The Moog were a

Hungarian indie Budapest indie music scene was the indie music scene of Budapest, Hungary in the 2000s. It was often associated with bands like Amber Smith (band), Amber Smith, The Moog, EZ Basic and We Are Rockstars (band), We Are Rockstars. History Beginnin ...

rock band based in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

formed in 2004. The group is noted for being the first in the region to be signed to an American record label. The band consists of members Tamás Szabó (vocals, keyboard), Gergő Dorozsmai (drums, percussion), Ádám Bajor (guitar), Gergő (a.k.a. Miguel) György (guitar) and Csaba Szabó (bass guitar). The Moog have been compared to bands

The Strokes The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...

and

The Hives The Hives are a Swedish garage rock band formed in Fagersta in 1993. After gaining success in Sweden throughout the 1990s, they rose to worldwide prominence in the early 2000s during the garage rock revival. The band's line-upconsisting of H ...

and dubbed "Hungary's hottest new export".New Releases February 2007
(PDF) allegro-music.com. Retrieved July 12, 2007.

History

Gergő Dorozsmai, Ádi Bajor and Tamás Szabó were friends and classmates who spent their early years performing covers of

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

and

Placebo A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...

as well writing original compositions. In 2004, the three decided to take their material and become a serious band. After meeting Csabi Szabó at a bar, they group discovered their mutual tastes in music and adopted him into the band. Csabi had not developed any skill with bass guitar, but quickly learned from being enthused by the band. Miguel György, an established Hungarian guitarist, was offered a position and joined out of interest.The Moog Biography
moog.hu. Retrieved July 12, 2007. The Moog name is a tribute to a bar the group attended when they were 18 years of age.

Moog Music Moog Music Inc. ( ) is an American synthesizer company based in Asheville, North Carolina. It was founded in 1953 as R. A. Moog Co. by Robert Moog and his father and was renamed Moog Music in 1972. Its early instruments included the Moog sy ...

allowed use of the name for the band on the condition that they precede it with "The". Keyboardist and singer Tonyo Szabo also noted that "they gave us a

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

, so we use it now."

Sold for Tomorrow

The band's debut album, ''

Sold for Tomorrow Sold is the past tense of selling, which is providing or giving away goods or services for a price. Sold may also refer to: * ''Sold'' (Boy George album), 1987 * ''Sold'' (Died Pretty album), 1996 * ''Sold'' (TV series), a British comedy drama ...

'' was recorded in Budapest, Hungary at Tom-Tom Studios. It was mixed by

Jack Endino Jack Endino (born Michael M. Giacondino; 1964) is an American producer and musician based in Seattle, Washington. Long associated with Seattle label Sub Pop and the grunge movement, Endino worked on seminal albums from bands including Mudhoney, ...

(renowned for his work on

Bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...

) at Electrokitty in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

and mastered in Los Angeles with Dave Schultz. The album is said to be inspired by sixties

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

bands

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

as well as late seventies

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

acts

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

and Blondie. ''Sold for Tomorrow'' was first released on April 10, 2007. The accompanying single was "I Like You". The single was followed by songs such as "Everybody Wants" and "Survive". In addition, the song "I Like You" was played on the American TV series ER and on

MtvU MTVU (formerly stylized as MtvU and mtvU) is an American digital cable TV channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group, a unit of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. MTVU programming initially served 750 college and univ ...

. In 2007 The Moog played for the first time in the United States in San Francisco,

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

, Bellingham, Hollywood and

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. The Moog was nominated for Best Hungarian Act at the

MTV Europe Music Awards 2007 The 2007 MTV Europe Music Awards were held at the Olympiahalle in Munich, Germany on 1 November 2007. The show received a total of 78 million votes, the most in MTV Europe Music Awards history. Foo Fighters opened the show, with frontman Dave Gro ...

. In 2008 they returned to the United States to play some shows with The Reverse. In the same year they played on their first European tour starting in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, then in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, Berlin, London, and

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Razzmatazz Orfeum

The band's second album '' Razzmatazz Orfeum'' (2009) was recorded in

with producer Geoff Ott (

Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...

Queens of the Stone Age Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated as QOTSA or QotSA) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. ...

Mark Lanegan Mark William Lanegan (November 25, 1964 – February 22, 2022) was an American singer and songwriter. First becoming prominent as the lead singer for the early grunge band Screaming Trees, he was also known as a member of Queens of the Stone Age ...

) and offers the listener something quite uncommon in this day and age: the immersion of a total album experience. The first single from Razzmatazz Orfeum is ''You Raised A Vampire'' and was released on colored vinyl 7" with stunning artwork by Gris Grimly. The 7" also includes a B-side cover (recorded in Budapest, Citysound studio, recording engineer Marton Palinkas, mixed and mastered in Seattle by Geoff Ott ) of the

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the , was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined Decorative arts, crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., ...

classic The Passion of Lovers featuring Bauhaus and Love & Rockets bassist/vocalist David J, who became a fan of The Moog after seeing them perform in Los Angeles in 2008. The video for ''You Raised A Vampire'', was shot in Budapest. The Moog presented their album at the Merlin Theatre in Budapest, Hungary. In 2009 two songs from Razzmatazz Orfeum was selected for the American series called

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

. In addition, the band's song entitled ''Joyclad Armies'' was chosen for the video game called

NBA 2K10 ''NBA 2K10'' is a 2009 basketball simulation video game developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K. It was released in October and November 2009 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, and Wii. ...

. The album Razzmatazz Orfeum's second single ''When I See You'' and its video, by director Anthony Garth (who shot the White Stripes' clips for We Are Going to Be Friends and

Hotel Yorba "Hotel Yorba" is the lead single from ''White Blood Cells'', by American garage rock band the White Stripes. A country song uncharacteristic of the band's punk and rock roots, it was released on November 12, 2001. Background Built in 1926, t ...

) received a great amount of airplay in all major US music video outlets, including

FUSE Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protec ...

and

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

(a favorite at

Subterranean Subterranean(s) or The Subterranean(s) may refer to: * Subterranea (geography), underground structures, both natural and man-made Literature * ''Subterranean'' (novel), a 1998 novel by James Rollins * ''Subterranean Magazine'', an American fa ...

). In April 2010 The Moog returned to the US with shows in

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Scottsdale,

Austin Austin refers to: Common meanings * Austin, Texas, United States, a city * Austin (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin (surname), a list of people and fictional characters * Austin Motor Company, a British car manufac ...

and

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Seasons in the Underground

In the spring of 2012 The Moog released their third studio album entitled '' Seasons in the Underground''. The album was produced by

Ken Scott Ken Scott (born 20 April 1947) is an English record producer and engineer known for being one of the five main engineers for the Beatles, as well as engineering Elton John, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Billy Cobham, Davi ...

, the legendary producer of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, in

, United States. On February 25, 2012, The Moog presented their third record to the Hungarian fans (with fellow band Amber Smith) at the Akvárium klub in Budapest, Hungary. In 2012 The Moog headed for the United States to play at the

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

, then at The Mix,

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, Texas with David Lane. In May 2012 The Moog played at the

Viper Room The Viper Room is a nightclub and live music venue located on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, United States. It was established under that name on August 14, 1993, co-owned by actors and ''21 Jump Street'' co-stars Johnny Depp a ...

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writings about West Hollywood be ...

, California. In September 2012 The Moog played at the Gallo Center for the Arts in

Modesto, California Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the List of cities and towns in Ca ...

, at the Boulder Theater in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

, and at the Pikes Peak Center in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

with new-wave punk band

B-52s B5, B05, B-5 may refer to: Biology * ATC code B05 (''Blood substitutes and perfusion solutions''), a therapeutic subgroup of the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System * Cytochrome ''b''5, ubiquitous electron transport hemoproteins ...

The United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. On July 13, 2012, Ádám Bajor announced his farewell from the band on his Facebook profile. The reasons have not been revealed by neither parties since then. Bajor will concentrate on his other band called Haunebu. In November 2012 The Moog released their second video entitled ''I Wanna Take You To Paris'' featuring actor Robert Romanus (known as Mike Damone from the

Fast Times at Ridgemont High ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High'' is a 1982 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling (in her feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Cameron Crowe, based on his 1981 book ''Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Stor ...

) from the album ''Seasons in the Underground''. The video was directed by Tamás Szabó and Art Bourasseau, while it was photographed by Vince Sweeney and edited by Michael Kuge. In November the band announced some new concert dated on their Facebook profile including Lowbrow Palace in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

, at the Boeshakers in

San Angelo, Texas San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin (North America), Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert ...

, at the ND in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

and at the Shoeshine Charley's Big Top Lounge in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas. On November 27, 2012, the band return to East Coast hitting

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

at the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center, on November 28 in New York City at the Pianos, and on November 29 in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. On December 13, 2012, The Moog announced on their Facebook profile that they are working on a new song in the U.S. for 2013 release. In January 2013 The Moog returned to the United States to play on February 8 at the

Grove of Anaheim The Grove of Anaheim is an indoor, live music venue in Anaheim, California, Anaheim, California, United States operated by Nederlander Concerts of Los Angeles. Its approximate capacity is 1,700. Less than from the Disneyland Resort, the Grove i ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

and on February 9 at the Majestic Ventura Theatre in

Ventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city in and the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States. It is a coastal city located northwest of Los Angeles. The population was 110,763 at the ...

with the B-52's. On December 11, 2014, the Moog posted a short note that on their Facebook page their upcoming single was mixed by

Mark Needham Mark Needham is an American music engineer, mixer and producer. He has worked with many prominent names in music, including: Blue October, Newsboys, Fleetwood Mac, The Killers, Imagine Dragons, Chris Isaak, John Hiatt, Michelle Branch, ...

. The band temporarily split in 2016. In 2022 the band returned for a live show for Live at Artemovszk 38 at the A38 Vessel in Budapest, Hungar

Side projects

Bastiaan

The Moog singer Tamás Szabó formed Bastiaan with former Jacked singer Tamás Mórocz (guitars and vocals), Márton Hó (bass), and Michael Zwecker (drums from The Poster Boy). They are mixing various strands of pop, rock and synthetised sounds into listenable tunes. On February 22, 2012, they released their first EP entitled ''Kissing A Stranger'', which is available on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

for free download. The EP includes four songs (World Doesn't Answer, Another Ulysses, New Dawn, and Hidden Beach).

Nibiru

Tamás Szabó formed Nibiru with Márk Lechner from Polar Dear. Their first EP was released on May 13, 2013, containing three songs: ''I'm In Love'', ''Yes'', and ''You Do The Same''.

Gustave Tiger

In 2013 Gergő Dorozsmai and Csaba Szabó formed Gustave Tiger. They recruited Péter Mezősi as the drummer for the band, while Dorozsmai sings and Szabó plays the bass. Their first album, ''Mitanni Mares'', was released on September 24, 2013, including seven songs which were recorded at the Tom-tom studios in Budapest, Hungary. The lyrics were written by Dorozsmai and Szabó. For the song ''Countess Bathory'' the band hired Erika Szurcsik as a singer. The band made the album available for free download on their bandcamp site.

Band members

;Current line-up * Tamás Szabó – lead vocals, keyboards (2004–2016) *Gergő György – guitar (2006–2016) *Csaba Szabó – bass guitar (2004–2016) *Gergő Dorozsmai – drums (2004–2016) ;Former members *Norbert Ladányi – guitar (2004–2006) *Ádám Bajor – guitar (2004–2012)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:920 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy Period = from:01/01/2004 till:01/01/2016 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:2004 Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals/Keyboard id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitar id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:purple legend:Drums id:Lines value:black legend:Studio_Albums LineData = at:01/01/2007 color:black layer:back at:01/01/2009 color:black layer:back at:01/01/2012 color:black layer:back BarData = bar:Szabó text:"Tamás Szabó" bar:Bajor text:"Ádám Bajor" bar:Ladányi text:"Norbert Ladányi" bar:György text:"Gergő György" bar:Szabo text:"Csaba Szabó" bar:Dorozsmai text:"Gergő Dorozsmai" PlotData= width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Szabó from:start till:end color:Vocals bar:Bajor from:start till:13/07/2012 color:Guitar bar:Ladányi from:start till:01/05/2006 color:Guitar bar:György from:01/01/2006 till:end color:Guitar bar:Szabo from:start till:end color:Bass bar:Dorozsmai from:start till:end color:Drums

Discography

;Albums * ''

'' (2007) * '' Razzmatazz Orfeum'' (2009) * '' Seasons in the Underground'' (2012) * ''The Moog'' EP (2016) ;Singles * ''You Raised The Vampire'' (2009)

Music videos

''As of April 22, 2017''

References

External links

Official siteThe Moog
at

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

The Moog
at MuSick Recordings {{DEFAULTSORT:Moog, The Musical groups established in 2004 Hungarian indie rock groups English-language singers from Hungary Musical groups disestablished in 2016