Mogwai | |
|---|---|
 Mogwai atRock City in 2023. (L–R) Alex Mackay, Martin Bulloch, Barry Burns, Dominic Aitchison, Stuart Braithwaite | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Genres | |
| Works | Discography |
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Labels | |
| Members | |
| Past members | |
| Website | mogwai |
Mogwai (/ˈmɒɡwaɪ/) are a Scottishpost-rock band, formed in 1995 inGlasgow. The band consists ofStuart Braithwaite (guitar, vocals),Barry Burns (guitar, piano, synthesizer, vocals),Dominic Aitchison (bass guitar), andMartin Bulloch (drums). Mogwai typically compose lengthy guitar-based instrumental pieces that featuredynamic contrast, melodic bass guitar lines, and heavy use ofdistortion andeffects.
The band were for several years signed to Glasgow labelChemikal Underground, and have been distributed by different labels such asMatador in the US andPlay It Again Sam in the UK, but now use their own labelRock Action Records in the UK, andTemporary Residence Ltd. in North America.
Mogwai's tenth album,As the Love Continues, reached No. 1 in theUK Albums Chart on 26 February 2021.[2]
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Stuart Braithwaite and Dominic Aitchison met in April 1991, and four years later formed Mogwai with old schoolfriendMartin Bulloch.[3] The band's name comes from the name of the creatures in the feature filmGremlins, although guitarist Stuart Braithwaite comments that "it has no significant meaning and we always intended on getting a better one, but like a lot of other things we never got round to it."[4] The wordmogwai means "evil spirit" or "devil" inCantonese.[5]
The band debuted in February 1996 with the "Tuner"/"Lower" single and by the end of the year they received 'single of the week' fromNME for "Summer", a feat repeated early in 1997 with "New Paths to Helicon".[3] After playing a few shows the band expanded with the introduction ofJohn Cummings on guitar, and thenTeenage Fanclub drummerBrendan O'Hare joined while they recorded their debut albumMogwai Young Team.[3]
The album, released in October 1997, reached No. 75 on theUK Albums Chart, and featured a guest appearance fromAidan Moffat ofArab Strap.[3] In 1998 the band had their first singles chart success with a split single withMagoo ofBlack Sabbathcover versions reaching No. 60 in the UK and anEP of "Fear Satan" remixes reaching No. 57.[3] In the same year, an album of remixes of the band's tracks by the likes ofKevin Shields,Alec Empire, andμ-ziq was issued (Kicking a Dead Pig: Mogwai Songs Remixed).[6] The band also remixed tracks forDavid Holmes andManic Street Preachers.[6] O'Hare was sacked after the release of the album (reportedly after upsetting the rest of the band by talking all through a performance byArab Strap).[3]
Barry Burns was brought in prior to the recording ofCome On Die Young, the band's second album. He had already played a few shows with the band, as aflautist and as an occasional pianist. According to Stuart, Barry was invited into the band because he was a "good laugh".[4] The album reached No. 29 in the UK.[3] The band line up remained unchanged from 1998 until November 2015, when John Cummings left to pursue other projects. Fellow Scottish musicianLuke Sutherland has contributed violin (and more recently vocals and guitar) to Mogwai's records and live performances.
The band's 2001 albumRock Action gave them their then-highest UK album chart placing, reaching No. 23.[3] The album was less guitar-led than previously, featuring more electronics; a larger than usual number of tracks also featured vocals, and guest vocalists includedDavid Pajo ofSlint,Gruff Rhys ofSuper Furry Animals andGary Lightbody ofSnow Patrol. Shortly afterwards the band released "My Father My King", a cacophonous 20-minute song which closed theirRock Action-period shows, and was billed as a companion piece to the album.[7]
Mogwai's 2003 albumHappy Songs for Happy People continued the band's movement into the use of electronica and more spacious arrangements. It was the band's first album to sell in any numbers in the US, reaching No. 13 on theBillboard Independent Albums Chart and even spending one week in theBillboard 200.[8] Reviews were generally favourable, although asPitchfork Media said in 2008[9] "...(the album's) reception ranged from middling to favorable. Some praised the band's scope, grandeur, and willingness to explore beyond the bounds of the quiet-loud-louder dynamic it had mastered; others lamented a lack of the same, alternately calling Happy Songs too soft, too small, or too stiff."
In March 2006, the albumMr Beast was released in a regular format and in a limited deluxe edition package that came with both the album on CD and a DVD documenting the recording process entitledThe Recording of Mr Beast. The album was described byCreation Records headAlan McGee as "probably the best art rock album I've been involved with sinceLoveless. In fact, it's possibly better thanLoveless"[10] – referring to the influential 1991 album byMy Bloody Valentine.AllMusic called the album "Possibly the most accessible yet sophisticated album Mogwai (have) released".[11]
The band's sixth studio album was recorded from late 2007 until early 2008, and was released in September 2008. It was the first Mogwai album not to feature vocals, and was also the first to be self-produced by the band; the album was recorded byAndy Miller at Chem19 Studios inHamilton, South Lanarkshire, and mixed by Gareth Jones atCastle of Doom Studios in Glasgow.[12] The album spawned an EP,Batcat, featuring the title track from the album and also a collaboration withRoky Erickson, with Erickson providing vocals on "Devil Rides".
In 2010 the band released their first live film (Burning, filmed by Vincent Moon and Nathanaël Le Scouarnec, which premiered at theGlasgow Film Festival in February) and live album (calledSpecial Moves).Burning contains eight tracks from the band's Brooklyn shows during their 2008/2009 American tour, whilstSpecial Moves adds nine more tracks from the same source.[13][14]Special Moves was the first release on Mogwai's own Rock Action records, named afterStooges drummerScott Asheton, who had his name changed to Rock Action.[4]
In September 2010, Mogwai left longtime North American distributor Matador Records, and signed withSub Pop. Braithwaite also stated that the band were working on material for a new album for release in early 2011.[14] On 27 October 2010, Mogwai announced their seventh studio album,Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will.[15] The album was released on 14 February 2011 in the UK and entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 25.[16] A bonus edition featured an additional CD featuring a 23-minute piece called "Music for a Forgotten Future (The Singing Mountain)", which was recorded for an art installation byDouglas Gordon and Olaf Nicolai.[17] Three singles were released from the album; "Rano Pano", "Mexican Grand Prix" and "San Pedro".
In 2012 a remix album,A Wrenched Virile Lore was released which included tracks fromHardcore... remixed by numerous artists includingXander Harris,The Soft Moon,Robert Hampson andJustin Broadrick. The album, whose title is almost an anagram of "Hardcore Will Never Die" was again released by Sub Pop in the US, and Rock Action Records elsewhere.[18][19]
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In July 2013, Mogwai performed theirsoundtrack toZidane: A 21st Century Portrait for the first time at dates across the UK.[20] An announcement of new live dates followed, including two nights at theRoyal Festival Hall,[21] and an appearance closing the final holiday camp edition of the"All Tomorrow's Parties" festival in Camber Sands, England.[22]
They announced their eighthstudio albumRave Tapes on 28 October 2013. The album was released on 20 January 2014 on Rock Action in the UK, Spunk in Australia and Hostess in Japan and South-east Asia, while Sub Pop released the album in the US on 21 January.Rave Tapes was produced by Mogwai and Paul Savage, and the song "Remurdered" was uploaded to the Rock Action and Sub PopSoundCloud pages at the time of the announcement.[23][24] The album entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 10[25] and, as of April 2014, was the best selling UK album released in 2014 in terms of vinyl sales.[26]
An EP titledMusic Industry 3. Fitness Industry 1. onRock Action was released on 1 December 2014 featuring three new tracks from theRave Tapes sessions, along with three remixes of tracks from that album byBlanck Mass,Pye Corner Audio andNils Frahm. The EP was recorded in Glasgow withPaul Savage.[27][28]
In June 2015 Mogwai played a series of high-profile shows in the UK and Ireland, climaxing with two nights at theCamden Roundhouse, to celebrate the band's 20th anniversary.[29] At the same time, in association withATP, they curated a series of shows at the London venue featuring acts that have "challenged, intrigued and inspired" them, includingThe Jesus and Mary Chain,Public Enemy, andGodspeed You! Black Emperor.[30] A career retrospective album comprising three CDs or six LPs,Central Belters, was released on 23 October.[31]
On 15 November 2015, the band announced that guitarist John Cummings had left to pursue his own projects.[32]
In April 2016, Braithwaite told theGuardian that the band were writing new songs and would be travelling to the US later in the year to record a new album withDave Fridmann, who producedRock Action some 15 years previously.[33] On 25 November, Fridmann announced that the band had started recording the album with him.[34] On 3 March 2017, the band announced that they had completed recording and were mastering the album atAbbey Road Studios.[35] The band have announced a worldwide tour to coincide with the release of the new album, starting with dates in Europe in October before visiting North America in November, and finally playing in their home city of Glasgow in December.[36]
On 14 May 2017, the band announced the new album would be namedEvery Country's Sun and would be released on 1 September 2017. They also shared the first song "Coolverine".[37] On 2 June, Mogwai played a show atPrimavera Sound festival in Barcelona, only announced on the day, which consisted ofEvery Country's Sun played in full.[38]
On 29 October 2020, Mogwai announced a new album,As the Love Continues, which went on to reach No. 1 in the UK Albums Chart on 26 February 2021. The lead single, "Dry Fantasy", was premiered onBBC Radio 6 and made available for download the same day.[39] On 13 February, the weekend before the album's release on 19 February, the band streamed a show recorded atGlasgow Tramway where they played the album in full.[40] Following a social media campaign asking various celebrities to promote it, the album entered the UK chart at No. 1 in its first week of release, a position that the band called "totally surreal".[41]As the Love Continues was nominated for theMercury Prize, which honours the best of British music, in 2021.[42] The album won the 2021Scottish Album of the Year Award.
As announced on 29 October 2024, the band released their eleventh studio album,The Bad Fire, on 24 January 2025. Three songs, "God Gets You Back", "Lion Rumpus" and "Fanzine Made of Flesh", were shared in the lead up to the album's release.[43][44] A film about the band,If the Stars Had a Sound, was released in the UK and Ireland on 19 November 2024.[45]
In 2006, the band provided the soundtrack to the filmZidane: A 21st Century Portrait, with the soundtrack album released the following year.[46] The band's songs "Auto Rock" and "We're No Here" were used in Michael Mann's 2006 filmMiami Vice. The band also collaborated withClint Mansell andKronos Quartet on the soundtrack toThe Fountain in 2006.[47] Mogwai are also featured in the 2009 post-rock documentaryIntrospective.[48] The band donated an exclusive track to thePEACE project in April 2010 in support ofAmnesty International.[49] In 2012, the band provided the soundtrack for theCanal+ French TV seriesLes Revenants (broadcast asThe Returned in the UK). The album,Les Revenants, was released on 25 February 2013.[50] The track "Kids Will Be Skeletons" was featured as part of the soundtrack of the story based video gameLife Is Strange.[51]
In 2015 the band supplied the music forMark Cousins' documentaryAtomic, Living in Dread and Promise.[52] The soundtrack was reworked and released asAtomic on 1 April 2016,[53] through Rock Action Records.[54][55] The band carried out an extensive live tour of Europe and Japan performing the soundtrack against a backdrop of the screening of the film, beginning in Austria on 1 May 2016. They then announced a North American tour of the album for January 2017.[56] The band also co-wrote the score toFisher Stevens' 2016 documentary film about climate changeBefore the Flood. The score was performed and written by Mogwai,Trent Reznor,Atticus Ross, andGustavo Santaolalla.
In 2016 Braithwaite took part in a documentary about Glasgow music, andChemikal Underground Records, calledLost in France. The film was directed by Niall McCann and brought Braithwaite (along with members ofThe Delgados,Franz Ferdinand and others) toMauron, Brittany, to recreate a gig they played just after Mogwai had formed. The film features Mogwai live, as well as footage of Braithwaite playing Mogwai tracks solo and interviews with Braithwaite and his old label-mates such as Alex Kapranos (Franz Ferdinand), Emma Pollock (The Delgados) and Stewart Henderson (The Delgados). It premiered at theEdinburgh International Film Festival to positive reviews and was called "Funny, vital and sobering" by Scotland's arts magazineThe Skinny.[57]
In August 2018 Mogwai released thesoundtrack for the movieKin,[58] and in May 2020 thesoundtrack for the 2020 Sky Italia & Amazon Prime seriesZeroZeroZero.[59] As an extra Mogwai released in 2014 their own whisky brand, a year later they tried out a (limited edition) spirits brand of rum.[60] In July 2022 Mogwai released the soundtrack for the Apple TV+ seriesBlack Bird.[61] In May 2025, Mogwai were revealed[62] to have provided the soundtrack forThe Bombing of Pan Am 103, a series produced by BBC and Netflix.
Early on in Mogwai's history, their music drew onSonic Youth,Joy Division,My Bloody Valentine, andthe God Machine.[63][64] Over the following years, the band would incorporate elements from a wide range of bands and artists, includingRodan,Low,Neu!,Philip Glass,[65]MC5,Fugazi,[66]Aphex Twin,the Orb,[67] and post-rock pioneersSlint.[68] Braithwaite also listedNirvana,Kraftwerk, and guitaristJohn McGeoch as personal influences.[65][67][69]
Mogwai's style has easily identifiable connections to genres such asshoegaze,math rock, andart rock. Debut albumMogwai Young Team was described as "stunningly dynamic...[shifting] seamlessly from tranquil, bleakly beautiful soundscapes to brain scrambling white noise and sledgehammer riffing".[3]Douglas Wolk, writing forSPIN in 1999 said of the band: "Their compositions have gotten increasingly drawn-out and austere over time, sometimes barely more than a singlearpeggiated chord or two evolving for ten minutes or more, whisperingly brutal in a way that recalls Slint more than any other band".[6] Barry Burns once stated in an interview that he and the rest of the band do not like the categorisation of post-rock because he believes it over-analyses everything.[70]
Their strong international fanbase is based, in part, on the band's music being largely lyric-free.[60] Braithwaite has commented on the absence of lyrics in most of Mogwai's music, saying:
I think most people are not used to having no lyrics to focus on. Lyrics are a real comfort to some people. I guess they like to sing along and when they can't do that with us they can get a bit upset.
— Stuart Braithwaite,The Express[1]
Obviously a lot of bands take a lot from [Spiderland] – I know that we did...
[Stuart Braithwaite :] John McGeoch was the best post-punk guitarist. He played like no-one else, totally distinct and with unyielding imagination. I hear his influence everywhere to this day. A total legend.
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
