Seoul, Aug. 26, 2026 (Lusa) – The Portuguese acts 800 Gondomar, Sunflowers and MONCHMONCH are set to perform in South Korea in September at Zandari Festa, a festival dedicated to independent music, it was announced on Wednesday.
According to information available on the South Korean festival's social media page, this year's edition will take place between 4 and 6 September, with 800 Gondomar, Sunflowers and MONCHMONCH performing on 5 September.
Portuguese participation in Zandari Festa «includes WHY Portugal's internationalisation strategy in the South Korean market, a relationship built up over recent years in close collaboration with the festival», according to the association, which acts as a «non-profit export office for the Portuguese music sector», in a statement released today.
Zandari Festa is an independent music festival that «brings together hundreds of international professionals, programmers, agents, record labels, promoters and specialist media every year, fostering connections between the Asian music scene and the international market».
800 Gondomar, hailing from Rio Tinto in the district of Gondomar, formed in 2013 and released their self-titled debut EP the following year.
The group's first album, «Linhas de Baixo», was released in 2017. Prior to that, they had released another EP, «Circunvalação», in 2016.
800 Gondomar, comprising Rui Fonseca, Alô Farooq and Frederico Ferreira, put the project on hold between 2018 and 2023, returning to recording the following year with «São Gunão», the band's latest release.
In addition to their performance at Zandari Festa, the band has a series of concerts scheduled in South Korea between 28 August and 13 September, in Seoul as well as other cities such as Busan and Ulsan, according to information available on the group's social media pages.
The Sunflowers formed in Porto in 2014 as a duo, comprising Carol Brandão and Carlos de Jesus, who were later joined by Frederico Ferreira.
Their self-titled debut EP, recorded at home, was released in that year. Their second EP, «Ghosts, Witches and PB&Js», followed in 2015, and their debut album, «The Intergalactic Guide to Find the Red Cowboy», in 2016.
In early 2017, the duo – still a duo at the time – signed a contract with the French label Only Lovers, with a view to re-releasing the album and undertaking a series of concerts in France, ahead of their second studio album, «Castle Spell» (2018).
This was followed by «Endless Voyage» (2020), «A Strange Feeling of Existential Angst» (2023) and «You Have Fallen…Congratulations!», released last year.
MONCHMONCH is a project by Brazilian musician Lucas Monch, a native of São Paulo, whose work is divided between Portugal and Brazil.
In September last year, he released his debut album «Martemorte», in a partnership between the Portuguese label Saliva Diva and the Brazilian label Seloki Records.
Earlier this year, he released «dos entulhos loucos cavam sol», the ‘B-side' to his debut album.
The Why Portugal Association was founded in 2016 by the Association of Independent Musicians, Artists and Publishers (AMAEI), and is supported by the Association for the Management of Phonographic Producers' Rights (Audiogest) and the GDA Foundation.
Since 2016, the association «has been present at over 60 professional festivals, organised around 150 showcases and supported hundreds of artists, such as Noiserv and, more recently, Ana de Lor, Ana Lua Caiano and MÁQUINA».
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