Interview Metodi Hristov

Familia's Bulgarian headliner tells us about his new label Set About...

Bulgarian born Metodi Hristov has been winning all manner of fans, from Matthias Tanzmann to Marco Carola, for his finely-tuned percussive tech-house sound. While it was his 2014 Glasgow Underground hit 'Step Outside' that brought him to the attention of many, he'd previously been honing his craft in his native Sofia, releasing his debut album 'It's Too Much' in 2013.

Lining up to play Familia on April 9th alongside wAFF and Luigi Madonna (more info and tickets here), we spoke to Metodi to find out more about him, including the story behind his new label Set About...

You live in Sofia in Bulgaria. What's the city like for electronic music? Does it have much of a club scene? 

"Yes, I live in Sofia and I was born there. There is a small underground scene, which developed in the last one or two years. It’s getting better because there were only two or three organisations moving the scene before. By now there are a lot young people who dare to risk. They organise parties and challenge each other."


You seemed to appear in 2014 fully formed with 'Step Outside'. What were you doing before that? Where did you learn your studio skills? 

"I had a lot of releases before 'Step Outside', but it’s true that a lot of people started to recognise me just after it. The other watershed was when I made my first album for Witty Tunes in the middle of 2013, including tracks like 'Too Much Pills', 'Fat Lips', 'The Ish'... Actually, I think that after this album, big artists started to play my music. Marco Carola plays my track 'The Ish' even now, three years after the release! I was very pleasantly surprised when the guys from Music On wrote to me months ago and asked me to include the tune in Carola’s latest Music On mix. When I started to produce music there were no people around me who could teach me, so I had to learn everything by myself. It took a lot of time to reach this level and it was a long and hard journey, but sweet at the same time."

Can you tell us about your label Set About? Is it mainly for your own music or will you be working with other people too? Is it just going to be digital? 

"The idea was born a long time ago, together with Gallya and my agent Marin. The concept was finalised one and a half years ago and we were just waiting for the right moment to launch it. So we did it at the beginning of this year. At the same time we had the opportunity to host three Set About showcases with Shosho, Gallya and DJ Lion in Argentina and Uruguay. The people loved it and they already knew our label, even if it was just the beginning. That inspired us a lot and when we came back we were more confident than ever. We will have a lot of interesting upcoming releases in the near future. For now we’re focusing on digital releases, but surely we will think about vinyls in the future too. We are very lucky that we get such a strong support. Actually, we didn’t expected so much love so we are really proud of our 'baby elephant'."

Are you still playing 50-60% of your own music in each set? Where do you get your inspiration from generally? 

”Yes, I still playing minimum 50% of my own music in my sets, but also a lot music from Set About artists. The inspirations comes from everywhere, but mostly from the music itself. Basically, all kinds of music.”

You played at Egg last year. How does it compare to other clubs around the world? Where are some of your other favourite places to play?

"I was very happy to see Egg after the renovation. The Terrace is my favourite room and I really love it! Other clubs that I really like are Terraza in Curitiba in Brazil, Cafe d’Anvers in Belgium, Music Box in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Monsun in Belgrad, Serbia, just to name a few..."

Will you get time to do anything else when you're in London? 

"I love London and I have a lot of friends there. We are always doing something fun together. I don’t know what awaits me this time."

What else do you have coming up this year? 

"This year I will totally focus on our label. This is the most important thing for me at the moment. But for sure, I expect gigs all around the world and a lot upcoming releases."

If you hadn't become a DJ, what else do you think you might have done with your life? 

"An astronomer maybe."