Mogwai

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

Mogwai’s Come on Die Young was the album that introduced us to the world of post rock music.

We chanced upon Mogwai’s sophomore album CODY in the kitchen of our halls of residence after one of our flatmates dropped out. We like to think that it was meant to be. We would like to take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to the guy who left the CD behind before heading off to a way fancier college. This chance discovery made us think differently about music making; at the time we couldn’t quite believe what we were listening to. CODY reminded us of the musings of novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who once said that ‘good writers are judged by what they don’t say, more than what they actually do say’.

Shortly after the tabletop discovery we remember feeling compelled to send a message directly to Mogwai’s MySpace page, to first extend our gratitude for their music but secondly, to ask if they could recommend any likeminded bands that make music like they do.

‘Why not head straight to the source?’ We thought.

Unsurprisingly, they didn’t reply and as a curious and wide-eyed convert we couldn’t quite understand why. Maybe they had more important things to do than promote the work of other bands? Or maybe no-one actually does make music quite like Mogwai…

Many people argue that you cannot fully understand the inner workings of a band until you see them live. Mogwai may be the finest example of this argument we have experienced to date. A pair of iPod headphones can fill your skull with a representation of the potency of Mogwai’s music and the visuals they create, however, nothing can prepare you for the true beauty of Mogwai’s monstrous soundscapes until you have seen them in the flesh. To commemorate their live exploits the band have put together a live release that possesses the kind of gusto to transform any living room into a fully fledged Mogwai show.

‘Special Moves’ is available in a multitude of formats and comes accompanied by ‘Burning’ - a film documenting one of Mogwai’s 2009 gigs in Brooklyn. Directed by experimental filmmakers Vincent Moon and Nataniel La Souanec, it is one of our most anticipated and exciting releases of the year. We caught up with Barry Burns, one fifth of Mogwai and the multi-instrumentalist ‘engine room’ of the band, to discuss the live retrospective, what we can expect from the band 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 disc? 

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 choices? 

Being honest, we just picked the songs that we played the 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.

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 a 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.

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

I’ve always 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 to that when the band (or The Band) are all dead or retired. 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 – ‘Special Moves’ and ‘Burning’. 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 but it’s too late now -The Chord Remains The Same. Oh 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 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!

We have read that you don’t feel like you could be described as a 'greatest hits’ type of band, however, the track list for both 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?

Its been around so long for us now that I’ve kind of done 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.