Interview with Hristo Lazarov of MoGa

The interview has been taken with Hristo Lazarov, the second guitarist in MoGa.

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

Music has always been a part of my life. I started out with piano when I was a kid and moved on to guitar later on, so I have played an instrument for as long as I can remember. What made me get serious about it? Probably the love for metal and the desire to perform live. If I hadn’t gotten into music, there would have been a humongous hole in my soul today so whatever it is that I’d be doing (probably focusing more on my day job), it wouldn’t have been as fun or fulfilling as being a musician.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

Practicing :) However, I also have an engineering job in the corporate world, so this takes up most of my time outside of the rehearsal room. I also have some hobbies like working on cars, 3d-printing and traveling. The contrast between different activities always encourages creativity.

How long has your band been around?

MoGa in its current form is relatively new on the metal scene but it is not driven by newbies. Anton Dimitrov (guitarist and main composer) and Milko Dyulgerov (harsh vocals) had a band named ITSI back in the day which disbanded 11 years ago due to various reasons. There was already a lot of new material in the pipeline, so it would’ve been a shame to not continue what had already been started. So they carried on and laid the cornerstone for MoGa. Anton (Tony Flo) went on to develop the project further until we got to where we are today.

Where are you based out of and how did that influence your music?

We are based in Sofia, Bulgaria. We have an interesting underground metal scene there, but we have drawn inspiration from quite a lot of sources, mostly real-life situations.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

While we were banging our heads over the name of the band trying to figure it out, the name actually found us. We stumbled upon a book by Bulgarian philosopher Petar Danov dedicated to the word “moga”, which means “I can” in Bulgarian language. We liked it and we also think it sounds good, so we went for it.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

Since MoGa has come to life, every show has been memorable for us. Probably the most memorable performance is the very first one – the album promo. We had no idea how the audience would react, we had quite a lot on our plate with the organization of the event, there was at least some amount of anxiety in the air – but then we went on stage, started playing and saw the faces of everyone in the crowd. This is when we knew we were doing something right.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

We don’t have a favorite venue. Ultimately, every venue will do if the crowd is having a good time so this is our top priority. We’d really like to get to play a larger international festival, this is something we haven’t had the pleasure to do yet.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

We’d just play a MoGa show. Of course, playing with world-renown bands is a huge honor, but I wouldn’t want to put any band out of place, even in a hypothetical situation.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

I’d tell both the same thing: Work hard, practice every day and the results will come. I know from experience.

If you could go back in time and give yourselves advice, what would it be?

I wouldn’t want us to change a thing. I’d encourage us to do it all over again.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

All of them are little shiny gems to us. Out of the whole album, I guess “Contrastmus”, the song we open our live shows with, gives the listener the best general understanding of our music. Is combines everything in our musical arsenal: Death metal riffs, interesting chords, blast beats, soft melodies, electronic elements, harsh and clean vocals, etc. It prepares the listener for what’s to come.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

I guess this varies in time. We enjoy playing all of our songs. Contrastmus, Prophet, Chained Life and Lunar seem to have grown to become fan favorites. But then again, since we have very different-sounding tracks in our album, different audiences tend to pick different favorites.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

The creative mastermind of the band is Tony (Anton Dimitrov). He is the main composer and the driving force behind the band. His inspiration is drawn from nature, people and various life situations.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

Our lyrics touch on topics like transcendence, enlightenment, introspection, human emotions, freedom, “getting out of the matrix”, you know? Give us a listen and see for yourselves.

Do you ever have disagreements in your band, and how do you get past them?

We are all human, of course there are sometimes disagreements. A music band is like a family. In such situations, we talk it out and make a decision.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

We hope to play some more shows, maybe even outside our home country. We also have something in the works for a subsequent album, so stay tuned.

I’d like to use this opportunity to encourage your readers to check out our links here: https://linktr.ee/mogaband, give us a listen and consider following, subscribing or maybe even supporting us by purchasing our official band merch (just DM us). Thank you and rock on!