10 Mar 2015

Interview: Mogwai

8:02 am on 10 March 2015

Known for their uncomfortably loud shows, Mogwai talk about their evolution and how their hearing is holding up.  

Mogwai.

Mogwai. Photo: Photo by Steve Gullick

For two decades Glaswegian band Mogwai has consistently redefined the loud-quiet-loud conventions of post-rock. The band have evolved their sound and instrumentation over the years, as their latest album Rave Tapes attests. It’s filled with pulsing, oscillating synths, under keyboardist Barry Burns' hands. He seems to have soaked up some of the kraut-rock sounds of his new home of Berlin.

Mogwai were last in New Zealand in 1999. Barry Burns and guitarist/vocalist Stuart Braithwaite tell Music 101's Kirsten Johnstone about their recollection of that show.