(SXSW 2017 flavoured!) MP3 of the Day #898: Magnolian
As you probably imagine, I get inundated with emails from artists from all over the world every day, trying to sell me on their music. It is all too often true that we make the wrong assumptions about how an artist or a band must sound, depending on where they’re from. It’s a mistake assuming that everyone from the Midwest must be folky and write sad songs, that all music from an urban centre like New York or London will be hard and edgy, that artists from the West Coast all make surf rock and genuflect at the altar of the Beach Boys. Then you get an unexpected email from left field who surprises you. I woke up Sunday to a rather unusual one, in that it was from an artist who will be the first to represent his country and showcase ever at SXSW. Magnolian is the musical project of Mongolian folk singer/songwriter Dulguun Bayasgalan.
It’s become very unusual for Asian songwriters to sing in English (don’t get me started on this), and even rarer for them to break out of Asia. Somehow, Magnolian’s dulcet tones and dreamy folk instrumentation reminiscent of Bon Iver, Simon and Garfunkel, Of Monsters and Men and yes, even a little bit of the Beach Boys – all artists originating far, far away from Bayasgalan’s hometown of Ulaanbaatar – caught the ears of Nerdist last summer, who named his debut ‘Famous Men’ EP the best underground album of July 2016. Ahead of his performance at CU29 Friday night at SXSW 2017, listen to and download the Magnolian track ‘The Beach Song’ from the EP for your very own below. He says it’s his favourite from the EP, so we’re pleased to offer it ahead him coming out to Austin. He’ll be appearing at 6 PM at the Westin on Wednesday 15 March and 9 PM at CU29 on Friday 17 March. Stay tuned for more on him in the coming weeks.
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