Mogwai

Mon 2nd Mar, 2009 in Features

Post-rock is certainly a divisive genre. Many of the bands within its generic confines – Mogwai included – reject the reductive label, while fans split their loyalties among the few bands who’ve managed to balance an experimental outlook and a substantial profile in wider musical circles.

Over the years, Mogwai have managed to infuse their songs with varying degrees of pop-sensibility without impinging on the integrity of their ambitions. Nonetheless, many Mogwai fans celebrated their latest album, The Hawk is Howling, as a stylistic shift back to the dynamic and long-form compositions of their early records.

Considering 2008 also saw the band re-master, re-release and perform in full their debut full-length, Young Team, it would be easy to infer that the band’s return to their older material informed what would become their most untamed affair in nearly a decade. Guitarist Stuart Braithwaite, however, contends that it wasn’t so much the re-release of their debut that but their work on the soundtrack for documentary film Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait that provided the impetus for a move back to their expansive roots.

“We just enjoyed the epic aimlessness of the Zidane stuff and took that further,” claims Braithwaite. ” Zidane is quite freeform so we didn’t edit anything and we’ve gotten into the habit of doing a lot of editing with Happy Songs [for Happy People] and Mr Beast but we kind of abandoned that – it was very natural and sprawling.”

Another shift installed in the process following Zidane’s success was the speed at which Hawk was produced. “We only had two weeks to do Zidane so that was quite different for us and I think doing things quickly worked in our favour. With this album we didn’t procrastinate like we tend to do, we just got on with it.”

When asked about their third album Rock Action and its move away from their signature sound, Braithwaite is fairly sympathetic toward his younger self. “I think we got a little claustrophobic at the time because a lot of bands came out sounding really similar to our first few singles and we wanted to move away from that.” Many years and several albums have passed since then and as Mogwai settle into their place at the top of the – œpost-rock’ (for lack of a better label) pile, so too has their outlook matured and allowed them to comfortably revisit the sounds of those early recordings. “When we were younger we’d get quite annoyed about bands sounding like us, but really it’s a compliment that someone likes your band so much that they want their own band to sound like you. I’m actually quite happy about it.”

Despite all this talk about what informed their latest recording sessions, Braithwaite claims that the overall process is much less considered than I may have painted it. “To be honest, with our best records, we try not to think too much about anything, we just try to concentrate and make some music we like.” There’s not a lot that a band that’ve been operating for fifteen years can do that shakes up the process, which is one of the reasons that Zidane was such a welcome challenge. One noticeable difference across various Mogwai records, though, has been the amount of computer programming and vocals used on the albums. The Hawk is Howling is their first album in a decade to be entirely instrumental.

“Usually the vocals are something we leave till the last minute. This time we’d pretty much finished the album and none of the songs sounded like they were missing something, so that’s just the way it worked out.” As for the electronics, Braithwaite agrees that they represent the biggest shifts in the process between albums but credits much of their implementation to drummer Barry Burns and other guitarist John Cummings. “They’re really into that, a lot of the computer stuff, so we’ve used different computer stuff at different times to mix it up. That’s probably the main difference in our records.”

At the end of the day, regardless of the sounds they tried or didn’t try on their latest album, The Hawk is Howling sounds unmistakeably like the work of Mogwai. What, then, is Braithwaite’s reaction to the fact that his band produces music that seemingly perpetuates and strengthens the Mogwai aesthetic? “I suppose it’s a double edged sword, in that it’s good that we have a recognisable sound but some people might complain that we don’t reinvent what we do every time we put a record out. It’s generally good – more good than bad.”

For all this talk of Mogwai’s albums past and present, they have always been a band who shined in the live setting more so than on disc. The peaks are higher, the atmosphere more potent and the energy more tangible. “I prefer playing concerts,” Braithwaite admits. “I like the studio because you can go home at the end and there’s no pressure but I like the immediacy of a concert.”

As usual, along with playing live comes the endless travel required to cover an expansive fan-base. Mogwai traverse across as much territory as any of the biggest names in rock music today and, after fifteen years, are surely getting tired of the machinations behind an album release. “You definitely get tired of the endless travelling but between the studio and the stage there’s no comparison for me.”

Lastly, it’s appropriate that we return to the subject of Mogwai’s past and their curating of it. Those who missed out on seeing Young Team performed live as part of the Don’t Look Back concert series have reason to weep, but there seem to be some other gems from their back-catalogue to get excited about. “I don’t think we’ll do any more Young Team performances, but we are working on an expanded edition of Come On Die Young. We recorded a full set of demos, so we could definitely do a good double disc version of it – someone just needs to find the music.” Here’s hoping someone does.

The Hawk Is Howling is out now. Mogwai play the following shows in March.

Tues 3 – The Tivoli, Brisbane
Wed 4 – Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Thurs 5 – The Forum, Melbourne
Sat 7-Mon 9 – Golden Plains Festival, Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre