Rockezine.com interview with Mogwai on May 29, 2003

with Stuart Braithwate on May 29, 2003

Mogwai is a band that sets standards for some bands. They do not take the basic structures of a song, but instead of that, explore things that have not done before, creating a melancholich sphere. On a Sunny day, I speak with Stuart Braithwate in the Melkweg.
		So, how are you guys doing, enjoying Holland a bit? Yeah, today it’s nice and sunny. In Glasgow it is different weather. We’ve been here a few times before, we played at Lowlands 2001.
		Yeah, I heard you were noisy at that festival? That is indeed possible. We were probably loud.
		You guys just released a new album, Happy Songs From Happy People’. Is the title ironic? Well, no it is not. Making music makes us happy. To do what we do makes us happy, and the fans that are listening to the music are happy with the music.
		Can you tell me something about the new album, compared to Rock Action or Come On Die Young? There is less singing on this album. It’s a measurable quiet record compared to Rock Action.
		It’s a cliché to say that your last album is your best, is it for you? Well of course. Otherwise, what’s the point of making music if you don’t think it’s the best, then don’t do it if you don’t think that.
		Mogwai’s music is melancholic. I wonder, while creating your music, how is your feeling about it? Do you get melancholic yourself while listening to your music? No, not at all. I’m enjoying the music, and I never associate it with bad times.
		How is Mogwai’s music created/how does it come together, since it’s quite unusual music? Well, most of us write parts at home and take that to the rehearsal room. It’s basically like in every band. Just writing songs. The funny thing is, sometimes we don’t know when a song is finished, so we keep on writing on that song.
		What is your favourite band at the moment? Well, I’m listening to a lot of blues now. Especially old blues.
		What is your favourite song to play live? My Father My Kingdom, it’s really cool to do that, it’s an advantage for me.
		Speaking about advantages, when you create songs in the studio. Do you think about how the songs can be played live? Yeah, it’s just a lot of repetition, repetition, repetition. But we always want to do a song live, otherwise there is no point in making it.
		A question about the band Sigur Ros, I heard you did a split-EP with them? No, it’s only an internet release. I will not do a split with them.
		Can I do a checkist with you guys? Chewing Cum or Ice Cream? Ice Cream. Pantera or Black Sabbath? Black Sabbath. Bananas or Apples? Bananas. Being stuck in a fishbowl or being stuck in a rabbit cage? Fishbowl. Mother Theresea or Gandhi? Gandhi.
(Friso Veltkamp)