Mogwai
Glasgow’s finest noisemakers Mogwai are pitching up in Cardiff in November. Kristian Dando talks to Stuart Braithwaite about the toilet circuit, Gruff Rhys and drinking cider for lunch.
Twenty-two years have passed since Glaswegians Mogwai first visited south Wales. Back then, they were the support act to fellow Scots, lo-fi rock band Urusei Yatsura, when they played at Newport’s much-missed TJ’s in May 1996. “I remember that night,” recalls band leader, guitarist and occasional singer, Stuart Braithwaite. “We were just teenagers then, sleeping on peoples’ floors.”
The nascent noise rockers would also take in Aberystwyth University and Barry’s Friar’s Bar on what would be one of the first of many forays out of Scotland. “Back then bands were playing all sorts of different towns – there wasn’t a lot of money in touring so you’d go anywhere for £50-£100,” says Braithwaite.
St David’s Hall, Cardiff’s grand modernist, purpose-built concert venue, is a world apart from the toilet circuit the young band visited back then. It’s been quite the journey – from gobby art-rock upstarts, Braithwaite and with bandmates Dominic Aitchison, Martin Bulloch and Barry Burns have settled into the role of post-rock elder statesmen with aplomb, and with 2017’s Every Country’s Sun album, have turned in some of their best recent work. The visceral formula of passages of ultra-quiet instrumental passages, tense, creeping interludes and swathes of coruscating noise remain the bread and butter of Mogwai’s musical output, but later albums, such as 2014’s stripped-back Rave Tapes and 2011’s Hardcore Will Never Die (But You Will) saw ventures in Krautrock and electronics.
Then, of course, there’s the acclaimed soundtrack work – starting with their Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, the band also worked on the music for French supernatural drama Les Revenant and the science-fiction film Kin. They also worked with Trent Reznor on the soundtrack to climate change documentary Before The Flood. There’s another score they’re currently working on too, but tantalisingly, they’re sworn to secrecy.
So far, so serious – but Mogwai’s artistic inclinations are buoyed by a wry sense of humour – older readers will recall the band’s impish ‘Blur: are shite’ t-shirts manufactured for T In The Park festival in 1999. That predilection for both mischief and sonic experimentation is perhaps why they formed a bond with Wales’ Super Furry Animals. In 2001, SFA’s Gruff Rhys contributed a vocal, in Welsh, to Mogwai’s Dial: Revenge from the Rock Action album. What chance of a guest appearance in November?
“Well, stranger things have happened,” says Braithwaite. “If Gruff’s around we’ll probably go for dinner with him. I guess we’re both sort of non-fashion bands – well, they were fashionable for about six months which I’m sure they were horrified at. But they’re fun people and Gruff is a super-interesting guy – it’s impossible to have a boring conversation with him.”
With a sprawling back catalogue to draw upon, Mogwai will certainly have a task narrowing down what they’re going to air in Cardiff. “We’re not really sure what we’re going to play – we’ve not even started rehearsing for it yet! It depends – I like playing the stuff from Rave Tapes – it’s quite minimalist.”
It’ll be worth getting there early. Amongst the lengthy list of bands Mogwai have influenced are support act, fellow Scots The Twilight Sad, who are signed to the band’s Rock Action record label. The bands share a mutual admiration. “They’re a band we’ve played a lot of concerts with,” says Braithwaite. “When they were out of contract with their label we were happy to put their record out.
“I’m just happy that people still want to come and see us play,” says Braithwaite on the band’s lengthy and storied career. “Things are pretty drastically different now,” he reflects – entertainment on the road consists of podcasts and looking for good restaurants. But, it seems, the more things change the more they stay the same. “Back then we’d be drinking a bottle of cider for lunch. Musically though, there’s not that much different. We just get on stage and make as much noise as humanly possible.”
Mogwai, St. David’s Hall, Cardiff, Mon 26 Nov. Tickets: £29.50. Info: 029 2087 8444 / www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk
