months emerged on the stage with his own unique intense playing style. He combines his musical life with one in nature, where he feels most at home running through woods and hills.

GERI Háló:

Originally from Budapest, Geri first met the Mongooz boys at a music festival near their Hungarian home in 2016, but little did they know he would be joining the band in 2017. Like the others he is uneducated in music, but not afraid to follow his instinct. His addition to the band completed the line-up and ever since then his huge heart, characteristic drum grooves and unbeatable style have become an invaluable ingredient in the trio.

ÁRON Csíki:

Born and raised in a town on the outskirts of Budapest, Áron started as a classical pianist but soon left it behind to follow his heart – teaching himself jazz, soul and experimental sounds. What started as a session musician role in 2020, his passion and spontaneity instantly clicked with the boys… and together they have taken the live sound in a powerful new direction.

Magnus and Ian were two students at the medical university in Pécs, South Hungary when they met, and both had a deep love of vintage and blues music. After some practices in Ian’s living room, they played a couple of small gigs around the city on acoustic guitar and built a small following for themselves.In 2014 Magnus and Ian were invited to play at a university music festival in Hungary - the only problem was that they didn’t have a band.

The solution involved the founding of the band Mongooz and the Magnet - a trio based on roots and r’n’b inspired rhythms. Gergő arrived a little later (the previous drummer left because of a conversation with Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, which led him to leave and follow his dream as a guitar player..it’s a long story) but he completed the trio as a musician and as a person - love for music, for creativity and a need to share this love with others. Since then the band has grown to play in many countries around Europe and to South Korea, at club concerts and festivals.

KOREA:

To be honest this wasn’t in our plan. Last year we were doing the work preparing for our upcoming EP and album, and we heard about a possibility to try and play at Zandari. None of us had never been to South Korea before or even to Asia before even… but it sounded like something really interesting.

We stayed at Hongdae and from the first moment we stepped out of the flat, we just fell in love. We played three concerts and got such good feedback, we really felt like we made a connection with people out here. So we vowed to come back and are super happy that we could do that - and for something so special as the DMZ Peace Train Festival.

The Peace Train Festival, followed by a sold-out show with the French Last Train band in Seoul, was something else completely and left an unbelievable impact on us. Korea has a special place in our hearts and we were really looking forward to get back again in 2020, but life had a different plan for this year, so the return will hopefully happen in 2021.

• Reeperbahn Festival - Germany 2016.
• Tallinn Music Week - Estonia 2018.
• Zandari Festa - Korea 2018
• DMZ Peace Train Festival - Korea 2019
• 9 stop German headline club tour in 2019 February
• 8 stop support tour of NIkki Hill (US) in Germany 2019 November
• EXIT Festival - Serbia 2019
• Sziget Festival - Hungary 2016, 2019
• Edison Festival - Poland 2019
• Wild Mint Festival, Russia confirmed for 2021 June (instead of 2020)