Crack

People often get carried away with bands and the music they make. Music is only noise but it can define everything.

In the same way that Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) became the inspirational soundtrack for droves of hip hop converts in the mid-nineties, or in the same way that Nevermind became the grunge bible for scores of pissed off teenagers, Mogwai’s ‘Come on Die Young’ was the album that defined my first adventures in the ‘post-rock’ kingdom.

I stumbled upon Mogwai’s sophomore album Come On Die Young in the kitchen of my halls of residence after one of my housemates accidentally left it behind after dropping out, and I would like to take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to the guy for leaving Goldsmiths for a way cooler college one CD short. Finding this album made me look differently at all forms of music making, in fact I could not quite believe what I was listening to. It reminded me of something the Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez once said about good writers being judged by what they don’t say than what they do.

Shortly after this quite outstanding coffee tabletop discovery, I felt compelled to send a message to the band’s Myspace page to commend them on their music and if they could recommend any other bands that made music similar to their own.

My Myspace spam aside, the list of plaudits that have deservedly piled up on Mogwai’s doorstep as purveyors of definitive and groundbreaking music making has become almost endless. These guys are world renowned for what they do, but it was not until only recently that I eventually got to witness the band live, last November live at ‘Invada Invasion’ - a night curated by Geoff Barrow (of Portishead fame) at The Colston Hall. Alongside a plethora of other exciting, experimental bands and visual artists including Malakai, Team Brick, Mr. Jago and Crippled Black Phoenix (to name but a few), Mogwai headlined the quite sensational evening with a set that can only be described as awe-inspiring.

Many people argue that you cannot fully understand the innards of a band unless you have see them live and Mogwai may be the finest example of this argument that I have experienced to date. A pair of ipod headphones can fill your skull with a very decent representation of the potency of Mogwai’s music making and the visuals they create, it’s just nothing can prepare you for the sheer beauty of Mogwai’s monstrous soundscapes unless they are showcased in the flesh. Until now.

In celebration of their live exploits, Mogwai have (finally) put together a double live release that possesses the kind of gusto to articulate just what they can do on stage in the comfort of your living room.

The live album Special Moves, is available in a multitude of formats and comes accompanied by Burning - a sensational film documenting one of the band’s Brooklyn gigs from 2009. Directed by renowned experimental filmmakers Vincent Moon and Nataniel La Souanec, Burning is like nothing I have ever seen before. It really is as close as you can get to witnessing the band live without leaving your house.

I caught up with Barry Burns, one fifth of Mogwai and the multi-instrumentalist ‘engine room’ of the band, to discuss why now was the right time to release a live retrospective, what we can expect from the band and Rock Action records in the future, and if he had anything to say to the haters.


Can you tell us about what inspired the decision to take the plunge and put out a live album/DVD double release?

I suppose we had always intended to put out a live album due to the fact that we’re better as a live band than the albums might suggest. That’s not to say we don’t like the songs on the usual albums, but rather that we seem to perform them better on a stage than in a studio. To have the film is something that hopefully enhances the live music and having seen it a few times now, it’s a good example of a Mogwai concert.

With regards to Special Moves, how much consideration went into the setlist? What was the driving force behind your track selection?

Being honest, we just picked the songs that we played best over the 3 nights in Brooklyn. There were no overdubs and there are probably some mistakes in there, but we were concentrating as hard as we could.

What about Burning? Can you tell us a little bit more about your relationship with the directors of the new film? Did you sign them up or did they approach the band?

Vincent Moon did a short film that went along with our last album and he was keen to work with us again, which was a mutual feeling. But this time he wanted to do something a bit more ambitious. I think we first made contact through an old manager of ours.

What made you want to do the film so differently from the standard documentary format? In what ways did you look to make it unique?

That’s really a question for the directors. We pretty much trusted them to do what they do.

I have always thought that your music doesn't need videos to thrive and is best listened to rather than watched, however, I believe the new live release is an exception. How interested are you in the links between your music and the moving image?

I’ve enjoyed watching many music films, one of my favourites being The Last Waltz by The Band and Martin Scorsese. It’s nice that you can always go back when The Band are all dead or retired and have this memento. When we’re all working in Lidl people can still watch the Mogwai concert on their PlayStation 8.

Does your music conjure up visuals for you as you write it? Do these visuals influence your concepts for videos?

No. We just play music and I certainly don’t have any sort of visual experience when doing that. And again, we always have no input into the video side of things. It’s annoying when other people get in your way when you are trying to be creative so we allow people to just get on with it.

Can you shed some light on the film and album titles? What inspired these title choices?

I think Burning was the directors’ idea. Special Moves - I can’t remember, but I’m thinking it’s in reference to computer games. Last week I came up with what I think is a better title - The Chord Remains The Same, but it’s too late now - Ah well!

How much input did you have on the art direction of the live footage and the final cut? Are you happy with the finished product?

None and yes, it’s really very pleasing. Quite good that there are only a few close ups.

The upcoming live release is coming out on your own label Rock Action Records - Is there any reason why you have decided to ‘come home’ so to speak?

We are out of contract with our old label! Now we can make literally hundreds of pounds more!

I have read that you don’t feel like you could be described as a 'greatest hits' type of band, however, the tracklist for the live album is arguably a collection of your greatest ‘live’ hits. Is this as close to a greatest hits album as you are going to get?

Haha. I suppose maybe. You should hear the new songs, not a hit in there.

What aspect of this double release are you most excited about?

It has been around so long for us now that I kind of did all my thinking about it a while back. I’m probably just excited that we’re releasing it ourselves.

Tell me about your most captivating live experience with this band. There must be one that stands out for all the right reasons?

The Albert Hall was pretty amazing and one time at Primavera festival in Spain when we played at 3:30 in the morning. I’ll never forget that.

Some circles accuse you of putting out record after record that pursues the same musical formulas, however, I feel that there is something so special about the music you create that it should be pursued, refined and re-assessed over-and-over again. What are your thoughts on this argument and the people who call for you to ‘switch it up’?

Some circles can suck it! But really, we never listen to outsider’s opinions. You can see some bands listen to critics and then they go and try make totally different music that they are not good at playing or understanding and it goes awry. We sound like the band that we are.

Who should we be on the look out for from Rock Action in the coming months?

We’re releasing the final album of Japanese mental duo Afrirampo. They are breaking up so no touring, which is a shame.

Where in the South West of England can we hope to clock your film on the big screen?

I probably should know this but I don’t. I will lamely say, just keep checking the website.

Finally, How is work on the 2011 album going and what can we expect?

Well, we start recording on the 2nd of August and a lot of the songs sound pretty odd. Haha. I bet some circles will accuse us of putting out record after record that pursues the same template. Dicks.



Words: Thom Hawkins

Tune: Auto Rock

http://www.mogwai.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/mogwai

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