You might be able to live on food alone, but there’s no denying that music is one of life’s most flavourful ingredients. So enter MOOD, an independent magazine committed to bringing us the best of both worlds.
The magazine is co-founded by Mario Villar Sanjurjo and Emma Hovel, we sat down with Emma to hear all about the editorial team’s favourite combos of music and food.
What inspired you to start MOOD?
Both Mario and I had been working in fields with very fast turnaround times. Mario is a journalist working for a news wire and I am a web designer. We really wanted to put our time into something that we could see through from start to finish, and that would be a creative outlet for us. Aside from that we are both big music and food fans, and realised that there weren’t any publications dedicated to these two fields.
What would you say MOOD is all about?
Quite simply, MOOD is about music and food. But, our goal is to present the two things in a cohesive way. We like to talk to people that are somehow involved in both worlds, of which there are many commonalities. We also try to keep a pretty relaxed tone throughout the magazine. Beautiful images and really interesting stories are important to us, but we try to keep it down to earth and relatable.
What is your ultimate music and food combination?
A musician we know here in Brooklyn called Abakis hosting a “Musical Feast” for her album release this Thanksgiving. It will be in a gorgeous hall and will have live music from several superb bands as well as food from local artisans. It’s basically our dream-come-true set-up!
What is the perfect festival food for you?
A couple of summers ago we attended the End of the Road festival in the UK and they had some of the best festival food we had ever seen. Lots of pies, roast chicken and potatoes – real comfort food. It was perfect for the weather at the time too. And with a cup of cider – who could ask for anything more?
What do you listen to when you cook dinner, and what do you listen to when you’re eating it?
We normally throw on a record. Lately I rotate between Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, Talking Heads’ Speaking in Tongues and an Aretha Franklin compilation album. It seems that the A-side coordinates with the cooking time while the B-side joins us for eating.
You both live in Brooklyn, how does the city inspire you?
We actually just moved to Brooklyn this past winter. We were in Brussels before – which was a wonderful place to start the magazine. There was a lot of support from other creatives around us, and everyone was excited to see a new endeavor starting up. In Brooklyn it’s different. There are so many people here doing amazingly creative things – probably every other apartment has something unreal happening inside of it – so it can be a little bit harder to get recognition and support. That being said, people are really enthusiastic here, and the pressure/competition is actually a good thing. It makes you really look at what you’re doing and forces you to make it better. I think our magazine has definitely improved with the past couple of issues—for a lot of reasons—but you can’t say that Brooklyn had nothing to do with it!
What’s your best tip on catching a band and going out for dinner?
In Brooklyn the possibilities are endless. We love hitting up Baby’s All Right in Williamsburg for both dinner and a concert. But to be honest, we normally eat dinner pretty late, so dinner and a concert can be challenging for us since concerts are usually around 9pm. We usually end up drinking our dinner when we see a show. Or getting a delicious New York slice afterwards.
